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US Army see self-adjusting turbine blades powering new supersonic VTOLs
US Army researchers believe they have found a novel way to articulate the position of turbine blades in the hot section of jet engines. They say the innovation could significantly improve efficiency and power of jet engines – and also enable a new, wider range of performance needed for futuristic aircraft, perhaps even new types of supersonic vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft. (www.flightglobal.com) More...
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As Jim Tyson pointed out earlier in this thread, variable geometry rotating machinery has been implemented outside the engine (propellers) and in cold sections of turbine engines. How to do it in the hot sections? How hot are they, anyway? Maybe 1600-1900 F immediately downstream from the combustor; half that at the nozzle. This flightglobal.con link talks about shape memory alloys. Probably most of us know that shape memory alloys allow small-diameter stents to be inserted into a blood vessel, then expanded to provide useful reinforcement. Great technology. Other shape memory alloys can be used to replace "explosive bolts" (viz. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing 12(3):569-572 [June 2011]). So it's optimistic, but not delusional, to think about using this technology in high temperature rotating machinery. But there is a lot of technology development to be done: (1) the metallurgy of shape memory allows is tough, the metallurgy of high-temperature superalloys is tough, and great minds will have to make them work together (2) so far as I know, shape memory allows are not continuously-variable ; you have to choose between two stable geometries.
Interesting article. Why can't the idiots let us enjoy this site for what it was intended for. So sick of the CRAP athese people are spouting.
Would you guys PLEASE leave politics out of these discussions???! As a lifelong "Dumbocrat," I don't come here to be insulted by ignorant people!
Very interesting topic - 2 comments on actual subject - 11 comments of political banter.......
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It could be the China Bought and Paid For group that steals everything takes over....
I'll bet Hunter and the big guy have a sales brochure printed up ready to go.
Probably with Free Samples to boot!
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