CONTACT:
Klaus Brun, Ph.D.
Gas Turbine Technology
(210) 522-5449
E-mail: Klaus Brun

(Español)

KEY TERMS:
gas turbines
turbomachinery
structural 
dynamics
rotor dynamics
blading failures
critical speeds
life assessment
bearing failures
rolling element 
bearings
vibration surveys
turbine monitoring
heat transfer 
analysis
blade high cycle 
fatigue
hot section 
material selection 
HRSG
flow induced 
vibration

The gas turbine industry continually challenges engineers to design, construct, and operate reliable and efficient gas turbines that meet market needs and respect the environment. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) works with users, suppliers, and manufacturers of gas turbines, providing technical services, expertise, and research facilities to meet the challenge. 

Engineering Services for owners, operators and suppliers of gas turbines, turbomachinery, and associated plant systems include:

• Root Cause Failure Diagnosis:  Blading, bearings, combustors, and other gas turbine components. Investigations combine the technologies of fractographic examination, materials evaluation, structural analysis, dynamic loading, thermal environment prediction, fracture mechanics analysis, and frequency testing.
  
  

• Troubleshooting Turbomachinery Operating and Installation Problems:  Vibration problem diagnosis, monitoring systems and surveys, resonance identification, flow-induced vibration (exhaust ducts, HRSG, combustors), blade vibratory stress prediction, rotating machinery diagnosis, installation and commissioning support, rotor balancing, and third-party evaluation.
  
  

• Turbomachinery Performance Diagnosis:  Diagnosis of fuel flow measurement accuracy, performance measurement methods and results, power output, and heat rate. Meter audits and high accuracy flow meter calibrations. Heat rate improvement studies, waste heat recovery analyses, and fluid mechanics and heat transfer analyses.
  
  

• Turbomachinery Developments:  Radial Flow Gas Turbine is highly portable, able to operate with a wide range of fuels and is tolerant to ingestion of large particulate matter, such as sand or dirt, and Variable Speed Planetary Gear Box Power Turbine allows the single-shaft gas turbine to drive variable speed devices.
  
  
   

• Rotordynamic and Mechanical Design Audits
  
  
  
  
  
   

• Mechanical Design Assurance:  Rotor dynamics analysis (lateral / torsional / instability), pulsation control, FEA and CFD analyses, probabilistic evaluation, design recommendations. Design consultation and technical representation. Optimization and system integration for specialty applications of turbines and turbo-compressors.
  
  
   

• Life Management and Extension:  Durability and life estimation of hot section components, coating life prediction, probabilistic failure risk assessment, condition assessment of components.
  
  
  

• Aero-Thermal Flow Analysis:  Fluid dynamics and heat transfer, simulation and understanding of fluid flows, flow visualization techniques, flow facilities, turbomachinery test facility, flow instability.
  
  

• Materials and Coatings Selection:  Selection and qualification of alternative materials and coatings, supplier qualification, refurbishment evaluation.
  
  
  
   

• Procurement Support:  Basic specification writing, review, and technical bid evaluations, purchase management, bid tab comparisons.
  
  
  
  
   

• Blade Vibration Audit Technology:  Diagnostic methods to detect and avoid high-cycle-fatigue damage, blade frequency audit, blade modal analysis, blade vibratory stress audit, probabilistic analysis, nonintrusive monitoring, telemetry testing, and slip ring systems. For more information, see blade vibration audit tutorial notes.
  
  

• Nondestructive Testing:  Ultrasonic and eddy current inspection, method development, and application.
  
  
  
  

• Fuels, Lubricants, and Combustion Technology
  
  
  

• Air Pollution Control
  

SwRI can offer you a full range of capabilities and experience in gas turbine technology including becoming an extension of your engineering department. For more information about any gas turbine capability at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Klaus Brun, Ph.D. at kbraun@swri.org or (210) 522-5449.

Mechanical & Fluids Engineering Department
  Mechanical and Materials Engineering Division SwRI Home

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.