Status of the DOE/NASA critical gas turbine research and technology project

Activities performed in order to provide an R&T data base for utility gas turbine systems burning coal-derived fuels are described. Experiments were run to determine the corrosivity effects of trace metal contaminants (and potential fuel additives) on gas turbine materials and these results were correlated in a corrosion-life prediction model. Actual fuels were burned in a burner rig hot corrosion test to verify the model. A deposition prediction model was assembled and compared with results of actual coal-derived fuel deposition tests. Thermal barrier coatings were tested to determine their potential for protecting gas turbine hardware from the corrosive contaminants. Several coatings were identified with significantly improved spallation-resistance (and, hence, corrosion resistance)

The Akulov-Volkov Lagrangian, Symmetry Currents and Spontaneously Broken Extended Supersymmetry

A generalization of the Akulov-Volkov effective Lagrangian governing the self interactions of the Nambu-Goldstone fermions associated with spontaneously broken extended supersymmetry as well as their coupling to matter is presented and scrutinized. The resulting currents associated with R-symmetry, supersymmetry and space-time translations are constructed and seen to form a supermultiplet structure.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX; Title, abstract and introduction changes, references adde

Potential benefits of a ceramic thermal barrier coating on large power generation gas turbine

Thermal barrier coating design option offers benefit in terms of reduced electricity costs when used in utility gas turbines. Options considered include: increased firing temperature, increased component life, reduced cooling air requirements, and increased corrosion resistance (resulting in increased tolerance for dirty fuels). Performance and cost data were obtained. Simple, recuperated and combined cycle applications were considered, and distillate and residual fuels were assumed. The results indicate that thermal barrier coatings could produce large electricity cost savings if these coatings permit turbine operation with residual fuels at distillate-rated firing temperatures. The results also show that increased turbine inlet temperature can result in substantial savings in fuel and capital costs

Development of a polyimide for use as a temperature and solvent resistant sealant

Polyimide developed by the interaction of benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, polyoxypropylene diamine, and oxydianiline is used for fuel tanks that are exposed to extreme temperatures

Thermal design study of an air-cooled plug-nozzle system for a supersonic cruise aircraft

A heat-transfer design analysis has been made of an air-cooled plug-nozzle system for a supersonic-cruise aircraft engine. The proposed 10deg half-angle conical plug is sting supported from the turbine frame. Plug cooling is accomplished by convection and film cooling. The flight profile studied includes maximum afterburning from takeoff to Mach 2.7 and supersonic cruise at Mach 2.7 with a low afterburner setting. The calculations indicate that, for maximum afterburning, about 2 percent of the engine primary flow, removed after the second stage of the nine-stage compressor, will adequately cool the plug and sting support. Ram air may be used for cooling during supersonic-cruise operations, however. Therefore, the cycle efficiency penalty paid for air cooling the plug and sting support should be low

The nature of 1WGA J1958.2+3232: a new intermediate polar

We present low and intermediate resolution spectroscopy of the optical counterpart to the recently discovered pulsating X-ray source 1WGA J1958.2+3232. The presence of strong HI , HeI and HeII emission lines together with the absence of absorption features rules out the possibility that the object is a massive star, as had recently been suggested. The observed X-ray and optical characteristics are consistent with the object being an intermediate polar. The double-peaked structure of the emission lines indicates that an accretion disc is present

Heat transport in the XXZXXZ spin chain: from ballistic to diffusive regimes and dephasing enhancement

In this work we study the heat transport in an XXZ spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with homogeneous magnetic field, incoherently driven out of equilibrium by reservoirs at the boundaries. We focus on the effect of bulk dephasing (energy-dissipative) processes in different parameter regimes of the system. The non-equilibrium steady state of the chain is obtained by simulating its evolution under the corresponding Lindblad master equation, using the time evolving block decimation method. In the absence of dephasing, the heat transport is ballistic for weak interactions, while being diffusive in the strongly-interacting regime, as evidenced by the heat-current scaling with the system size. When bulk dephasing takes place in the system, diffusive transport is induced in the weakly-interacting regime, with the heat current monotonically decreasing with the dephasing rate. In contrast, in the strongly-interacting regime, the heat current can be significantly enhanced by dephasing for systems of small size

On Local Dilatation Invariance

The relationship between local Weyl scaling invariant models and local dilatation invariant actions is critically scrutinized. While actions invariant under local Weyl scalings can be constructed in a straightforward manner, actions invariant under local dilatation transformations can only be achieved in a very restrictive case. The invariant couplings of matter fields to an Abelian vector field carrying a non-trivial scaling weight can be easily built, but an invariant Abelian vector kinetic term can only be realized when the local scale symmetry is spontaneously broken.Comment: 3 page

Nuclear rocket propulsion. NASA plans and progress, FY 1991

NASA has initiated planning for a technology development project for nuclear rocket propulsion systems for space explorer initiative (SEI) human and robotic missions to the moon and Mars. An interagency project is underway that includes the Department of Energy National Laboratories for nuclear technology development. The activities of the project planning team in FY 1990 and 1991 are summarized. The progress to date is discussed, and the project plan is reviewed. Critical technology issues were identified and include: (1) nuclear fuel temperature, life, and reliability; (2) nuclear system ground test; (3) safety; (4) autonomous system operation and health monitoring; and (5) minimum mass and high specific impulse