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Lab Speeds Gas-Turbine Development (Continued from page 95) Today, less than four ye,,, MOOEL TESTER of highly flexible design permits economical screening of many' experimental designs. Symmetrical about the center of the thall-and-flnned-tube cooler, It contains all functional elements of hlgh-eapsclty test facilities COMBUSTION LAB contains two test stands like one shown. A control room bo> yond wall at right Is equipped for simultaneous operation of stands, with any combination of pressurised, atmospheric or altitude conditions to 49,000 ft o cold start in early 1944( ty*'.. inghouse engineers work lo esp,^** <ri, pl""'1 ol ""P"1 up "Jnhn.TM* in n0 w"> KtracnU I 15-million gts-turbinc development uoratory unequalled by ony other pH -i r limits. It mean, IlSBr' bandlo units >' cnoujh fecilily. This continuous probing HSu errors Irom scsle isctors wilb- characteristies of aircraft power-st <JI i,enlli'"r 01 ` components yields design koox-fa^1 needed (o meet today's demand for ^ ter jet engines and gas turbines. */ rrbuilt In 19*4"0amto lrsoorrare`a plant The job of designing and builds,, !'f for trartlme ptoducllon of tna- completely American jet engine, ukjJ '^SToropuUion equipment, dictated on at Navy request only one day ,|j ,1 Kull location and typo of equipment Pearl Harbor, was brought to a succeti? . built, the laborntorr compriata ful conclusion without recourse to 'i'i'Smajor teal areas: (1) hlqh.powar search ood development facilities oikei tiSto. W hih-po--or comproaaor and Ilian those Weslinghouse had when (iSS-.'poo'r model (3) Tariable-prcaaurc 'W&Lbegan. But late in 1943 it became sa `^Slwlion and (4) engine accessory, parent that larger facilities were i/wa>lon"aad mechanical dee op. tial to successful realization of the pi U;maC Some idea ol tho power icrrlcca tcnlials of the gas-turbine power pilot) OjAidid c,n bo gained front these do- Under Bureau of Aeronautics sponsor! figures: 80,000 lb per hr ol 600- ship, Westinghouse agreed early in I9ii| 8F atom, 7500 gpm ol river to design, erect, equip and operate i if Utter. 1000 gpm ol well water, 1350 gas-turbine component lab. j Tvha el fifiOO-v ac and 200 kw ol 250-v da Tasting Requirsmonts. A gae-tuibiiq !'Ub Layaat. Hlgh-power test areas power plant comprises compressor, fad * '(ies diagram, p 95) are side by side. pump, combustor and turbine, phr &Ff turbine testing, two multistage lubrication, control and heat-transfe^ 7,-Hill-Bow wfde-tpecd-rangc ateam-tur- apparatus, and starter, generator toj &Hidrivea compressors (one with 4:1 Ignition equipment. Separate invesU|i< OTttoprtasios ratio, (he other with 2:1) tlon of the secondary components b) f - on be operated Individually or in scries volves no special testing problems, but rith lntereoollng to supply air up to the compressor, turbine and eombtntorj &ll]8 ptla si (lows up lo S8 U per sec. require heavy power and heat inputs' Wj Aeombuitor capable of releasing up to and dissipations. With this in mind, the ^G-mlllion Btu per hr heats air to pro- laboratory was built to handle full-icall VHdegu to operate experimental tur- `v;.'Hs st pressures up to B atmospheres (J.twl temperatures up to 1800 F. Tur- H bbe output, which may reach 18,000 hp fd'sl 15>000 rpm, is absorbed by a specially '^.`designed water brake. The gas-turbine t-knwlag, a permanent pitee of-house ^ttuhlaery, accommodates a series of ^daglo or multiple-stage spindles>and -4 Wide rings, and can sustain tempera- J'jws to 1500 F. Compressors to be tested are driven H^fcy.a eoatrolled-torque wide-speed-raoge ^ trddle-mounted steam turbine, which j/jhja direct measurement of. power In- ^WtMTie unit is rated at 6000 hp at tf *n<^ ^.000 rpm, but may develop rSu ^.ce^* ^00 hp *ka moro-efEelent ),:-tdifk range- The compressor- ^ tm bdijing consists ot a heavy section P,r,ed st tbc.oeoter line and y , H,efl`el joints, and an end bell with -1 discharge. This provides 0 oni- v nppnrt for stationary member* i compressors. Housing is 6 ^. strong to stand compres- HOT-SPIN TEST PIT evaluates MgMempereture properties of disk and blade alloys. Pit Is heavily armored so the tests may be carried to destruction MECHANICAL LAB aids development of accessorlee and ponents. View of one side shows bearing-test stands at rear; governor stand next, and then two electric dynamometer st<M> T.'. uj-j, Lpfeuurc* from 4 to 90 psi tf. 5,chirge pressures lo 150 psi. Ti'dVni housing is In a closed ip _jy * *rhlch includes a streamlined . ` ,T*y* ahell-and-finned-tube cooler 9 {100} POWER February F.b,, EXPLOSIONPROOF AREA permits use of hlgb-oeUne gasoline In testa of fuel pumps, governors and Injection spray nenlea. Altitude chamber (right) teats accessories under pressure from sea level to 70,000 ft and from -^7 to 158 P and an B-positlon pneumatically oper ated variable-area orifice. Tho closed circuit gives flexibility, by pressurelevel control, that would be partly lost with open circuit and intake throttle. In both high-power teat areas, planed steel roils define a main floor level about 14 ft above grade, with all steam, oil, fuel and auxiliary piping, and much of tbe functional air and combustion-prod ucts piping, below h. A scavenging sys tem of capacity equal lo full required ventilation input confines need (or explosionproof units to under-floor areas. Control operations are segregated from the machinery space in a sound proofed room between turbine and com pressor test areas, making for tnaximum safety and efficiency. Pressure- and tem perature-measurement connections ore permanently installed from the control room to bulkheads adjacent to the lest equipment, reducing length of tem porary leads and speeding test setups. Provision is made for complete remote' control and communication. A low-power model tester, comprising a closed circuit with ell the functional elements of the high-power facilities, permits economical and flexible evalu-' alion of experimental turbine and com pressor designs, screening out develop ments not worthy of expensive and timeconsuming high-power tests. It is sym metrical about the center of the cooler, with a 50-hp dc dynamometer at inboard end of each test section. Each may carry a single or multiple-stage rotor. For- testing turbine models, a slock compres sor, dynamometer-driven, provides mo tive fluid. Combustion Lob. In tbe combustion laboratory, three aetups are available: (1) blower-powered atmospheric-pres sure tests (2) elevated-pressure tests using compressed air from high-power turbino area, and (3) altitude testing using main compression plant In con junction with a water-jacketed shelland-tube cooler. In the engine accessories, lubrication and mechanical development areas, In dividual projects on control apparatus, fuel and oil pumps, starters. Ignition equipment, bearings, etc, are assembled on bedplates equipped with dynamome ters and auxiliary drives ranging from 2.5 to 125 hp. To minimise explosion and fire hasard, three of the accessory bedplates, supplied with gasoline, are installed In a room entirely equipped with exploaionpropf fittings and services. Opening' into the haxardous-aecessory test area is an altitude chamber where an entire complement of engine accessories can be operated over a range of atmospheric conditions to 70,000 fL An armored hot-spin test pit, a com pletely equipped model and general service shop, store rooms and offices complete the facilities. A comprehensive discussion of the laboratoryt design features is given in a paper presented by IPinston R Near at the ASME annual meeting of 1947. (101) 99