Design of Ceramic Components for an Advanced Micro-Turbine Engine

Ceramic components, due to their high temperature capability, allow significantly higher turbine inlet temperatures with minimal cooling. Hot-section engine components, including combustor, integral vane ring, integrally bladed turbine rotor, and turbine tip shroud were designed for an advanced micro-turbine engine, with special attention to attachment methods that minimize thermal stresses due to large differences between coefficients of thermal expansion between metallic and ceramic materials. Detailed aerodynamic, thermal and stress analyses were performed. Both steady state and transient conditions were evaluated to guide design decisions that lead to optimal component reliability and manufacturability. This paper describes the component design, analysis, and fabrication experiences with silicon based monolithic ceramic materials.© 2004 ASME