Engineers know that gas turbine engines for aircraft and
power plants are more efficient and burn less fuel when they run at
temperatures high enough to melt metal. But how to raise temperatures and
efficiencies without damaging engine parts and pieces?
Iowa State University’s Hui Hu and Blake Johnson, working
away in a tight corner behind the university’s big wind tunnel, are developing
new technologies to accurately test and improve engine cooling strategies.
Their current focus is to improve the turbine blades spun by the engine’s
exhaust. Those blades at the back of the engine drive front blades that force
compressed air into the combustion chamber.