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772 HONG AND COLLOPY Where Did the Innovations Come from? Gas turbine innovations in the United States between 1960 and 1985 resulted from industry development programs, industry re- search, military laboratories, NASA research, and joint military/ industry work to correct problems with engines in the field. Even individual innovations seldom trace back to a single facility, but instead arose from complex interactions among several teams. Be- cause of this complexity, the reported sources of innovation vary substantially depending on point of view. However, some elements of the picture are widely recognized. U.S. Air Force laboratories introduced several basic advances such as compressor aerodynamic models, which led to more stall-tolerant engines; heat transfer mod- els for hot components and cooled turbine blades; computational fluid dynamic models, which led to more efficient compressor blade designs; vibratory analysis capability; and high work fans. NASA developed component performance models, computational fluid dy- namics mathematics and software, and analysis methods to predict engine noise and emissions. Progress in analytical capability was synergistically tied to the development of computational capabili- ties. Not only did better computers enable more powerful analyses, major analytical tasks such as computational fluid dynamics pro- vided a significant market for the most powerful supercomputers. Computer advances were key to improved stress analyses, which brought about the first credible predictions of engine part lifetimes. However, the engine manufacturing companies actually put these and other advances into practice, and the implementation entailed a substantial portion of the basic research. For example, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory funded an advanced turbine cooling program at GE in the 1970s, which resulted in the one-piece cast blade with film and convection cooling, which is now used all over the world. Industry used a combination of research contracts, funded by gov- ernment laboratories, and internal funding (IR&D) to introduce new technologies. However, because of the close personal and intellec- tual working relationships between government and industrial tech- nologists, partnership was a significant factor in advancing turbine engine capabilities. Also the frequent migration of technology per- sonnel between different engine companies led to cross-pollination of innovations and transfer of technologies. According to Leland Coons, the interests of the government laboratories and industry were complementary: Because the interest of the companies was more near term than the government it brought a healthy tension. This tension was nicely resolved through the government and industry partnership commitment. This resulted in the companies funding nearer term and more conservative technologies and the government funding higher risk higher payoff technologies. If the more aggressive tech- nologies fell short or missed achieving the goal on schedule, the more conservative (nearer term) technologies were used to keep the program moving forward. IHPTET In a very general sense, the creation of IHPTET in 1987 was a consolidation of ongoing demonstration programs rather than the start of something completely new. However, IHPTET was distin- guished from its predecessor programs by its focus on a measurable leap in performance: doubling thrust-to-weight ratio. It was also distinguished by its success in maintaining funding stability. The Background section of the IHPTET Technology Development Ap- proach (TDA) document states the following: The IHPTET initiative was formally initiated on 1 October 1987, but its roots can be traced back to 1982. The High Performance Turbine Engine Technologies (HPTET) effort began in 1982 as an advanced technology development study in the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories, Aero Propul- sion Laboratory (APL). The APL initiated the “Integrated Tech- nology Plan for the 90s” (ITP-90). Realizing that advanced ma- terials development was a pacing item, the Materials Laboratory (ML) joined the initiative as a partner in 1984 with an increased emphasis being placed on advanced materials and structures. The assessment by the Materials Laboratory regarding the optimistic development time necessary for the critical materials was very influential in setting the technology demonstration dates. In 1985, in compliance with the direction of the Commander, Air Force Systems Command, to increase the gas turbine engine industry involvement in the HPTET, major planning reviews were held with the following seven aircraft engine companies: Allison Gas Turbine Division; Garrett Turbine Engine Company; Gen- eral Electric; Lycoming; Pratt & Whitney; Teledyne CAE; and Williams International. The Navy and NASA also participated in the development of corporate long-range plans to accomplish the ambitious goals of the HPTET initiative by the turn of the century. The seven engine companies also made substantial commitments of company resources to their long-range plans which included company efforts that complemented the HPTET goals. At the urging of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Re- search and Advanced Technology (DUSDR&E/R&AT), the Army, Navy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joined the Air Force in developing a coordinated long range plan embrac- ing the goals of the HPTET initiative. The resulting technology development and demonstration plan represented a fully integrated Government/Industry activity, and thus the Integrated High Perfor- mance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) program was born.5 When IHPTET was formed, it consolidated a number of existing demonstrator programs, including ATEGG, JTDE, and APSI. Ad- ditional participation by the U.S. Army, NASA, and DARPA con- tributed significant programs to IHPTET, though these were of- ten existing activities in those agencies and services. IHPTET, like its predecessor demonstrator programs, was resisted at first within some parts of the laboratory structure because it took component development “sandbox” programs and forced them to consider tran- sition paths.1 However, once it was realized that these paths could result in the fruition of new ideas and concepts, resistance to tech- nology transition planning decreased. Whether IHPTET represents an incremental or a more radical example of technology change in turbine engines is a matter of perspective (Fig. 3). The aggressiveness of the performance goal (doubling thrust to weight ratio) suggests radical innovation. How- ever, the individual technology innovations were incremental, such as higher specific strength materials applied in particular compo- nents, increased material temperature capabilities, and improved cooling systems. The state of gas turbine product evolution may preclude radical change because the basic components and the ther- modynamic cycle are set. The fundamental architecture of mili- tary turbofans has not changed since the TF30 design in the 1960s. IHPTET’s most eloquent proponent, Robert Henderson, states the case for radical improvement as a sum of incremental advances: It is clear that significant progress has been made in the last three decades; in terms of performance measures, this progress has been most noticeable in the last 15 years. In general terms, the mechanisms for such progress are well known. Higher max- imum cycle temperatures and lighter weight components and structures increase the output-to-weight ratio—higher tempera- tures by increasing the output per unit airflow, and lighter weight Fig. 3 Incremental technology improvements over time.6PDF Image | Technology for Jet Engines: A Case Study in Science and Technology Development
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