We are pleased to announce that the US Army has awarded PADT a Phase I SBIR Grant to explore novel geometries for combustor cooling holes. This is our 15th SBIR/STTR win.
We are excited about this win because it is a project that combines Additive Manufacturing, CFD and Thermal Simulation, and Design in one project. And to make it even better, the work is being done in conjunction with our largest customer, Honeywell Aerospace.
We look forward to getting started on this first phase where we will explore options and then applying for a larger Phase II grant to conduct more thorough simulation then build and test the options we uncover in this phase.
Read more below. The official press release is here for HTML and here for PDF.
If you have any needs to explore new solutions or new geometries using Additive Manufacturing or applying advanced simulation to drive new and unique designs, please contact us at 480.813.4884 or info@padtinc.com.
PADT Awarded U.S. Army Phase I SBIR Grant for Combustor Geometry Research Using 3D Printing, Simulation, and Product Development
The Project Involves the Development of Sand-Plugging Resistant Metallic Combustor Liners
TEMPE, Ariz., August 15, 2019 ─ In recognition of its continued excellence and expertise in 3D printing, simulation, and product development, PADT announced today it has been awarded a $107,750 U.S. Army Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. With the support of Honeywell Aerospace, PADT’s research will focus on the development of gas turbine engine combustor liners that are resistant to being clogged with sand. The purpose of this research is to reduce downtime and improve the readiness of the U.S. Army’s critical helicopters operating in remote locations where dirt and sand can enter their engines.
“PADT has supported advanced
research in a wide variety of fields which have centered around various
applications of our services,” said Eric Miller, co-founder and principal,
PADT. “We’re especially proud of this award because it requires the use of our
three main areas of expertise, 3D printing, simulation and product development.
Our team is uniquely capable of combining these three disciplines to develop a
novel solution to a problem that impacts the readiness of our armed forces.”
The challenge PADT will be solving
is when helicopters are exposed to environments with high concentrations of
dust, they can accumulate micro-particles in the engine that clog the metal liner
of the engine’s combustor. Combustors are where fuel is burned to produce heat
that powers the gas turbine engine. To cool the combustor, thousands of small
holes are drilled in the wall, or liner, and cooling air is forced through
them. If these holes become blocked, the combustor overheats and can be
damaged. Blockage can only be remedied
by taking the engine apart to replace the combustor. These repairs cause
long-term downtime and significantly reduce readiness of the Army’s fleets.
PADT
will design various cooling hole geometries and simulate how susceptible they
are to clogging using advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation
tools. Once the most-promising designs have been identified through simulation,
sample coupons will be metal 3D printed and sent to a test facility to verify
their effectiveness. Additionally, PADT
will experiment with ceramic coating processes on the test coupons to determine
the best way to thermally protect the 3D printed geometries.
“When
we developed new shapes for holes in the past, we had no way to make them using
traditional manufacturing,” said Sina Ghods, principal investigator, PADT. “The
application of metal additive manufacturing gives PADT an opportunity to create
shapes we could never consider to solve a complex challenge for the U.S. Army.
It also gives us a chance to demonstrate the innovation and growth of the 3D
printing industry and its applications for harsh, real-world environments.”
Honeywell
joined PADT to support this research because it is well aligned with the
company’s Gas Turbine Engine products. The outcome of this research has the
potential to significantly improve the performance of the company’s engines
operating in regions with high dust concentrations.
This
will be PADT’s 15th SBIR/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
award since the company was founded in 1994. In August 2018, the company, in
partnership with Arizona State University, was awarded a $127,000 STTR Phase I
Grant from NASA to accelerate biomimicry research, the study of 3D printing
objects that resemble strong and light structures found in nature such as
honeycombs or bamboo.
To learn more about PADT and its
advanced capabilities, please visit www.padtinc.com.
About Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies
Phoenix
Analysis and Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT) is an engineering product and
services company that focuses on helping customers who develop physical
products by providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D
Printing solutions. PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and
experienced staff is based on its proven record of building long-term win-win
partnerships with vendors and customers. Since its establishment in 1994, companies
have relied on PADT because “We Make Innovation Work.” With over 80 employees,
PADT services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University
Research Park in Tempe, Arizona, and from offices in Torrance, California,
Littleton, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Austin, Texas, and Murray, Utah,
as well as through staff members located around the country. More information
on PADT can be found at www.PADTINC.com.
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