College of Engineering Poster Presentations
Title
Development of a Micro-Scale Ceramic Turbine for Power Generation
Document Type
Student Presentation
Presentation Date
4-16-2012
Faculty Sponsor
Sarah Haight
Abstract
This study evaluates the feasibility of a particular design and fabrication of a micro-scale ceramic turbine. The turbine element may be employed within a more complex machine designed for compact power generation. Turbines transfer energy from a moving fluid into mechanical energy by a momentum exchange between the fluid and the rotor blades. Layers of unfired low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) were stacked, hot pressed and milled prior to sintering in order to construct a radial impulse micro-turbine. Compressed air was used as a working fluid to turn the rotor of the turbine while the rotational speed was measured with a hand-held tachometer. While initial calculations predict the ability of the turbine to generate power was low (about 0.5 Watts), it is expected that this study will be used to establish groundwork for future endeavors in this field.