Corporate - SpinOffs Newsletter
SpinOffs Newsletter
News, views, and methods for the turbomachinery community
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SpinOffs Archives
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Winter 2009 (1.6 MB)
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Summer 2008 (1.6 MB)
Volume 6, Issue 1 - Winter 2008 ( 2.41 MB)
Volume 5, Issue 2 - Summer 2007 (1.91 MB)
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Spring 2007 (1.4 MB)
Volume 4, Issue 1 - Fall 2006 (1.00 MB)
Volume 3, Issue 1 - Summer 2005 (1.41 MB)
Volume 2, Issue 2 - Fall 2004 (871 KB)
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Summer 2004 (1.7 MB)
Volume 1, Issue 4 - Winter 2003/2004 (1.5 MB)
Volume 1, Issue 3 - Summer 2003 (308 KB)
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Winter 2003 (540 KB)
Volume 1, Issue 1 - Summer 2002 (598 KB)
Special EASy! for Pumps Edition - Fall 2002 (230 KB)
SPIN
Volume 8, Issue 1 - Fall 2000 (818 KB)
Volume 7, Issue 3 - Summer 1998 (429 KB)
Volume 7, Issue 2 - Spring 1998 (561 KB)
Volume 6, Issue 2 - Fall 1997 (2.25 MB)
Volume 6, Issue 1 - Spring 1997 (579 KB)
NREC NEWS
Volume 13, Issue 1 - Summer 1999 (288 KB)
Volume 12, Issue 3 - Winter 1998-1999 (321 KB)
Volume 12, Issue 2 - Summer 1998 (419 KB)
Volume 12, Issue 1 - Spring 1998 (252 KB)
Volume 11, Issue 2 - Fall 1997 (470 KB)
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Topics from Recent Issues
CN’s David Japikse Receives Prestigious Engineering Award
Dr. David Japikse, founder, chairman, and senior technical director of Concepts NREC, is the honored recipient of the 2008 SAE Cliff Garrett Turbomachinery Engineering Award. The award was established in 1984 to perpetuate the recognition of Cliff Garrett for the inspiration he provided to engineers and his many contributions as an aerospace pioneer.
In a congratulatory letter to Dr. Japikse, James E. Breneman of the award committee wrote, “After reviewing the nominations, the Garrett Award Committee identified your long-term contributions as the most outstanding in this field. Please accept my personal congratulations…
For the complete article, click here.
Design Tools Must Also Support Enterprise Thinking and Lifetime Value Solutions
Commentary by Wayne Simpson, Global Strategic Account Manager
Twenty years ago, an editorial appeared in this publication titled The Cost of Specialized Engineering Software May be a Bargain. The premise for turbomachinery design was clearly demonstrated through example: A profound gap existed between the broad but general capabilities of all-purpose software tools for analysis and modeling, versus the highly specialized data and formats incorporated into specialized systems focused on particular applications. Now, two decades later, the gap between the two options is still profound and widening.
For the complete article, click here.
CAM Helps Launch Successful Startup
After recently completing his second year in business, Ray Kinner is pleased to announce that Kinner Manufacturing is a success – and growing. Considering that his shop only machines turbomachinery blades, Ray’s direct approach to entrepreneurship is an excellent example of a small manufacturing startup relying on specialized CAM software to quickly begin producing quality parts.
For the complete article, click here.
A New Generation of Green Turbomachinery Is Operating Outside the Carbon Cycle
Economical power from wind, wave action, and water flow relies on advanced designs and new materials
By Fred Becker, Director of Engineering Sales
Improving system efficiency and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions have traditionally been Concepts NREC’s contributions to the greening of turbomachinery. Advancing and optimizing designs to provide energy-saving solutions is considered a core capability at CN that is well-demonstrated by the many advanced technology pumps, compressors, and turbines we have developed for applications that typically operate within a carbon cycle. Now there is increasing interest in green-energy turbomachinery systems that operate completely outside the carbon cycle.
Rising oil prices and a heightened awareness of global warming have driven interest and investments in wind, solar, and hydropower projects. These renewable-energy systems are extremely appealing because…
For the complete article, click here.
The “Greening” of Turbomachinery Directly Benefits CN Customers, Their Customers, and the World Environment
By David Japikse, Chairman of Concepts NREC
I can’t help but notice how popular and even necessary it has become for businesses or their products to be perceived as being “green.” Green marketing is booming, and many companies are attempting to “green wash” their image by showcasing some environmental feature or benefit. A few are testing the boundaries of compliance with claims so abstract that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is now scrutinizing environmental marketing claims and updating its guidelines.
In the world of turbomachinery, there are also apparently varying operative definitions for what constitutes a “green” machine or process, and what is “sustainable” and “renewable.” These terms and other proenvironmental rhetoric are often just banter to seemingly benefit customer perceptions (and enhance bottom lines) rather than reflecting some environmental threshold of compliance…
For the complete article, click here.
CN’s One Team, One Solution Approach Means Added Value in Manufacturing
By Jeffrey Pfeiffer, Director of Business Development at CN’s Product Center
At a recent meeting of suppliers hosted by one of our customers, all participants were challenged to “provide more added value” in the products they delivered. Component suppliers were asked to “stretch” their capabilities to perform secondary operations when needed, or to provide full assemblies, and even deliver complete products. At Concepts NREC, we are uniquely positioned to do just that. As the world’s leading independent full-service provider of turbomachinery services and as developers of world-class CAE and CAM turbomachinery software, we call this level of concurrent engineering our “one team, one solution” approach, and we’ve been providing that added value for over twenty-five years!
For the complete article, click here.
CN’s CAM Developers and Machining Specialists Exchange Know-How to Create Best Solutions
By Rick Yu and Peter Klein, CAM Software Development Group
The symbiosis demonstrated between CN’s CAM group and our precision-machining center is clearly one significant reason we can deliver solutions at the pinnacle of machining technology. Both groups greatly depend on each other to resolve unique issues and challenges, to provide patches or enhancements as needed, to anticipate and then avoid problems, to conceive of new methods and drive improvements, and to develop the capability to best meet our customer’s requirements.
The following machining cases help demonstrate this collaboration of talent that has continuously enhanced CN’s MAX-PAC™ family of CAM software for 5-axis machining of axial or radial bladed components.
For the complete article, click here .
Fish-Friendly Hydroelectric Turbine Greatly Reduces Fish Kill and Preserves Efficiency
A unique turbine-impeller design will soon allow migrating fish to pass safely through a hydroelectric generator on the Mohawk River at the Brookfield Hydropower Station in Cohoes, NY. Presently, the only way for fish to travel downstream past the station dam is to be swept through the generator turbine blades along with the water flow – killing up to 40 percent of the fish.
In an attempt to dramatically reduce the kill rate, and with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Alden Research Labs conducted hydraulic research to determine which phenomena within the turbine actually killed the fish. The kill rate described in terms of fluid-dynamic conditions and statistics was then used by Concepts NREC to produce an advanced fish-safe turbomachinery design.
For the complete article, click here.
The Challenges and Cures of CFD Solution Failures
Mark Anderson, VP of Software Development
In recent years, computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) has become a standard part of the turbomachinery design process. Within Concepts NREC’s Agile Design System, Pushbutton CFD® is the tool used to accomplish aerodynamic analysis of designs by applying standard methods of three-dimensional analysis. However, arriving at a converged CFD solution in Pushbutton CFD (or any other CFD program) can sometimes be a challenge.
Although many things can go wrong in a CFD calculation, most solution failures can be understood within specific categories. Some solutions can be fixed with better solver settings or may require some redesigning. But before considering these options, reexamine the results of a failed CFD solution using these common reasons as the possible diagnosis for failure.
For the complete article, click here.
Rules for Success When Aggressive Structural Designs Cannot Fail
A Commentary by Karl Wygant, Director, Structural Design
Concepts NREC has a history of pushing the limits of structural design and not having parts fail. However, designing structurally aggressive turbomachinery can be a risky business in more ways than potential failure. A colleague once described the dilemma of the engineer when he said, “There is a common conception that a structural designer is considered too aggressive if they have had a part fracture, and too conservative if they have not had a part break.” While aggressive designs demand exacting care so as to not unduly impinge the overall product, I believe success most often hinges on experience and knowing the risks associated with the design."
For the complete article, click here.
