Test Laboratories
Engineering - Performance Testing - Test Laboratories
Test Laboratories
This flexible rig is designed to test a variety of turbomachinery systems using different gases.
New impeller and crossover design for the LH2 turbopump in the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) undergoing tests on the magnetic bearing rig in Concepts NREC's hydrodynamics lab
Concepts NREC's test laboratories contain instrumentation from classical pneumatic and thermal probes and traverses to more sophisticated hot-wire/hot-film and laser anemometers, high frequency pressure transducers, and proximity probes. Data acquisition systems, laboratory software, traversing equipment, instrumentation devices (probes), and calibration services for various pressure and temperature probes are all available. Concepts NREC utilizes and services, as well as sells, Polytec laser two-focus velocimeters.
Wide range of test rigs
Concepts NREC’s test facilities include 60 mm, 90 mm, and 120 mm standard test rigs for testing smaller compressor and turbine impellers up to approximately 150 mm in diameter. Larger impellers are tested on either a 1,000 hp or 3,000 hp drive geared to run over 60,000 rpm. Advanced instrumentation capabilities include Concepts NREC’s industry leadership in the utilization of precise pneumatic traversing for high-performance radial flow stages. Using a computer-controlled, data-acquisition system, detailed internal pressures and temperatures can be acquired and processed. The laboratory data files that are generated can be used directly by other codes to process the traverse and impeller cover static pressure data. The data can also be automatically processed through Concepts NREC’s 1D meanline codes such as COMPAL® to generate full performance maps and detailed component aerodynamic performance parameters.
Wide range of test cells
The Wilder facility test laboratories include five main test cells for compressor, turbine, and pump testing, as well as a mobile facility that houses a 3,000 hp drive unit. The 9,000-square-foot laboratory facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, includes four large test chambers, each with complete utilities and acoustic isolation. One test chamber contains a Solar gas-turbine system and is used primarily to drive single-stage compressors up to 1,000 hp at speeds up to 41,000 rpm. Flow rates as large as 100 lbm/s have been achieved with this drive. The output speed of this drive system is variable up to 4,000 rpm. The third chamber is equipped with a 10-ton crane system and an 8- by 12-foot slot plate permanently secured flush with its floor. This test chamber is utilized for general testing of machinery systems, for flow test loops, and when needed, as a secure assembly area. The fourth test area is the largest cell and includes its own control/data acquisition room. All test chambers have access to a recirculated cooling water installation, direct access to the building’s exterior, and the capability of supplying compressed air up to 500 cfm. Above each of the chambers is an ASME standard flow measurement section, and each chamber is linked to a central data-acquisition system.
Automated data-acquisition facilities
Using automated data-acquisition and reduction routines, Concepts NREC’s central data-acquisition facility can be configured to sequentially scan up to 144 pressures, 40 electrical signals, and 50 temperatures. This facility can acquire and analyze dynamic pressure signals and vibration sensors, as well as the scanned steady-state data.
