Does Santa Violate Export Control Laws Every December? Before we can answer that highly seasonal question, we should probably start with “What are export control laws anyway?”. Even before that, I...
A blog on what's new, notable, and next in turbomachinery
By Bradley Leiser, Director of Contracts
Dec 20, 2024
Does Santa Violate Export Control Laws Every December? Before we can answer that highly seasonal question, we should probably start with “What are export control laws anyway?”. Even before that, I...
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North- eastern University M.A. from Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology Experience includes research in the area of hypersonic propulsion for X-30 and NASA’s Atmospheric Effect of Aviation Programs Spearheaded CN’s meanline development, turbomachinery geometry parameterization, and quasi-3D and full 3D CFD Vice President, Concepts NREC Chief Technology Officer President, IntegralX Incorporated, an engineering software consultancy Has authored or co-authored over 17 papers on turbomachinery, CFD, and environmental modeling.
By Mark R. Anderson
Nov 8, 2019
Why supercritical CO2? Super critical carbon dioxide (sCO2) is one of the hottest topics in the turbomachinery world right now. From my own experience, I remember when the subject occupied a few...
By Mark R. Anderson
Jul 5, 2019
I recently got back from my favorite annual conference: ASME’s Turbo Expo. This year, someone thought it would be a good idea to hold it in Phoenix, Arizona…in the summertime. While that’s not the...
By Mark R. Anderson
May 24, 2019
In this blog series, I covered a lot of thermo-fluid options in engineering analysis, from the simplest perfect gas (When Perfect is Good Enough – Perfect Gas Models) and ideal liquid, (Fluid...
By Mark R. Anderson
May 10, 2019
Continuing on the topic from my previous blog, Getting Real – Advanced Real Gas Models, the counterpart to the perfect gas model for liquids is the “ideal liquid” model. The ideal liquid model is...
By Mark R. Anderson
May 3, 2019
The Refprop program The calculations in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Refprop program are generally considered the most accurate thermo-fluid models available. The...
By Mark R. Anderson
Apr 26, 2019
When fluids undergo a phase change (see Phase Change - Make Mine a Double), it typically has a very significant effect of the flow behavior and energy level of the system. Some examples of this are:...
By Mark R. Anderson
Apr 12, 2019
Our CTO, Mark Anderson, takes a fundamental look at simple stall and its impact on turbochargers stability and range. This is the second video in this 2-part series. Be sure to watch Part 1 first!
By Mark R. Anderson
Apr 5, 2019
Our CTO, Mark Anderson, takes a fundamental look at simple stall and its impact on turbochargers stability and range. This is the first video in this 2-part series.
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 29, 2019
Turbomachinery performance is almost always analyzed and tested with a fixed inflow condition. In other words, the assumption is that the inflow fluid temperature and pressure is defined and...
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 8, 2019
In a previous blog, Fluid Phenomena Primer: Energy Versus Temperature, Specific Heat, I explained the behavior for gas phase fluids and how the temperature is affected at high energy levels. In...
By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 22, 2019
As I’ve always said, there’s as much thermodynamics in a glass of beer, as there is in a power plant. Don't believe me? Read on. Phase change is common phenomena that we see all the time. We’re most...
By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 15, 2019
What is a perfect gas? A perfect gas is one that has a linear variation in energy with respect to temperature and a linear variation in pressure with respect to temperature at constant volume. The...
By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 8, 2019
As one might expect, the temperature of a substance typically increases as energy is added to it. This is the case with most substances in all phases. The exception is when a substance crosses to a...
By Mark R. Anderson
Jan 18, 2019
In my last blog, Specific Speed Demystified, I covered the mathematical definition of specific speed and how it relates to flow and work coefficient. The concept of specific speed has been a guiding...
By Mark R. Anderson
Jan 11, 2019
In my blog Flow Coefficient and Work Coefficient, I outlined the basic concept behind the flow and work coefficient. These nondimensional parameters are widely used to characterize axial and radial...
By Mark R. Anderson
Nov 30, 2018
Below is a 4 minute video blog from Mark Anderson, Concepts NREC's Chief Technology Officer, on the geometry of radial compressors. In it, he details the various parts of the compressor wheel,...
By Mark R. Anderson
Oct 19, 2018
Below is 3 minute video blog from Mark Anderson, Concepts NREC's Chief Technology Officer, on splitter design for radial compressors. Click on the small thumbnail image below to launch the full-size...
By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 24, 2018
I am fascinated by ancient cultures. After my recent visits to Roman ruins in Central Europe (see A Turbomachinery Engineer's Summer Vacation), I began to wonder how far back mankind’s mastery of air...
By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 3, 2018
Computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) has become a standard part of the turbomachinery design process. Within Concepts NREC’s Agile Engineering Design System, FINE/Turbo, from our Partner NUMECA...
By Mark R. Anderson
Jul 26, 2018
This year's ASME Turbo Expo in Norway inspired me to tack on a vacation to explore European cities on my bucket list. Being an engineer, and student of ancient cultures, part of my trip included...
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 29, 2018
In my last blog, I explored the concept of the flow and work coefficient. In this blog, I will explore the practical application of the two parameters in machine selection and optimization.
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 22, 2018
Two often used quantities to characterize turbomachinery are flow coefficient and work coefficient. The two are generally represented as Φ for flow coefficient and φ for work coefficient. The...
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 8, 2018
The universe of turbomachinery consists of many different design concepts that are radically different from one another. Each class of machine has a particular flow and power range that is best...
By Mark R. Anderson
Nov 9, 2017
Beyond being a fun tongue twister, visualizing the velocity vectors is probably the most useful and intuitive information available in turbomachinery design. Many fundamental parameters can be...
By Mark R. Anderson
Oct 5, 2017
I was a firefighter (we never call ourselves firemen) for more than ten years. While this was only a part time, volunteer gig, I was a turbomachinery developer and modeler as my full-time job....
By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 23, 2017
Aerodynamic blockage is a comparatively simple parameter to measure and reveals important aerodynamic performance data. Aerodynamic blockage is directly related to the displacement thickness concept...
By Mark R. Anderson
Aug 9, 2017
Three-dimensional flow fields typically have some degree of distortion in the flow properties and flow profiles across a given cross section. These distortions can be quite significant in regions...
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 27, 2017
Some of my other blogs have touched on how important it is to consider manufacturing methods during the design phase. This one will show exactly how manufacturing methods impact performance. We will...
By Mark R. Anderson
Mar 9, 2017
The primary options for laying out an impeller (i.e. flank milled versus point milled, open versus covered impellers, integral versus welded shrouds) determine the basic manufacturing process (see ...
By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 22, 2017
There are two dominant manufacturing methods used to produce turbomachinery parts – Casting and 5-axis machining. This blog will explore some of the applications and restrictions of these two methods.
By Mark R. Anderson
Feb 7, 2017
Supercritical CO2 cycles have the potential to significantly improve efficiency and reduce emissions in power generation. However, the unique fluid dynamic properties of supercritical CO2 that enable...
By Mark R. Anderson
Sep 9, 2016
The turbomachinery and software industries have evolved, in tandem, to high levels of maturity. On the engineering side, improved modeling capability and access to more powerful computational...