Resources

This post is about one of the most useful design tools for rotordynamics of turbomachinery: The Undamped Critical Speed Map. A critical speed map can provide a great deal of insight on the potential behavior of a rotor-bearing system without requiring a lot of model detail.

The Swedish Navy recently purchased a VAROC Air Dynamometer to test engines on their line of Visby-class corvette naval warships, the first vessel in the world to have fully developed stealth technology. In addition to the VAROC dynamometer, Concepts NREC supported the Swedish Navy with the design, integration, testing, validation, and commissioning of a test cell that allows for full mobile deployment between multiple sites. The following 3-minute video provides more details on the cell and our partnership with the Swedish Defence Material Administration ("Försvarets Materielverk"; known as FMV) on this program.

Turbopumps pose many challenges when trying to manufacture high quality CNC toolpaths. They are often made of difficult to machine materials such as Inconel, have sharp leading edges, demanding tolerances, and it is tricky to find tool orientations that are safe and smooth – especially in the inducer section.