Improvements in SFC for commercial transport aircraft through the application of CMC components would be used by the complete range of gas turbine engines used in military applications. Using CMC components in ground power gas turbines can significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Current combined cycles and future clean coal cycles use gas turbine components, and operate as base load plants. Their continuous operation at maximum power consumes very large quantities of fuel. Even a small improvement in fuel rate, (kg/kW), significantly reduces emissions. Any reduction in the fuel consumption yields substantial cost savings. The combined cycle gas turbine overall pressure ratio is only about half that of an aircraft gas turbine. Consequently, pressure loads are lower. Hence, ground power gas turbines might adopt CMC components in the near future. Recuperated turbines, such as those marketed by Solar Turbines Inc., have high cycle efficiencies, but low overall pressure ratios(less than 20). However, they require a large heat exchanger, which causes the capital cost to be greater than the cost of a simple cycle gas turbine for ground power applications. The efficiency of recuperated turbines improves markedly with a rise in gas temperatures. N&R Engineering intends to provide design and analysis services for the evaluation of CMC components in gas turbine engines. In addition, N&R Engineering would provide these services to operators of these engines.
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