HIGH-TEMPERATURE SENSOR COULD LOWER TURBINE OPERATING COSTS

摘要

Maintaining gas turbines is difficult and expensive. Inspecting a central station gas turbine for possible wear and tear costs about $500,000 in parts and labor. If companies skip periodic checkups, they risk breakdowns averaging $4 million per incident. A company formed by former Georgia Tech researchers has developed a new non-contact displacement sensor system that monitors rotating industrial equipment, including sections of gas turbine engines that reach 2,500 F. The company, Radatec, is producing sensors that provide real-time information about critical mechanical components in areas that were previously off limits due to their harsh environments.