Temperature profiling of components in thermal power plant is of increasing importance as engineers drive to increase firing temperatures and optimize engine efficiency. In order to increase efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, higher firing temperatures are required coupled with improved and optimised cooling patterns for any highly thermally loaded parts.
StudentSupervisor |
|
To design such parts, temperature profiling coupled with thermal models are used, however, in-situ temperature measurements are difficult, especially when moving components are involved, as experienced in gas turbines for example. In many instances, temperature profiling may be impossible to perform due to access and the inaccessibility to components.
Phosphorescent thermometry has been proposed as a possible solution; it only requires optical access to make measurements on-line, on an operating engine. Equally, a new thermal paint system has been proposed that allows such measurements to be made off-line; i.e. components are removed from service and profile, with the paint system mapping the maximum temperatures measured in the engine test cycle.
In parallel with service exposure, the combustion environment can degrade the performance of such thermal phosphorescence material systems due to chemical reactions with combustion contaminants. In a first study, the effect of water vapour has been investigated. This PhD study aims to extend this research to investigate other combustion contaminates, including sulphurous oxides, nitrous oxides, carbon dioxide operating singularly or in combinations with water vapour. This aims to design an environmentally resilient paint/coating system that can provide a precise measurement of exposure temperature, either on-line or off-line, for use a dynamic thermal modelling medium in future high-temperature engine design.