Life cycle assessment & ecodesign
As a society we’ve got some really tough challenges to focus on: global warming, energy efficiency, resource depletion, and pollution prevention… not to mention business economics! We are fortunate to have really smart people focused on solving these problems. One part of the solution is for us to continue developing eco-responsible products and services. In fact, I’m pretty excited about some of the product eco-design work we’ve got going on here at GE. I’m Bill Flanagan, and I lead the Ecoassessment Center of Excellence here at GE Global Research. It’s a fascinating area. Let me tell you why!Imagine that you are a product designer and that you are asked to come up with an innovative eco-design for a particular product. Where do you begin? How do you know whether your product design concepts are eco-responsible? Are there generic guidelines for this, or will it depend on the product’s function? What tools and knowledge do you need in order to be successful?
Machining super-alloys in a flash
There are a number of conveniences encountered in daily life that are simply taken for granted. For instance, how much thought does an ordinary person put into heavy industrial turbo-machinery? I would venture to guess the answer is not much, even for the uncommonly curious person. We travel on airplanes, drive cars, and surf the web with little thought about the rotating machinery making these actions possible and in many cases routine. Since jet engines, petroleum recovery and refinery equipment (especially pumps), and power generating equipment are not popular cocktail conversation pieces, it is probably senseless to discuss the manufacture and machining processes necessary to build the turbo-machinery no one talks about. However, discussing the machining of the super-alloys used to build state-of-the-art jet engines, pumps, and power generation equipment is just what I have in mind.Super-alloy machining is hard work; it takes time and often requires specialized (read: expensive) processes. Engines, pumps, and generators all contain difficult to machine super-alloys based on titanium, nickel (e.g., Inconel or GTD111), and hardened steels. I have been working on a project to develop a machining technology capable of rapidly removing material from difficult to machine super-alloys, addressing both the time and cost associated with producing equipment that contains super-alloys.
A new generation of batteries awaits
I recently submitted a column to Environmental Leader, a trade publication that regularly posts in-depth articles and columns on the environment, energy and sustainability. Of course, batteries are big part of that discussion, and I took the opportunity to provide some thoughts on the prospects of batteries looking forward. Check it out!
Analyzing life cycles of everyday products
Hello! My name is Andrea Howard and I am currently in my first rotation of the Edison Engineering Development Program (EEDP) in the GE Global Research Material Systems Technology’s Product Realization Lab. I have been with GE Global Research since August 2008, when I began Advanced Courses in Engineering, a GE developed program for Edison Engineers that begins with A-course. A-course includes modules of ~6 classes each that focus on different GE businesses including Aviation, Energy, Healthcare, Consumer and Industrial, and Enterprise Solutions. Each class gives an overview of a specific field within each business and develops a very diverse engineering knowledge base for its participants. This year is the first year that EEDP has exclusively recruited Masters level students into the program and I am proud to be one of three members of this current class and the program already has two more Edison’s for next year’s class!
Plasma assisted combustion for more eco-friendly fuels
A promising technology in development at GE Global Research is the application of plasma-enhanced flame stabilization for gas turbine combustors. It has been known for several decades that combustion performance, specifically flame stabilization, can be enhanced through the application of electric discharges in the flame or near the base of the flame. Plasma discharges can enhance combustion in a couple of ways. Thermal or “hot” plasmas such as a spark or arc are commonly used for ignition in many engine applications. The primary benefit of these plasmas is localized deposition of heat, and the very high gas temperatures and radicals generated initiate the ignition process, causing a flame front to propagate into the fuel-air mixture.On the other hand, non-equilibrium or “cold” plasmas such as glow and dielectric-barrier discharges are more commonly used for chemical excitation and transformation. The primary benefit of these plasmas is volumetric generation of energetically excited species, species fragments, reactive radicals, and ions. If the conditions are appropriate, these reactive species can initiate chain reactions and give the combustion reactions an effective “head-start” at the base of the flame – helping to stabilize the flame.
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