Date of Award

3-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Brian T. Bohan, PhD

Abstract

The primary goal of this study was to develop a low-cost, timely, scalable manufacturing method that produced a ceramic turbine that can be tested as a drop-in replacement on a JetCat P400 small scale gas turbine engine. This research compared two processes for manufacturing a ceramic turbine utilizing a pour casting method and 3D printing using stereolithography ceramic manufacturing (SLCM). The pour casting method used Silicon Nitride to create a cast turbine using a sacrificial 3D printed mold. The SLCM method evaluated producing an alumina turbine using an ADMATEC Admaflex 300 SLCM printer to directly print a ceramic turbine. This study covers the finite element analysis of multiple designs and detailed overview of the varying manufacturing processes as well as lessons learned. It also covers how the turbines would be tested and incorporated into JetCat P400.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENY-MS-22-M-304

DTIC Accession Number

AD1175624

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