Tianhou Wang tw463@cam.ac.uk
China
PhD in Engineering, Christ's College
PhD thesis: Rapid technology development for high-speed compressors and fans
In this project, in collaboration with Rolls-Royce, I designed and delivered a first-of-a-kind transonic compressor rapid aerodynamic testing platform, cutting the cost and time to perform the testing by more than 90% compared to existing industrial standards, which has been demonstrated by a formal time trial using a blind test case. Leveraging precision 5-axis CNC manufacturing and advanced instrumentation & control capabilities, I successfully adopted a reduced-scale turbine-driven testing platform architecture which has historically been deemed unfeasible for compressor testing. This means the overall power consumption of my testing platform is less than the power required by the test compressor, an efficiency exceeding 100%. I have already used this new testing capability to research the aerodynamic performance of compressors damaged in service, which aims to improve the modelling and increase the average engine on-wing time. This new capability is being adopted by at least three more research programmes.