Fabrication and testing of micromachined silicon carbide and nickel fuel atomizers for gas turbine engines

Author

Rajan, N. ; Mehregany, M. ; Zorman, Christian A. ; Stefanescu, S. ; Kicher, T.P.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH, USA

Volume

8

Issue

3

fYear

1999

fDate

9/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

251

Lastpage

257

Abstract

Bulk micromachining of high-temperature materials is an enabling technology for the application of MEMS devices in high-temperature environments. This paper presents a novel molding method for fabricating silicon carbide (SiC) fuel atomizers for gas turbine engines. The devices are compared to similar nickel (Ni) atomizers fabricated using the LIGA process. Performance and erosion tests demonstrate that both types of atomizers are able to perform well at pressures in excess of 2500 kPa, with the SiC devices exhibiting a higher erosion resistance. The results demonstrate a significant improvement over similar silicon (Si) devices, which are limited in operation to pressures below 1400 kPa and are comparatively not resistant to erosive wear

Keywords

LIGA; fuel; gas turbines; micromachining; moulding; nickel; silicon compounds; sprays; wear resistance; 2500 kPa; LIGA process; MEMS device; Ni; SiC; bulk micromachining; erosive wear resistance; fabrication; fuel atomizer; gas turbine engine; high temperature material; micromolding; testing; Engines; Fabrication; Fuels; Microelectromechanical devices; Micromachining; Nickel; Performance evaluation; Silicon carbide; Testing; Turbines;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/84.788628

Filename

788628