美国Concepts NREC公司简介
2016-04-12 09:36阅读:
http://www.conceptsnrec.com/Corporate/Milestones.aspx
1978年,NREC成为Ingersoll-Rand的全资子公司。1970年代,NREC用自有资金设计完成了世界上第一台Microturbine,但由于石油危机,未能进行商业化。2000年,
Concepts
ETI从Ingersoll-Rand获得NREC的部分股权,新的组织被命名为Concepts
NREC (CN)。
Milestones
A track record of breakthrough innovations
For over fifty years,
Concepts NREC has
consistently provided customers worldwide with engineering
innovations that have resulted in performance breakthroughs,
manufacturing efficiencies, and other competitive advantages.
1956 (August 28)
Northern Research and Engineering Corporation (NREC) was formally
incorporated in the shadow of MIT (Cambridge, MA) with a charter
“to engage in the business of scientific research and engineering
in all fields of endeavor...”
1950s
- Initial projects involved designing and building a
miniature
high-speed pump
for the Instrumentation
Lab at MIT to be used on guidance systems for missiles and
spacecraft.
- Later in the decade, projects followed for United Technologies
to help developenvironmental cooling and heating control
systems for the F-108 fighter and the B-70 bomber.
- The study of vapor-cycle refrigeration units for aircraft
cooling systems led to NREC’s first digital computer
programs for the optimization of compressor,
evaporator, and condenser performance. This culminated in a major
study for the U.S. Navy to compare air-cycle, vapor-cycle, and
absorption cooling systems for Polaris-class submarines.
1960s 
At the turn of the decade,
NREC opened a
London office whose work centered on combustion and, most
importantly, gas-turbine combustion. Meanwhile, at its main
facility, NREC continued to contribute to a wide range of
applications and developed a significant record of innovation in
the advancement of turbomachinery.
- Of great importance for the future, NREC began conducting a
series of jointly sponsored programs whose output included the
forerunners of licensed software for all component
design in gas-turbine engines, including
compressors, turbines, and pumps, both radial and axial. NREC’s
support of CFD research helped pave the way for later
successes.
- NREC conducted a systematic experimental program to measure the
effects of various parameters on the performance of
centrifugal stages.
- Near the end of the decade, NREC rerated a
booster compressor for a nitrogen plant and
delivered the largest cast impeller up to that point in time (with
one of the original applications of 17-4 PH stainless steel as
well). Twenty years later, the machine was still operating
flawlessly.
- With NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, NREC developed
compact heat-exchanger software for
the Apollo space program and, subsequently, for the space
shuttle.
- NREC also helped the Air Force solve combustion
instability problemsassociated with aircraft engines.
1970s 
The decade saw NREC continue to narrow its focus to turbomachinery
and gas-turbine engines, resulting in several experimental programs
to improve impeller efficiency, surge margin, and diffuser
performance. In turn, this led to a string of successes with NREC
demonstrating record efficiencies in a wide range of equipment from
Brayton Cycle turbines to industrial compressors to radial-inflow
steam turbines. Subsequently, to assure a continued availability as
a resource to the turbomachinery industry, Ingersoll-Rand (I-R)
acquired an ownership interest in NREC and, in 1978, it becomes a
wholly-owned subsidiary. NREC was allowed to continue providing
advanced technology, engineering, and product development to the
entire worldwide turbomachinery community.
- NREC continued its industry-leading work in
reducing aircraft engine emissionsas
supervision passed from HEW to the fledgling EPA. NREC also helped
the FAA monitor the emissions of installed engines in the nation’s
airline fleets.
- With Coast Guard funding, NREC developed a
portable high-lift pump system to
fight fires in deep-water harbors and at sea.
- Under U.S. Navy funding, NREC designed
the first air
dynamometer capable of testing the power output of
a wide spectrum of turboshaft engines.
- With its own funding, NREC developed one of the
world’s first microturbines,but rapidly rising oil prices
prevented its commercial success.
1980 (December)
Concepts
ETI (CETI) was founded by Dr. David
Japikse with specialization in
Education and
Technology for
Industry. Among
CETI’s valuable early contributions was a publication that
identified and summarized important technical articles for the
turbomachinery community. In addition, CETI began an annual series
of seminars/lectures with respected speakers on important
turbomachinery topics.
1980s
- Based upon the mutual respect of their complementary
capabilities, CETI and NREC combined efforts and expertise in 1982
to present a week long seminar on design advances in
turbomachinery held at a Digital Equipment facility
in the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany.
- CETI won its first Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
grant to develop compact aeroengine
diffusers, a technology now in use by a variety of small
gas-turbine designs.
- CETI acquired the second Polytec L2 F laser system in the USA
and established an industrial consortium to
determine detailed flow field
characteristics in radial and axial compressors and
radial turbines.
- Later, CETI conducted a five-part consortium series on
Compressor Diffuser Design and
Performance, resulting in
patented technology that has been widely dispersed throughout the
compressor design world.

- In addition, CETI introduced a number of major innovations to
design software, including the first blade design system based
solely on Bezier polynomials, the first
turbomachinery design system based fully on real
fluid properties, and the TEIS
(Two-Elements-In-Series) model for
performance of compressors and pumps. These innovations have now
been in use for more than twenty years.
- In an effort to gain greater fidelity to the design intent of
ruled-surface impellers and to lower prototype costs, NREC
developed MAX-5™, the first specialized turbomachinery CAM software
to flank mill ruled-surface blading.

- Later in the decade, NREC extended their specialized CAM
approach to point milling impellers and
blisks with arbitrary blading – MAX-AB™.
Subsequently, MAX-AB received “best-in-class” recognition from
General Electric.
- McDonnell Douglas (MD) asked NREC to develop a
ducted fan that must operate at high efficiency
over a wide operating range for a new concept helicopter that
operated with NO TAil Rotor (NOTAR). Eventually all MD
commercial helicopters adopted the NOTAR approach.
1990s
- NREC received significant production contracts
for its VAROC® Air Dynamometers from both the U.S.
Navy and the U.S. Army.

- CETI combined its individual turbomachinery codes into the
first release of the Agile Engineering
Design System®.
- CETI undertook an important two-part stability study that
focused on vaneless-diffuser pinch, as well as a consortium on
return channel systems for pumps and
compressors.
- CETI established a magnetic bearing test
cell, leading to breakthroughs in seal development
and other areas of rotating systems.
- In support of the ongoing effort at NASA Marshall Space
Flight Center and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, as well
as with funding from the National Science Foundation, CETI won the
first of a series of both Phase I and Phase II SBIRs on
rocket turbopump inducers, and
eventually achieved
extremely high suction specific speed.
- Similar funding was won for a high-head hydrogen
turbopump to further advance the Agile
Engineering Design System and to develop brush seals.
- CETI developed the first version of the Agile suite of
codes for application to axial
turbomachinery.
- The Joint Army, Navy, NASA, Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency
Propulsion
Committee recognized the
excellence of a CETI technical article as their
“Best Paper.”
- CETI conducted an advanced technology development project for a
major commercial pump company that showed the path
to 90% efficiency.
- The ASME recognized CETI with the 1992 Potter Gold
Medal for eminentachievement in the science of
thermodynamics.
- NREC efforts focused on meeting the conflicting requirements of
commerce and government to both increase power
generation and reduce environmental impact (not
surprisingly, those twin issues remain for the foreseeable
future).
- For the conversion of a commuter aircraft to submarine
reconnaissance
service for the Japan
Defense Agency, NREC developed an
aircraft-engine-driven centrifugal
compressor (EDC) to provide cooling for the
abundant on-board electronics. The EDC performed well, and NREC
manufactured a significant number of production units over more
than a decade’s span before assigning future rights to the
technology.
- NREC also developed an advanced torpedo ejection
pump for the Seawolf submarine program, as well as
newer submarines.
- NREC was contracted by the Naval Surface Warfare Center to
convert shipboard chillers from
ozone-depleting CFCs to a safer R-124 refrigerant.
- NREC designed a unique fish-friendly
hydroelectric turbine that allowed the U.S.
Department of the Interior to meet both ecological and hydropower
demands.
- NREC teamed with commercial organizations to develop a
turbo-alternator
for the Chrysler Patriot hybrid
gas-turbine race car.
- NREC began to apply its Turbogen
small gas-turbine engines for use in
industrial and commercial cogeneration systems.
- Sandia National Labs funded two 30KW Turbogen engines as part
of a hybrid solar-dish
Brayton-engine electric power system.
- As part of an advanced Turbogen engine, NREC developed an
advanced high-temperature recuperator.
- Quiet fans, artificial heart pumps,
and high-efficiency rerated compressors are among the other
projects under taken by NREC and CETI during this decade.
2000 (June 1)
Concepts ETI acquired certain NREC assets from Ingersoll Rand.
Significant effort was invested over the remainder of 2000 to
integrate the activities and staffs of the two facilities (despite
120 miles of physical separation), as well as keep faith with
clients of both organizations. The Woburn, MA, facility of the
former NREC was named the Product Center in recognition of its
production contracts and staff capabilities. The Wilder, VT,
facility was recognized as headquarters for the combined
organization as well as the Engineering and Software Development
activities. In recognition of a common expertise, combined assets,
and history, the new organization announced that it would do
business as
Concepts NREC
(
CN).
2000s
With increased resources,
CN continued into
the first decade of the 21st century as a leader in the development
and application of technology for turbomachinery.
- Culminating an effort that began in the previous decade,
CN released the first commercial
software to model cooled turbine blading,
Cooled Turbine Airfoil Agile Design System
(CTAADS™).
- In further advancements of Agile software, CN
developed more accurate methodologies for steam-turbine as
well as aeroengine applications. CN software
engineers also developed various knowledge-based
design systems, including a system exclusively for rocket
turbopumps.
In recognition of the
growing need to improve fuel efficiencies of internal-combustion
engines, CN focused a decade long activity
on turbocharger development,
including a two-spool system and various advanced
components.
- CN was awarded several patents on
compressor and pump bleed and
stability.
- Continuing to utilize the magnetic bearing test facility,
CN engineers successfully
measured the dynamic transfer function
of various cavitating turbopumps.
- As part of the long-standing effort to utilize air dynamometers
and lessen demand on water resources, CN
engineers pioneered and developed an advanced
air dynamometer with a supersonic vaneless
diffuser, patented impeller, and a variable geometry inlet duct. In
addition, CN developed a new torque
measuring system for the air dynamometers.
- As a contribution to the search for alternative energy sources,
CN designed the first robust
hydrokinetic turbine.

- CN engineers developed an advanced-generation
air-cycle refrigeration system.
- Among the highest honors accorded to engineers and in
recognition of CN’s achievements, Dr. David Japikse
received the 2008 SAE Cliff Garrett Turbomachinery
and Applications Engineering Award and was
recognized as “a distinguished authority in the engineering of
turbomachinery for on-highway, off-highway, aircraft, and
spacecraft uses.”
- CN accomplishments were recognized at the 2009
ASME IGTI Meeting with the “Best Technical
Paper” award.