Project Details

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Blower Impeller Cast to Composite

Company: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (aka Wabtec)

Major(s):
Primary: ME
Secondary: MATSE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: NO

Overview: - The Propulsion engineering team has a field proven axial impeller design w/ 15+ year application success. However, we would like to evaluate non-metal options to reduce with weight and cost. - This blower is used in locomotive and off highway vehicles applications. - Impeller is ~2’ in diameter and operates at speeds up to 4000 RPM - Target application life is 20+ years. - Airflow, noise and reliability are critical to impeller success. Problem Statement: - Analyze and provide alternative material proposals that achieve performance and cost targets. - Project should include FEA & CFD including stress, deformation to confirm proper airflow delivery/structural acceptance. - Recommend validation activities for design demonstration - Analysis must consider all application needs – duty cycle, speed, shock, thermal, UV, wash, etc. - Solution must be retrofittable and operate successfully on existing blower assemblies (shaft/contravene). - Design should consider balancing techniques - Stretch Goal - identification of manufactures with experience in similar products that can quote impeller development. Financial targets not to be shared with potential vendors. - Stretch Goal – review rupture containment strategy to reduce contravene ring thickness.