Contract 5 PMI / 2008, MODERNIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOGISTICS BASE FOR A GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX
acronym: EXTURBO

The project goal is to update COMOTI Romanian Research and Development Institute for Gas-Turbines experimentation facilities for industrial and aviation gas turbine engines.
Main activities within the project consisted in:

1. GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX design, that integrates:

- a metallic construction cell reused by relocation for turbojet engines testing;
- a new cell, concrete steel construction, for turboshaft testing (up to 5000 kW);
- a new cell for micro gas turbine engines, incorporated in the turboshaft test cell building;
- joint command room for all three cells;
- workshop for gas turbine engines pre-testing;

1. all authorizations procurement and commencing construction works;
2. acquisition of high technical and scientific level experimentation and research-development equipment from prestigious European companies within aviation and industrial gas turbines experimentation field as facility for the GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX.

Fig. 1 Overview on the gas turbine engines test bench facilities of future GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX

Following-up on these contacts and also on the conducted studies that reveal current stage in experimental research field, it has been decided that the expansion and rehabilitation of current test bench facilities must lead to a solid experimentation-research-development infrastructure, capable to ensure safe testing conditions for aviation and industrial gas turbine engines on a long period of time. Thus, the specifications from the GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX project that includes rehabilitation and expansion of current test bench facilities, have established the construction of a new concrete steel experimentation cell and also a command center and a workshop from masonry structure. This design comes to support the demands of the European partners from research programmes financed by the European Union, in which COMOTI was co-opted for creating modern experimentation facilities for research and development of gas turbine engines up to 5000 kW.

Fig 2. The beginning of construction works

Fig. 3 Work evolution on GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX

In order to equip the GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX, the following public acquisitions were conducted in 2011:

• “Hydraulic dynamometer for turbines and gas turbine engines testing”, contract no. 1422 from 17.08.2011, for the acquisition of a special hydraulic brake destined for turbines and gas turbine engines (up to 5000 kW) research; the equipment were delivered, Figure 5, by the supplier, owned by COMOTI; 90% of the contract value has been payed, followed by commissioning, testing and warranty awarding;

Fig. 4 Hydraulic dynamometer

• “Central control unit for gas turbine engines”, contract 1475 from 08.12.2011, for the acquisition of a command and control system for gas turbine engines test bench facilities; “Kick Off Meeting” took place at the supplier’s headquarters in accordance with the quality system agreed and also a short demonstration of the equipment software was accomplished, as well as a first “technical audit” at COMOTI headquarters; the equipment will be installed in the command and control room featured within the GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX; a technical audit was conducted by the supplier in order to establish final details and also the first equipment delivery was achieved (Figura 5); a work visit was performed at the supplier’s headquarters in order to evaluate contract completion stage and for training (Figure 6) on equipment already available (Figure 7); the second delivery is next, installation within the GAS TURBINE EXPERIMENTATION COMPLEX, commissioning and training at COMOTI headquarters.

Fig. 5 Equipment form first delivery stored at COMOTI headquarters

Fig. 6 Images during training at supplier’s headquarters and example of diploma

Fig. 7 Equipment from the second delivery already available at supplier’s headquarters