International Gas Turbine Congress 2019 Tokyo Flash Report
IGTC2019 Executive Committee
Chairman Toshio Nishizawa
1. Introduction
The International Gas Turbine Congress 2019 Tokyo (IGTC2019 Tokyo) was held at the Toranomon
Hills Forum from November 17th (Sunday) to 22nd (Friday) 2019. Thanks to the diligent efforts andcooperation from the parties concerned, the Congress concluded successfully. The results were highly
satisfactory, a case in point being the number of papers submitted from overseas exceeding the number
from Japan for the first time in IGTC history. The Executive Committee is still putting together thefinal report, but in this flash report we want to provide a summary of the event. The details of theCongress shall be reported again in publications such as the Society newsletter after the Executive
Committee have completed their activities.
2. Participants
The total number of pre-registered and on-site registration participants was 493 people. There were
155 people from 20 foreign countries and 338 Japanese people in attendance. The number of foreign
participants reached a record high, more than the attendees at IGTC2015 Tokyo. The number ofparticipants from China stood out with 48 people, other countries with strong attendance wereGermany with 37 people, South Korea with 18 people, the UK with 16 people, and the United Stateswith 10 people. There were also participants from Asia and the Middle East: 3 from Indonesia, 3 fromMalaysia, 2 from Iran, and 1 from Kuwait. The number of accompanying persons was 11.
3. Presentations(1) Paper presentations
There were 226 abstracts submitted and 179 papers were adopted. There was 1 paper withdrawn, so
the number of paper presentations was 178. There were 96 papers from overseas and 82 were fromJapan. That was the first time IGTC presentations by participants from overseas surpassed the numberof presentations by Japanese. The time schedule of technical sessions was slightly changed, but there
were no no-shows.
(2) Invited presentations
Seven speakers were invited from foreign countries, and one from Japan. The plenary lectures were
held by the following four speakers : Dr. James D. Heidmann of the NASA Glenn Research Center
presented on the theme of the history and future of aviation technology at NASA, Professor Timothy
C. Lieuwen of Georgia Institute of Technology presented the key combustion challenges for future gas
turbine, Professor Joerg R. Seume of Leibniz University Hannover presented on the improvement ofaerothermal and aeromechanical turbomachinery design by combining high-fidelity methods withmulti-stage approaches, and Dr. Thomas H. Pang of GE Additive presented on the future of additive
manufacturing.
In addition, the presentations of the following four speakers were held as part of the technicalsessions : Dr. Frank Haselbach of the Rolls-Royce presented on the key technologies for future aircraft
engines, Professor Mehdi Vahdati presented on computational aeroelasticity of civil fan blades, Dr.
Francesco Montomoli presented on the machine learning for turbomachinery, and Dr. Toshio
Nishizawa presented advanced fan jet research (aFJR). All of the presentations had many attendees,and lively Q&A sessions were held as well.
(3) Panel Discussions
A panel discussion was held on two of the themes in the plenary session. In the Future of Aircraft
Propulsion Technology: a Manufactures’ Perspective session, panelists from jet engine-related
research institutes and manufacturers took the stage, and a discussion of next generation aeropropulsion was carried out in a widely perspective manner. In the Turbine Technology Developmentin a Low Carbon Society and a Hydrogen Society session, there was lively debate among the panelists
in realizing a low carbon society, and many participants commented that they found the sessions useful.
4. Exhibition
28 companies and institutions set up a total of 62 booths in the exhibition halls on the 4th and 5th
floors of Toranomon Hills Forum from November 18th (Tuesday) to November 21st (Thursday). In
addition to displays of hardware, such as gas turbines, jet engines, models and parts, many people
also gathered at the software exhibition booths. ASME/IGTI had a booth to introduce activities andpublications. GTSJ has been exhibiting at the ASME Turbo Expo since 2014, and this exhibition
displays the feelings of mutual cooperation. There was a total of 1000 visitors. Additionally, a survey
was conducted at the venue. The results will be summarized into a document to allow the opinions
to be reflected in the future. The laboratories of eleven universities displayed A0 size posters on the5th floor. During breaks, students of the laboratories explained their research projects or results ofthem to the participants of the Congress.
5. Events
Registration began on the evening of the first day, and a welcome reception was held in the evening.
About 120 attended, and the event was crowded with people catching up with old friends and meetingothers for the first time.
A banquet was held on November 20th (Wednesday) after the sessions ended, and a large numberof participants attended. The banquet was a great success with at least 200 people there. The nigiri
sushi and sake tasting corners were very popular, and the performance of Daikagura by Mr. Sennari
Kagami really brought the event to life. Several foreign participants also participated in theperformance.
On November 22nd (Friday), two plant tours (National Institute of Materials Science and Kawasaki
Thermal Power Station of JERA) were conducted. In addition, tours to see the Toranomon Hills Tower
generation system were conducted during the Congress lunch breaks and about 70 people participatedin them.
6. Related Events(1) Public Lecture on Jet Engine and Gas Turbine
A Public Lecture on Jet Engine and Gas Turbine was held at Toranomon Hills Forum on November
17th (Sunday) from 13:00 to 14:30. Professor Takehiro Himeno of the University of Tokyo gave alecture with the aim of deepening understanding about jet engines, gas turbines and energy technology
among the general public, including high school students and junior high school students. Thirty-sevenpeople attended, including elementary school students, and there was a positive reaction to it withcomments like the lecture was easy to understand. The Technology Adoption Committee wasresponsible for the planning and operation.
(2) Women’s Meeting
As we had at IGTC2015, a women’s meeting was held. Seventeen ladies participated in it on
November 21st (Thursday) during their lunch break. The meeting greatly facilitated communication
between female engineers. After IGTC2015, the Gas Turbine Society of Japan established aCommittee for the Promotion of Participation by Women in order to encourage activities to promotewomen’s participation in Society.
7. Final Words
The fact that IGTC2019 was such a great success is thanks to the support of various organizations,the efforts of those concerned, and the grants and sponsorships received. We would like to express ourdeep gratitude to the Executive Committee members for sparing the time from their busy schedules todevotedly work so hard for the event. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the Societyadministrative office, President Toshinori Watanabe, and Vice President Tomoharu Shikina for theirgreat cooperation. We would also like to say thank you to the event office e-side inc., who provided
strong support, and the Toranomon Hills Forum staff. We are also very much indebted to theInternational Advisory Committee for encouraging participation from overseas. And finally we would
like to conclude this flash report by expressing our most sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed
to the peer reviews and those who attended the Congress.