And it could be momentous. Already, Plybon has seen significant improvement in the stage, a combination of rotating and stationary blade rows. We used GE's 3-D aero code to design the stage, the upstream nozzle and the rotor. Tall, poised, and enthusiastic, Turner urges designers and other engineers toward a vision of new engine design. His eye is fixed on working with these numerical simulations while incorporating the valuable test results that he gets from David Wisler, manager of GE's Aerodynamic Research Laboratory.
Testing provides important insight into how to model real physical phenomena.
The reason why it has taken so long to reduce testing with computation is you have to be very confident in the results. Sagendorph is instinctively pushing new design models forward without relying on the status quo. In an ordinary test facility, you may only have one shot at the air flow you're trying to design. If that doesn't work, the cost is usually prohibitive to reblade the compressor. But look at the limit.