The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance and Investment advanced a proposal today (Sept. 5) to complete a 13,000-square-foot addition and renovation at the Lidia Manson Building at CATO Park to expand the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab. The new facility will be named START+, as an indicator of the expanded capabilities for the lab.
The START Lab was founded at Penn State in 2012 through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy-National Energy Technology Lab and Pratt & Whitney. The turbine research facility was designed to perform turbine aerodynamic and heat transfer studies, along with instrumentation development and integration of additive manufacturing to increase research agility while advancing turbine technologies.
"The START Lab has been a national leader in turbine testing for more than a decade, and these additions and renovations will provide the lab with the facilities it needs to continue leading the nation in critical research toward the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from aviation," said Tonya L. Peeples, Harold and Inge Marcus Dean of the College of Engineering.
The proposed new START+ research turbine will include two stages and will operate independently from the existing START turbine rig. The increased capability for START+ will enable research in the areas of new turbine cycles and of turbine size effects on turbine efficiency. These areas of interest are increasingly important as the turbine core at the heart of the engine continues to become progressively smaller with new design generations, according to Reid A. Berdanier, director of the START Lab. Additional work under the combined expansion project will evaluate the influence that alternative fuels have on combustor-turbine interactions to target improved fuel efficiency and hardware durability.
Throughout the planning process, the University has focused on managing potential noise resulting from the lab's expansion and update. Over the past decade, Penn State has taken proactive steps to abate noise at the START Lab, including investing in numerous measures to block and dampen sound levels.
The $23.6 million project is to be jointly funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, Pratt & Whitney, the Department of Energy-National Energy Technology Lab, the Penn State College of Engineering, the Penn State Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and the START Lab.
"The research team in the START Lab has established a history of collaborations with government and industry sponsors addressing the future of sustainable power and propulsion research through gas turbines," Berdanier said. "The new lab facilities and the introduction of START+ will allow us to make even greater research impacts while still ensuring students are central to the mission of our work."
The addition of the new research turbine and associated compressors requires the expansion of the power supply to the building, including a new substation on the site. The project scope includes a complex building addition, prioritizing noise and thermal management, comprising electrical and compressor rooms, research space, a control room and other support spaces. Minor renovations to the existing building for security will also be included in the project.
Building construction is scheduled to commence in November.
