Edited by Mark van Roode, Mattison K. Ferber and DavidW. Richerson

This book summarizes the background and current status of thedevelopment of gas turbine engines and ancillary equipment usingceramic hot section components. Specifically, the book focuses onthe evolution of component and engine designs, and thedemonstration of design concepts through rig and engine testing ofthe ceramic gas turbine programs in the United States, Japan,Western Europe, and the countries of the former Soviet Union(primarily Russia).

The 33 chapters cover ceramic gas turbine design in small gasturbines for automotive and cogeneration applications, midsizeindustrial and larger utility gas turbines, and aircraft andaeroderivative applications. Almost all of the book chapters havebeen prepared by technical personnel who are intimately involved inthe development and demonstration of the ceramic gas turbinedesigns at their companies. The book will be of interest toengineering and management personnel at turbomachinery equipmentmanufacturers, development and fabrication personnel at suppliersof ceramic materials and components, researchers in government andprivate laboratories, teaching staff and students at technicalcolleges and universities, and personnel involved in planning andmonitoring technology development programs.

The theme emphasized throughout the book are the "lessons learned"from almost 40 years of ceramic gas turbine design and testexperience. Learning directly from the experience of theresearchers that took the ceramic gas turbine through the concept,preliminary, and detail design phases, while following theiterative design-test process cycles, is a unique way of becomingquickly familiar with the design challenges and solutions for usingceramics in gas turbine equipment. The book also amply demonstratesthe hurdles that had to be overcome to generate functional anddurable component design, as well as challenges that remain for thefull-scale commercialization of the ceramic gas turbine.