Dossier No. 02

Developing a micro gas turbine

A micro gas turbine developed from first principles, combining systems engineering, simulation, design iteration and testing.

Role: Programme lead and combustion-chamber technical lead, within an R&D team
Setting: Datis Co., Iran
Period: 2018–2022 programme · ≈24-month core delivery
Fields: Thermal engineering · fluid dynamics · turbomachinery · systems development

Problem

The brief was a complete micro gas turbine, designed from first principles. Thermal testing revealed a persistent durability issue within the combustion system.

The micro gas turbine during assembly: machined casings, rotor and fastener rings laid out on a workshop bench. — Fig. 1 — The turbine during assembly.

Journey

The conventional fixes didn't hold, so I took a different approach to managing the heat and proved it out through repeated rounds of simulation and testing. The chamber went through several design generations across the programme, each tested against the physics before it was committed to metal.

Machined components of the micro gas turbine laid out on the workshop bench: casings, discs and fastener rings before assembly. — Fig. 2 — The component set, laid out before assembly.

Close view of turbomachinery internals: shaft, discs and blading. — Fig. 3 — Rotating internals, up close.

Outcome

The durability issue was resolved by redesign rather than by added complexity. The team delivered the turbine in roughly twenty-four months, with full technical documentation behind it. This was a team achievement — engineers, technicians and a cohort of university students we coached inside the R&D group.

Reflection

The fix cost nothing but understanding. That is what simulation is for: not pictures, but the confidence to change a design where the physics says to change it.