Industrial Turbine Fans

The Westinghouse engineer at left is examining theblades of an advanced, controllable-pitch axial fanused in electric power generation, first of its typedesigned in the United States. Now operating as partof Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company's generatingsystem, the fan is the product of a five-year develop-ment program conducted by Westinghouse ElectricCorporation's Research and Development Center,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Development of this andsimilar fans was aided by four computer programssupplied to the Center by NASA's Computer SoftwareManagement and Information Center (COSMIC) ®.

The COSMIC programs were used to determine thesensitivity of large industrial turbines and fans toparticulate matter--such as ash and dust--which cancause turbine damage by erosion. Use of the programscontributed to improved product reliability by helpingthe Research and Development Center design fans

less prone to erosion. The programs alsoenabledthe Center to realize substantial savings

in development costs.

®COSMIC is a registered trademark of the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration.

Solar Collectors

In this photo, the panels at left are collectors for a

solar ene_'gy system which provides heating for adrive-in bank in Akron, Ohio. The collectors were

designed and manufactured by Solar Energy ProductsCompany, Avon Lake, Ohio, a firm established bythree former NASA employees. Company presidentFrank Rom, an example of a personnel-typetechnology transfer, was a research director at LewisResearch Center, which conducts extensive solarheating and cooling research, including developmentand testing of high-efficiency fiat-plate collectors.In the course of his service at Lewis, Rom acquiredsolar energy expertise which helped the companydevelop two types of collectors, one for use indomestic/commercial heating systems and the otherfor drying grain. Solar Energy Products Companylicensed production rights for the grain dryer butcontinues to produce installations for homes andcommercial buildings.

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