Contributor: Turbomachinery Laboratory

Since 1981, the Turbomachinery Research Consortium at Texas A&M University has solved problems for major industry leaders through student-led research.

The Turbomachinery Research Consortium is a group of 33 companies that contribute annual fees of $25,000 to fund projects that are investigated by 15 to 20 Texas A&M graduate students and faculty in the Turbomachinery Laboratory. Each year, the Turbo Lab, a center of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), hosts a meeting for the TRC representatives where faculty members and students present the results of the past year’s projects in addition to new or follow-on research proposals. Thirty-two reports and proposals were presented this year during the meeting held May 14- 16 in College Station. The goal of the research projects is to find answers to questions relating to performance and reliability of turbomachinery—rotating equipment that extracts or adds energy to fluids.

TRC representatives provided feedback on the projects and will select which proposals receive funding.  TRC member companies get access to all TRC research dating back to its foundation in 1981, a suite of platinum software, and highly qualified students for hire.

Jacek M. Jarosz, Global Rotating Equipment Leader at Flint Hills Resources Co., represented his company during the meeting. Jarosz said TRC gives him the opportunity to talk to professors and graduate students about real-time problem solving.

“TRC brings a lot of value to our company and it is great to have partnerships such as this one,” he said. “Some of the research papers and proposals for new research we’ve seen this year are very practical for topics that we work on a daily basis.”

TRC representatives will review the proposal materials through June, with awards for the next cycle announced in July. Work on selected projects will begin in September.

For more details on TRC, including past projects and membership information, visit turbolab.tamu.edu/trc.