Power MEMS and microengines

Author

Epstein, A.H. ; Senturia, S.D. ; Ayon, A. ; Breuer, K. ; Chen, Kuo-Shen ; Ghodssi, Reza ; Jacobson, S. ; Lang, Jiandong ; Nagle, S. ; Orr, D. ; Schmidt, Martin ; Shirley, G. ; Tan, Chuan Seng ; Tzeng, Ying-Shuen

Author_Institution

MIT, Cambridge, MA

Volume

2

fYear

1997

fDate

16-19 Jun 1997

Firstpage

753

Abstract

MIT is developing a MEMS-based gas turbine generator. Based on high speed rotating machinery, this 1 cm diameter by 3 mm thick SiC heat engine is designed to produce 10-20 W of electric power while consuming 10 grams/hr of H₂. Later versions may produce up to 100 W using hydrocarbon fuels. The combustor is now operating and an 80 W micro-turbine has been fabricated and is being tested. This engine can be considered the first of a new class of MEMS device, power MEMS, which are heat engines operating at power densities similar to those of the best large scale devices made today

Keywords

gas turbines; heat engines; machine testing; micromechanical devices; power semiconductor devices; semiconductor device testing; semiconductor materials; silicon compounds; turbogenerators; 1 cm; 10 to 20 W; 3 mm; 80 W; H₂ consumption; MEMS-based gas turbine generator; SiC; SiC heat engine; combustor; electric power production; high speed rotating machinery; micro-turbine; microengines; power MEMS; power densities; testing; Fuels; Heat engines; Hydrocarbons; Large-scale systems; Machinery; Microelectromechanical devices; Micromechanical devices; Silicon carbide; Testing; Turbines;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Solid State Sensors and Actuators, 1997. TRANSDUCERS '97 Chicago., 1997 International Conference on

Conference_Location

Chicago, IL

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3829-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SENSOR.1997.635209

Filename

635209