The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is engaged in a $42 million joint venture with Rolls-Royce Canada Limited and Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) to advance research on internal icing in gas turbine engines.
The Global Aerospace
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is engaged in a $42 million joint venture with Rolls-Royce Canada Limited and Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) to advance research on internal icing in gas turbine engines.
The Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research (GLACIER) facility is a specialized? 9-metre-diameter wind tunnel that sprays super-cooled water mist into the world’s smallest and largest aircraft turbines. Located in Thompson, Manitoba, the facility recreates operating conditions that can cause unusual internal icing, allowing engineers and researchers to monitor them. The facility is now fully operational, and operating near capacity, according to officials.
NRC has generated data for icing certification specifications for nearly 5 decades at its existing gas turbine lab in Ottawa. This lab can test smaller engines found on light corporate jets. In contrast, GLACIER’s test bed can handle engines five or six times more powerful – capable of generating up to 150,000 pounds of thrust.