TOTeM 34 – Gas Turbine Research: Fuels, Combustion, Heat Transfer and Emissions – was a joint venture between the IFRF and the Cardiff School of Engineering, Gas Turbine Research Centre and was designed to cover both power generation and other static applications as well as motive power.

Held at Cardiff University and the Gas Turbine Research Centre at Port Talbot respectively on 20th and 21st October 2010, the event attracted 65 participants from industrial companies, research institutes, universities and Governmental organisations in   11 Countries – actually 20 countries based on the participants’ countries of origin, ranging from the USA and Mexico in the West to Japan in the East; Russia, Finland and Sweden in the North and to Australia in the South; thus a truly global event.

The first day sessions were opened by John Harries, the Chief Scientific Officer for Wales.  A preliminary vision of the future, prepared in cooperation with Leo Tognotti, IFRF Director, was presented by IFRF Superintendent of Research Neil Fricker, shown in action in the photo below.

A technical introduction giving a broad overview of power generation requirements was presented by Allen Jones, TOTeM34 co-chair and Managing Director E.on Engineering UK/Germany followed by a detailed Keynote Presentation by his colleague and co-chair Cath Goy.

This was followed by seven lectures on a range of sub-topics presented by international experts in the following fields:

• Hydrogen Combustion in Gas Turbines
• GT Combustion – Instabilities and Operational Issues
• Technology to Reduce Gas Turbine Emissions and Environmental Impact
• GT Lean Premixed Combustion, Principles of Modelling
• Combustion Chemistry under Elevated Temperature and Pressure
• Infrastructures for Gas Turbine Combustion Reasearch and Testing
• Gas Turbine Heat Transfer and Cooling

All of these presentations are available for perusal on the TOTeM 34 website along with the summary conclusions which came out of discussion sessions on the second day of the event when participants also had the opportunity to view the GTRC combustion research facilities.  

It should be noted that a number of important “firsts” were recorded through TOTeM 34:

• First IFRF TOTeM dealing specifically with Gas Turbine combustion, following on from TOTeM19 which was centred on instabilities/hum;
• First international conference to be hosted from the new Cardiff School of Engineering, Gas Turbine Research Centre based at Port Talbot, Wales;
• First IFRF TOTeM to employ an intercontinental video link to allow Tim Lieuwen to make his presentation from the United States and to allow TOTeM 34 to achieve an unchanged programme despite the enforced date changes.

An important conclusion of TOTeM 34 was that there was potentially a clear role for the IFRF to play in relation to gas turbine research with respect to fuels, combustion, heat transfer and emissions.  But it was considered extremely important for there to be an IFRF new Gas Turbine Champion.  Expressions of interest for this role would be welcomed by the IFRF.