Integrated Gas Turbine Technology Education at Durham University PUBLIC ACCESS

Gas turbine technology is a major component in the teaching and research programmes at Durham University. In 1993, the change from the three-year degree course to the four-year Master of Engineering course provided an opportunity to strengthen the teaching of turbomachinery through closer integration of lectures, laboratory work, design, investigative project work and the use of computers for flow prediction. The undergraduate projects link with research in turbomachinery aerodynamics, secondary flows, and unsteady flows. The integrated approach provides graduates with a broad based education and a good understanding of turbomachinery.

Wider aspects include the placement of students for a year of industrial training with a European turbine manufacturer and the organisation of an two-week course for industry on turbine technology. An unusual feature of the Durham approach is the development of turbomachinery based projects to introduce the challenge of engineering into schools and colleges.