Spring Break
Aggie fueled
Society seeks to build turbine engine
By: Joaquin Villegas
Issue date: 5/8/09 Section: News
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The A&M Gas Turbine Society, an organization run by students, is experimenting with the possibility of constructing a gas turbine engine from scratch.
Ben Carpenter, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, serves as president for the Gas Turbine Society.
"The organization was started so that [students] could have a fun and good way to get hands-on experience," Carpenter said.
He said the main purpose of the organization is to design, model and build a gas turbine engine that could power a truck.
Additionally, the Gas Turbine Society has specific goals for the self-made engine.
"Our intent is to at least build an 80 horsepower engine," Carpenter said, "with the possibility of making it a hybrid engine."
The organization's mission has caused enough of a stir in the field that a possible intercollegiate competition could be in the works.
"Our adviser has talked with professors in other universities," Carpenter said. "And it has turned into a pilot program for a larger competition between universities, the goal now is to see if it's feasible."
The organization has started looking into viable solutions to create the turbine.
"Our hope is to buy an old military turbine engine and take it apart," Carpenter said. "Then we could use reverse engineering to construct our own."
Juan Menendez, a senior mechanical engineering major, said the organization is a great idea to help the students obtain field experience.
"I wish that an organization like this would have existed to help me make the transition easier into the real world of engineering," he said.
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