The Turbomachinery Laboratory (Turbo Lab), a research center in the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), recently signed an international research and scholar-exchange agreement with Korean turbocharger industry leader, Keyyang Precision Co., Ltd. The formal signing was attended by Sang-jick Yoon, Korean minister of trade, industry and energy, as part of the U.S.-Korea Business Forum held at the Hilton Houston Post Oak. It secures a critical international partnership during the centennial anniversary of TEES.
Dr. Costas Georghiades, TEES associate agency director for strategic initiatives and centers, along with Byung Kee Chung, Keyyang CEO, signed for their respective organizations. Also serving as representatives were Greg Gammon, Turbo Lab director of operations, and Gyung Won Chung, Keyyang’s director of strategic planning.
Industry-specific research
Since 2012, Keyyang has supported the Turbo Lab’s industrial research as a member of its Turbomachinery Research Consortium, a group comprising 40 industrial firms that jointly provide more than $500,000 of funding each year for industry-specific research. The signing will see further research collaborations with Keyyang, whose design and production initiatives in turbochargers for the automotive industry have yielded significant advancements over traditional turbomachinery since the company’s founding in 1994.
Dr. Luis San Andrés, professor and holder of the Mast-Childs Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University and Turbo Lab researcher said the novel configurations offered improved thermal efficiency, rotordynamic stability, and environmental advantages that would make a substantial difference in the passenger vehicle market.
Beginning fall 2015, Keyyang is likely to send its engineers to pursue advanced graduate studies in turbomachinery at Texas A&M and learn under Turbo Lab faculty. Research projects undertaken in the turbomachinery lab, a 35,000 square foot facility is likely to involve empirical validation of theoretical and computational developments.
This research and exchange agreement comes at a time when the Turbo Lab is making larger forays into Asia. In February 2016, the Turbo Lab will hold the inaugural Asia Turbomachinery and Pump Symposium (ATPS) in Singapore. ATPS is the sibling of the longstanding Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia in Houston, whose attendance last year exceeded 6,200 registrants and 340 exhibiting companies.
