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Originally Posted by P-hack
Turbines in such an application haven't really been developed, and closed cycle/combined cycle are certainly feasible in the %60 range. I don't see why not. It took 50 years for the piston to get hemi. Though 3d printers are still in the 9-pin dot-matrix phase, I wouldn't be surprised if printing ceramic blades became a thing either. Dude just printed a cement castle: Concrete 3D Printer Used To Build Castle...in Minnesota - Geek |
There is truth to what you say about 3D printing. I worked at a firm about 20 years ago that had large SLA (stereolithography) printers. They were large, expensive and messy. But, they worked great. Now, you can purchase similar printers that fit on your desk and cost less than a used Honda. The extrusion printers cost even less. Maybe we will have high powered lasers some day that sinter inconel steel powder into turbine blades with little to no finishing needed.