The paper, "Aerothermal optimization of fully cooled turbine blade tips," discusses how changing the geometry of the tips of turbine blades can enhance their aerodynamic performance, while also reducing the thermal loads.  It summarizes a Purdue-Rolls Royce collaboration that resulted in a new technology, now protected by US patent: “Tip structure for a turbine blade with pressure side and suction side rails.”

Valeria conducts her research at the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Lab (PETAL), under the supervision of Guillermo Paniagua, professor of mechanical engineering.  PETAL is located at Zucrow Labs, the largest academic propulsion lab in the world.

The Howse, Ruffles, and Parker award is named after Rolls-Royce Professor Richard Parker, Dr Mike Howse, and Professor Philip Ruffles, who created the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) network, widely held to be the exemplary model for university-industry interaction.  Rolls-Royce invests heavily in Indiana, including a major manufacturing center in Indianapolis, and a 55,000 square-foot research center for jet engines on Purdue's campus, near Zucrow Labs.

The paper was presented at the ASME Turbo Expo in Oslo, Norway in June 2018, and subsequently published in the Journal of Turbomachinery, Vol. 141, Issue 6: https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041961