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Kulite joined 2,500 turbomachinery and propulsion engineering leaders from industry, academia and government at the Turbo Expo in London this June. This year’s program included a special focus on achievements and needs to unlock a net-zero future in propulsion and power. Kulite’s Alex Winterburn, Steve Carter and JP Hilton were on hand at the booth to meet with many visitors.

Representatives from around the world stopped by to discuss Kulite’s participation in many unique programs. During one meeting with a research company, who provides state-of-the-art research and development of advanced instrumentation for environmental and energy issues, they discussed the use of Kulite’s highly specialized WCTV-312 part to be used on a combustion test rig project. The WCTV-312 is a water/air cooled transducer for both dynamic and static pressure measurements in extreme temperature environments such as turbine exhaust systems and automotive. The part provides superior thermal protection and combines Kulite’s patented leadless, silicon technology and a miniature water-cooled jacket, with pressure measurement capabilities previously unavailable.

At the Expo, Kulite also participated in a technical panel called “Gas Turbine Instrumentation for a New Generation.” The panel brought together experts in instrumentation for gas turbine applications from small businesses, OEMs, and US government laboratories to provide their unique perspectives on the current and future challenges in developing instrumentation for the next generations of gas turbines. One of the goals of the panel was to demonstrate to the industry the importance of testing new and developing sensors on real engines vs rigs.

As a member of the panel, JP Hilton presented the findings of testing Kulite’s DWPP-040 extreme-temperature, pressure probe on a F404 Engine where the output was monitored while the engine was being operated. The goal of the DWPP-040 is to measure areas of the engine normally unreachable by instrumentation with typical temperature ratings. This opportunity to test on a real engine resulted in the part being deemed TRL 7 for large gas turbine engines.

For information about the WCTV-312, DWPP-040 or any other Kulite pressure sensors, please visit the PRODUCT ADVISOR section of this website or fill out the Information Request Form on the GET INFO page or contact a Kulite representative found on the CONTACTS page.

In June, Kulite was proud to be a part of ILA Berlin-Pioneering Aerospace, which brought together the world’s aerospace industry to showcase leading innovations, new technology and ground-breaking, sustainability initiatives. The event welcomed 95,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors from 31 countries. Alex Winterburn and Stephane Beaufront met with engineers, academics and university students to discuss how to incorporate Kulite’s pressure measurement technologies into their programs.

Across the board, all visitors were extremely interested in partnering with Kulite because of our outstanding reputation for reliability and precision across all applications, including harsh environment installations. One engineer was interested in high temperature sensors XTEH-10L and WCTV-312. They said that the cryogeric temperature sensors will be useful as future combustion systems switch to hydrogen. A R&D group would also like to incorporate Kulite products into their research projects, investigating hydrogen systems for future aircraft propulsion.

We met with another project manager who is also working with his group in cryogenics with a closed system with a vacuum. They are interested in a low cryogenic pressure sensor for leak detection into the vacuum system. A startup needs 5 PSID/350mBarD units for hypersonic testing in air/nitrogen while a fuel-cell manufacturer needs sensors for hydrogen and for air/oxygen. Given the diverse amount of applications where Kulite pressure transducers are produced as stock or custom parts, it’s no wonder that our Piezoresistive Technology makes us the world leader in this industry. Please visit the PRODUCT ADVISOR on this website to learn about our inventory or go to the GET INFO page to inquire about your custom needs.

Alex Winterburn and Bahattin Kilic, Kulite’s newest engineer to join the Germany office, exhibited at The Sensor+Test Measurement Fair, held annually at the Nürnberg Exhibition Centre. This is a leading international trade fair for sensor, measuring and testing technology. The consistent location helps maintain a robust presence in the industry with approximately 5,000 trade visitors from Europe, Asia, and the Americas and over 350 exhibitors.

Most Kulite booth visitors were engineers from the aerospace and automotive industries, as well as researchers from various universities. While many were already aware of Kulite products as existing customers, Alex and Bahattin were pleased to welcome newcomers eager to learn about Kulite’s pressure sensing technologies. These interactions provided valuable insights and potential opportunities for collaboration.

Inquiries about applications for Kulite transducers ranged across many uses. One aerospace customer uses the HKM-375 series in 100psi, 500si and 5,000 psi ranges for flight-test, landing gear, hydraulic oil measurements and wind tunnel testing. Another aviation and aerospace component manufacturer are developing micro-launch rockets for small satellites and are interested in measurement of cryogeric for liquid oxygen, gaseous fuel similar to Jet A1 and Nitrogen. They are also interested in flight test, ground test and in-service sensors. Another company that has been developing electric propulsion systems for spacecraft need sensors for Xenon/Krypton thrusters for satellites.

A leading engineering manufacturer of injection systems for ship diesel engines is Interested in the XCL-100 for fuel pressure measurement and an automotive company discussed their brake system’s and dynamic fuel system’s pressure measurement needs. As you can see, across the country, around the world, many major industries rely on Kulite for cutting-edge pressure transducers. Employing solid-state silicon on silicon technology, Kulite creates and customizes the most reliable transducers, designed to perform in even the harshest environmental applications. To inquire about any pressure measurement application, please visit the Get Info page of this website.

Kulite is a proud sponsor of many collegiate racing teams including Kingston Racing of Kingston University in the UK. As a sponsor, Kulite supplies free parts to racing teams that compete in Formula Student, which is a global, student engineering competition run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. It’s held annually, and gives undergraduates an invaluable experience of working as a team to design, build, test and compete against other teams with their own race car. The season culminates in dynamic and static events that showcases who has produced the best cars.

Kingston Racing will be competing in Formula Student UK which is being held in July of 2024 at the prestigious Silverstone Circuit, home to the British Grand Prix. For the 2024 season, Kingston had a total restructure of their team approach and is building one of their last internal combustion engine cars before they go electric. They are using a Yamaha MT07 paired with a tubular steel chassis and implementing a flat floor with a diffuser. Additionally, there are smaller and lighter dampers and a pushrod rear suspension to improve the handling characteristics of the car.

While working within competition regulations and a budget, Kingston reached out to Kulite for assistance for their pressure measurement needs. Kulite was able to supply miniature ETL/ETM-4-312M Series pressure transducers which will be used in their cooling and brake systems. To Kulite, it’s important to support these teams and talent, where they have incredible opportunities to gain tremendous, hands-on experience. These students are the future of automotive engineering and we wish them good luck on the track this summer.

In 2023, Crane Aerospace & Electronics selected Kulite as a key supplier for pressure transducers for a full brake control system redesign program for the United States Air Force fleet of F-16 aircraft. Crane had been selected by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to supply the redesign to address safety, performance, reliability and maintainability enhancements.

Crane has over 75 years of experience in providing brake control systems, with more than 30,000 systems in operation today. The brake control system for the F-16 will leverage Crane Aerospace & Electronics’ Mark V Brake-By-Wire system technology to deliver safe, reliable and highly efficient braking performance. The brake control system will also incorporate design improvements to simplify system maintenance as well as address existing single point failures for improved safety.

Kulite, who revolutionized the aerospace pressure transducer in 1987, when it introduced piezoresistive silicon sensor technology that solved contaminating and corrosive environmental problems, will be producing this custom, hermetically sealed design for a fleet of 953 F-16s. The ingenious application of modern solid state technology to transducer sensing makes the APTE-735-1000-3000SG the most advanced pressure transducer available.

Designed to measure liquid or gas pressure, the transducer is of all-welded stainless steel construction, with integral pressure port and diaphragm. There will be 4 parts per shipset with Kulite deliveries starting in the summer of 2024 and the DLA will see the USAF F-16 fleet retrofitted over three years from 2026-2028.