The accompanying excursion to the ITS main subject lectures "Thermal Turbomachinery" and "Hydraulic Fluid Machinery" took place during the Whitsun week from May 21 to May 24. The excursion alternates between the western, eastern and southern routes every three years. This year, 20 students traveled the eastern route via Nuremberg, Leipzig, Berlin and Magdeburg and visited well-known manufacturers of turbomachinery.
Our excursion began at Leistritz AG in Nuremberg, where we were given an insight into the production of compressor blades using Electro-Chemical Machining (ECM) and were also introduced to the topic of screw pumps from development to final acceptance testing. The following day, Stadtwerke Leipzig welcomed us to their combined cycle power plant, which is centrally located in the city. The tour included a contrasting tour of the old, decommissioned power plant unit and the two currently operating combined cycle power plants with two latest-generation steam turbines. After driving on towards Berlin, the tour continued in the afternoon to Rolls-Royce Germany in Dahlewitz. The Rolls-Royce "Testbed 61" in particular gave us a comprehensive insight into the complex structure of an engine and an impression of the sheer size of a Trent XWB engine. After arriving in Berlin on Thursday morning, we continued on to MAN Energy Solutions AG, where we were able to visit the production of compressor systems, which will also play a central role in power-to-X or carbon capture applications in the decarbonized future. Immediately afterwards, we went on to Siemens Energy AG within Berlin. Here we walked through the production halls of gas turbines, where the geometric dimensions of such plants were particularly fascinating. On the fourth and final day of our trip, we visited Enercon in Magdeburg. At this site, Enercon specializes in large generators, and we were given an exciting guided tour of the individual assembly steps.
The excursion was an important addition to the content of our lectures. As in previous years, the reaction of the students was extremely positive. In addition, everyone involved also had a lot of fun with activities that are not related to the subject area.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the participating companies Leistritz, Stadtwerke Leipzig, Rolls-Royce Deutschland, MAN Energy-Solutions, Siemens Energy and Enercon. Without their great support, this excursion would not have been possible!