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Gas turbines play an extremely important role in fulfilling a variety of power needs and are mainly used for power generation and propulsion applications. The performance and efficiency of gas turbine engines are to a large extent dependent on turbine rotor inlet temperatures: typically, the hotter the better. In gas turbines, the combustion temperature and the fuel efficiency are limited by the heat transfer properties of the turbine blades. However, in pushing the limits of hot gas temperatures while preventing the melting of blade components in high-pressure turbines, the use of effective cooling technologies is critical. Increasing the turbine inlet temperature also increases heat transferred to the turbine blade, and it is possible that the operating temperature could reach far above permissible metal temperature. In such cases, insufficient cooling of turbine blades results in excessive thermal stress on the blades causing premature blade failure.

Actuators are the key to allowing machines to become more sophisticated and perform complex tasks that were previously done by humans, providing motion in a safe, controlled manner. As defined in this book, actuator design is a subset of mechanical design. It involves engineering the mechanical components necessary to make a product move as desired. Fundamentals of Engineering High-Performance Actuator Systems, by Ken Hummel, was written as a text to supplement actuator design courses, and a reference to engineers involved in the design of high-performance actuator systems. It highlights the design approach and features what should be considered when moving a payload at precision levels and/or speeds that are not as important in low-performance applications.