(NASA AFRC photo by Tom Tschida) Damages due to sucking foreign objects into aircraft engines during flight and on ground continue t...
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| (NASA AFRC photo by Tom Tschida) |
Damages due to sucking foreign objects into aircraft engines during flight and on ground continue to pose a serious threat to safety of commercial airliners and military jets. Often, the foreign object damage result in engine power loss and surging.
NASA is testing and evaluating new engine diagnostic technologies designed to provide early warning about engine problems, including the effect of volcanic ash.
The objective of Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research (VIPR) is to demonstrate engine advanced health management and diagnose potential engine faults before they happen.
Since 2011, NASA has partnered with the U.S. Air Force 412th Test Wing, Air Force Research Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing Research & Technology, Pratt and Whitney, General Electric Aviation and Rolls-Royce Liberty Works, to test and evaluate new engine health management technologies through the implementation of the VIPR.
The VIPR project started in 2010, have completed three tests since then. The first test occurred in December 2011, second test was in July 2013 and the penultimate test in July 2015.
In the July 9 test carried out at Edwards AFB, Volcanic ash was sprayed into one of the P&W F117 engines of a Boeing C-17 provided by the AFRL, to assess how the health monitoring sensors and their associated software can detect and report a problem.
This phase of VIPR at Edwards AFB will mark the third and final round of testing with three objectives: incorporate smart sensors designed to improve flying safety and reduce costs, detect potential engine faults and evaluate advances in engine diagnostics. The application is expected to benefit both the Air Force and civilian air travel.
The team will identify and diagnose the issues using multiple sensors located throughout the engine. A vibration sensor that originally researched for utilization on the space shuttle's main engine, a unique high-temperature fiber optic thin film temperature sensor which go into the high temperature compressor, a Microwave Tip Clearances sensor to measure the gap between the outer wall of the turbine and the tips of the turbine blades and emissions sensors built behind the engine in order to give the team an idea of what's going on with the combustion process are used.
The volcanic ash used is Mazama ash, a compound that is made largely of glass which comes from Oregon, but is also native to California. It is mined on an old, dry riverbed. The volcanic ash was selected for its is very abrasive, highly angular features. It has another feature in the sense that if it gets above a certain temperature it will melt and stick to the blades,.
Researchers from four NASA centers will also be involved in various aspects of research and testing - Armstrong, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
With approximately 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, more than 80 commercial aircraft have unexpectedly encountered volcanic ash in flight and at airports in the past 15 years, according to the United States Geological Survey. Seven of these encounters caused in-flight loss of jet engine power, which nearly resulted in the crash of the airplane.
