Testing and integrity

In the early 1990s, information was published drawing attention to the advances made in engine and component reliability over the past two decades and giving some thoughts to the trends in the future. Rolls‐Royce has been very prominent in these activities for many years and at the time expressed the opinion that a demonstration of completeness of a powerplant must show evidence of integrity as well as design validation and life determination. To fulfil these requirements, tests for the engine, components and specimens are required. Since the beginning of the decade many advances have been made in turbofan engines, both in power output and in further increases in reliability, and it is of interest to consider the comments made at that time and the developments which have taken place in the last few years. It was considered that as more reliance has been placed on computer models which have become more accurate, greater refinement has been required of the product to keep pace with competition. Greater accuracy in testing and measurement for the physical demonstration of engine integrity, the validation of generic models, and the provision of data banks to support these features were thought likely. Achieving high levels of reliability requires close collaboration between engine and airframe manufacturers and various systems to monitor in‐service performance continue to play an important part in integrity and reliability.