ICTUS - Instrumented engine Cradle for the TUrboprop demonstrator ground teSt

In the framework of the development of a new turboprop engine demonstrator (WP3 of the ENGine ITD JTP), a full Integrated Power Plant System (IPPS) will be ground tested. The objectives of the ICTUS Project are:

• To benchmark current turboprop engine installations: the benchmark aims to deliver recommendations/suggestions for optimal engine installation configurations in line with the ENG ITD objectives (weight savings and performance);
• To design the engine cradle for ground tests: a virtual prototype of the engine cradle is developed to predict the static and dynamic behaviour of the cradle in operational conditions; design is conducted to be compliant with CS23 regulation rules;
• To manufacture, to instrument and to qualify the engine cradle via testing: a tubular structure is manufactured; an instrumentation setup is proposed and installed on the cradle; the relevant position of the sensors for monitoring purposes is set-up based on SAFRAN HE specifications; engine cradle will be testes in the VIBRATEC laboratory to qualify the structure and the instrumentation;
• To characterize the engine compartment ventilation system: CFD analysis are conducted to verify the temperature and the air flow exhausted by the engine.

The ICTUS consortium is made of the VIBRATEC Company, a French SME, leader in vibration and mechanical analysis. With skills in both simulation and test, VIBRATEC covers the scope of the technical programs. In the design phase, the project will address the dynamic behaviour of the engine cradle to mitigate the structural resonance risks and to focus on vibration isolation system. Among others, the ICTUS project will allow the testing of a new kind of sensors based on the Fiber Bragg Grating technologies, a family of optical fiber strain sensor that resists several environments, especially towards electromagnetic fields.