Overview
A continuous development of technology is important to provide aircraft engines with lower fuel consumption combined with competitive costs in production and maintenance.
It is the objective of the MechaMod project to lower the fuel consumption and the carbon dioxide emissions of the aircraft engine, as well as to reduce the costs for maintenance.
The MechaMod project is divided into 4 work packages. In each work package, Rolls-Royce Deutschland cooperated with Universities:
- WP1: bearing chamber; cooperation with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT
- WP2: vibration damping with piezo actuators; cooperation with the University of Darmstadt
- WP3: nozzle system with internal mixer; cooperation with the University of Stuttgart
- WP4: prognosis for maintenance costs; cooperation with the University of Stuttgart
WP1 – WP3 contribute to the above mentioned objective of higher fuel efficiency, whereas WP4 contributes to reduction of maintenance costs.
Funding
Results
According to the different work packages, the following results have been achieved:
- WP1- bearing chamber: Improvements in predictability of flow phenomena and heat forecasting; experimental and numerical analysis of thick wall films. The improved methods can be implemented into the current development process. Doing so, the findings can help to modify existing turbines as well as designing new ones.
- WP2- vibration damping with piezo actuators: At the University of Darmstadt, a bench was modified for tests and comparisons of the active piezo actuator. After the experimental investigations of the electro-mechanical actuator, the quality of the model was assessed and the draft of the actuator was optimized.
- WP3- nozzle system with internal mixer: A test facility was established at the University of Stuttgart for various experiments. The possible measuring errors were calculated and simulations were implemented. As a result, the model of a mixed exhaust system could be revised. Thanks to a later extension of the project, it was possible to undergo experiments about the Reynolds number effect.
- WP4- prognosis for maintenance costs: In a first step, all relevant components were registered. Then the factors which cause a negative impact on the components were identified. After a quantitative analysis of the resulting damage, a model for the maintenance costs was invented. This model can be calibrated with historical data about former maintenance costs.
Findings of the study are published by a final report (German only), which is available online via the Technical Information Library (TIB) of the Hannover University: http://edok01.tib.uni-hannover.de/edoks/e01fb11/680050914.pdf