Engine health monitoring systems for commercial aircraft.

The state of practice does allow us to identify shortcomings of current systems. Research to address these shortcomings does allow us to explore alternatives. Research and monitoring applications for various other types of engine provide a good basis for further exploring the topic relating to aero engines.

Aero engine monitoring systems for aircraft engines constitute a complex system, requiring monitoring to ensure flight safety and timely scheduled and non-scheduled maintenance. Cockpit displays indicate engine performance through vital information such as rotational speeds, engine pressure ratios, exhaust gas temperature.

Aerospace best Practice

A guide to aircraft turbine engine vibration monitoring systems.
Lessons learned from operational aircraft turbine engine monitoring systems.Two different approaches to engine monitoring have evolved in attempts to achieve the goal of improved engine operations, maintenance, and management while reducing support costs.

The first of these concentrates on short-term operations and maintenance aspects and is usually accomplished by recording inflight data in a snapshot mode, that is to say, a few seconds of data either at predefined performance windows or when certain engine operating limits are exceeded.

The second approach focuses on long-term design-oriented benefits through improved research of the engine operating environment. To achieve the design-oriented benefits, data must be recorded continuously on at least a few aircraft at each operational location.

Monitoring throughout aero engines life, life-cycle anaysis, enables parts management for aircraft gas turbine engines.

Temperature monitoring in aircraft gas turbine engines. 
Health and Usage Monitoring Systems HUMS are gaining wide acceptance as an effective predictive maintenance strategy in helicopters and some fixed wing aircraft. Due to the large number of critical flight safety systems on aircraft, particularly rotating systems on helicopters, vibration monitoring technology is effective in the detection and prevention of catastrophic mechanical failures. Started more than 15 years ago as a safety system, HUMS has evolved into a front-line strategy for reduction of aircraft maintenance costs.
The applications and full benefits of HUMS systems continue to be realised.

In the case of piezo electric accelerometers and signal conditioning, optimisation of instrumentation performance criteria continues to meet the stringent aircraft testing requirements of the aerospace and defence industry.

Typical HUMS applications include rotor track and balance; shaft balance; monitoring (transmission vibration, engine vibration); gearbox (main, tail and intermediate); and rolling element bearing diagnostics. HUMS systems also enable recording of flight conditions in excess of approved flight manual parameters, and to check aircraft health status after each flight.

Onboard aircraft HUMS systems comprise a basic data acquisition device and processor, pilot interface and display panel; rotor blade tracker; piezo electric accelerometers, signal conditioners and tachometers; a cockpit voice and flight data recorder; and FDR sensors.