Diagnostics and Prognostics of Aerospace Engines

Book excerpt: The propulsion system is arguably the most critical part of the aircraft; it certainly is the single most expensive component of the vehicle. Ensuring that engines operate reliably without major maintenance issues is an important goal for all operators, military or commercial. Engine health management (EHM) is a critical piece of this puzzle and has been a part of the engine maintenance for more than five decades. In fact, systematic condition monitoring was introduced for engines before it was applied to other systems on the aircraft. Diagnostics and Prognostics of Aerospace Engines is a collection of technical papers from the archives of SAE International, which introduces the reader to a brief history of EHM, presents some examples of EHM functions, and outlines important future trends. The goal of engine health maintenance is ultimately to reduce the cost of operations by catching problems before they become major issues, by helping reduce repair times through diagnostics, and by facilitating logistic optimization through prognostic estimates. Diagnostics and Prognostics of Aerospace Engines shows that the essence of these goals has not changed over time.