DLR searching for ways of making engine MRO more efficient
Germany's national research centre for aero and astronautics, the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), is to begin a EUR10m ($13.3m), four-year R&D programme to search for ways of making the operation and maintenance of gas turbine aero engines more efficient and less expensive.
Researchers at Hanover University want to compare the performance of an intact engine versus a damaged one, to determine parameters that will make it possible to assess the technical condition of an engine without dissembling it. This will include wind tunnel tests and simulations of the future performance of the engine. The aim is to enable operators and MRO providers to make better decisions as to whether an engine needs to be overhauled, and which component repairs will be most effective. The R&D programme will also look at other turbine applications such as industrial gas turbine engines and wind turbines, however the scientific work will be based on aero engines.
