Engineers save Air Force millions with F100 engine test plan

  • Published
  • By Janae Daniels
  • Arnold Engineering Development Center Public Affairs
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. (AFNS) --  Collaboration between the F100 engine program office at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and test personnel at the Arnold Engineering Development Center here along with engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney has led to reduced test costs for component improvement verification testing at AEDC facilities.

Cost savings of $7.2 million were realized in the first test of this series.

With aging aircraft like the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, powered by the F100, engine component improvement and cost savings are two major factors in keeping critical combat aircraft ready for duty to support U.S. forces in the ongoing war on terrorism.

Since 1969, AEDC specialists have logged more than 20,000 hours testing the F100 engine.

The team's study identified several opportunities for significant test cost reduction without compromising the integrity of the testing objectives. The savings were achieved by combining similar test elements, eliminating non-essential test points and incorporating test efficiencies.

According to Ed Tucker, test project manager for the 717th Test Squadron, the assessment clearly showed that a disciplined collaborative test planning approach can result in big dividends to the government.

"This essentially allowed the program to have more of their budget available to address engine issues in the field," Mr. Tucker said.

Pratt and Whitney F100 validation manager Henry Yazdzik said excellent test planning, requirements definition and test execution resulted in test efficiencies and significant cost savings.

By challenging the F100 program to evaluate and refine traditional test requirements, Pratt and Whitney officials eliminated the sub-ambient high-cycle fatigue testing, enabling all accelerated mission testing to be run within one test cell.

According to Lt. Col. Dale Parsons, 717th Test Squadron commander, the group took a look at the accelerated mission testing and all the different sub-tests being performed. The team reviewed the resulting data and questioned how much of this data is valuable and how much of it the team actually uses.

"In the planning phase, we helped push the industry into a smarter way to perform accelerated mission testing," Colonel Parsons said. "We were ready to try this plan in the upcoming accelerated mission testing."

The results were spread out over several different areas of the program. By challenging the current process for validating new engine hardware, the Pratt and Whitney engineering staff eliminated some historical test requirements from the testing process, reducing the test run scope without compromising the validation process.

Another change involved the sequence for physical testing. Previously, an engine would be tested at sea level in a Pratt and Whitney facility in Florida and then shipped to AEDC for ram air testing, which involves directing forced, conditioned air from compressors to be fed to the engine intake through a duct.

"Historically an engine would be dismounted from one engine test cell and remounted into another test cell capable of achieving the required high-cycle fatigue test flight conditions," Mr. Yazdzik said. "Ram air and sea-level testing was combined into one AEDC test cell, SL-3, improving overall test efficiency and enabling scheduling efficiencies with the air plant to meet ram air test objectives."

This reduced the test time of the engine by six months. It also saved shipping costs and installation fees at both test facilities.

Thirdly, when the test ran during the summer of 2007, night operations were in effect, which in turn saved the customer money on utility costs because electric rates are lower at night.

Furthermore, re-designed components that were to have been validated on another test engine were installed on this engine, eliminating the need for a separate test project and saving more than $1.2 million.

According to Jolly Sartor, F100 Engine Manager at Tinker AFB these test enhancements resulted in a final test cost of $12.9 million, $7.2 million less than the original test budget of $20.1.

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