Consequences of aero-engine deteriorations for military aircraft

Political and socio-economic increasingly-stringent restrictions have led t he armed forces of democratic countries to become more aware of how their f inancial budgets are spent. One major expenditure for military authorities is upon aero-engine maintanence because in-service worsening performance of any mechanical device, such as an aircraft's gas-turbine engine, is inevit able. Each deterioration also shortens the reliable operational life of the engine, thereby resulting in a higher life-cycle cost (LCC). For a militar y aircraft's mission-profiles, the consequences of an aero-engine's deterio ration upon the aircraft's operational-effectiveness. its fuel consumption and life have been predicted. in this project, using validated computer-sim ulations. These help in making wiser management-decisions, so leading to th e achievement of improved engine-utilization. lower overall life-cycle cost s and greater mission effectiveness for squadrons of aircraft. (C) 2001 Pub lished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.