Effective Condition Monitoring of Aero-Engine Systems Using Automated SEM/EDX and New Diagnostic Routines

The Royal Air Force Tornado RB 199 Engine Support Authority has implemented an innovative, efficient and cost effective wear debris monitoring WDM program through the successful application and adaptation of a commercial off the shelf Scanning Electron Microscope Energy Dispersive X-Ray SEMEDX system. Combat aircraft engines, such as the RB 199, require conditional health monitoring of oil wetted components, specifically tribo components, for their protection against critical failure. Such monitoring maximizes component life, resulting in reduced logistic and mobility footprints, while enhancing operational availability and capability. The hostile operating environments of high performance turbine engine technology HPTET demand hardware robustness andor a strategic investment in an enhanced tribology capability within the maintenance arena. For post design inservice engines the latter option using state of the art technology offers by far the more affordable option, with excellent potential, at lower initial investment, for the future higher performance combat aircraft engines. The transition of electron probe microanalysis to the field combined with accurate and precise diagnostic routines based upon reliability centered maintenance and hazard risk analyses realized an immediate payback to the RAF.