Dunlop Equipment £0.5 million flow test facility improves customer service

Citation

(1999), "Dunlop Equipment £0.5 million flow test facility improves customer service", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771cab.008

Dunlop Equipment £0.5 million flow test facility improves customer service

Dunlop Equipment £0.5 million flow test facility improves customer service

Keywords Dunlop, Gas turbines, Testing

Dunlop Equipment has installed a new continuous flow facility to test its high integrity bleed air controls for gas turbines. Costing £0.5 million, the new facility enables Dunlop Equipment to supply fully-tested units (Plate 1). It provides considerable cost and time saving to the customer as tests can be carried out to meet a variety of conditions which simulate engine operating parameters. Previously, the OEM would have conducted many of these tests using expensive development/ qualification engine time.

Plate 1 The new continuous flow test house at Dunlop Equipment, looking through the safety window from the control room showing the data acquisition and management computer

There are other advantages claimed. Results of the tests can be analysed, modifications made quickly in house at Dunlop Equipment and the effects assessed immediately by retesting. This provides considerable savings in development time and costs. Aimed at being able to meet existing and future gas turbine requirements, the facility provides an exceptional range of flow capabilities. It is designed to provide a continuous flow of air at 350 psi between 650^oC (1112^oF) at 1 lb./sec (800 cfm) and 5 lb/sec (4000 cfm) of flow at 150^oC. Air heating is achieved by use of an existing heat treatment furnace enhanced to suit the application. The air can be saturated and contaminants can be introduced. A vital feature is the ability to take continuous recordings of performance. The new facility allows unlimited data recording and greater accuracy.

A number of possible solutions were considered for producing the required air supply but the most practical was to use an electrically driven compressor. Because of the massive power required, considerable planning had to be carried out in conjunction with East Midlands Electricity, which supplies the entire site at Coventry.

To meet these exacting parameters, an Ingersoll Rand centrifuge compressor manufactured in Italy was selected but the rotor dynamics of the system demand that the compressor must be running at full speed within 11 seconds. EMEB set a limit of 270A starting current which necessitated using a 6.6kV motor operated by an auto-transform starter. Designed by Igranics, the starter weighs over one tonne.

The facility is located in an extension of the existing test laboratory, incorporating blastproofing and blast attenuation. When running, the air generator produces noise at 110dB but, using a combination of soundproofing and baffle attenuation, this is reduced to less than 75dB. Self-contained, the facility incorporates all necessary test sample preparation equipment and calibration equipment, including air/oil separation, vibrator cells, air/oil separator and so on.

Further details from Dunlop Equipment, Tel: +44 1203 682000; Fax: +44 1203 683407.