Jet Engine Test System - Advantech
The following is an Advantech case study
Introduction
Jet engine testing is a complicated process — due to the expensive cost of fuel and materials, testing needs to be implemented quickly with high sampling speeds and precision. Large-size engines needs to be mounted on an engineering vehicle for field tests. In these scenarios, the system has to be shock-proof and interference resistant in order to ensure safe and reliable test results.
Requirements
- high sampling speeds
- high sampling frequency
- suitable for various engine tests
- shock-proof and interference resistant
- standard communication protocol for convenient program modifications & updates
Project Implementation
- Advantech PCM 38131: 100kS/s, 12-bit, 32-ch Isolated Analog Input PCI-104 Module
- Advantech PCM 37301: 32-ch Isolated Digital I/O PCI-104 Module
- Advantech PCM 3725: 8-ch Relay and Isolated Digital Input PC/104 Module
- Advantech PCM 3610: 2-port RS-232/422/485 PC/104 Module with Isolation Protection
System Description
Jet engines should be tested strictly at the test facility before being put into production. Under controlled conditions, data is gathered from the sensors then transmitted to an industrial computer at the field site, and finally measured and verified in the control room.
Advantech's analog input module PCM-38131 is used for data monitoring which is changing continuously (such as fuel flow, pressure and temperatures). The digital input / output module PCM-37301 is used for controlling actions (such as failure alarms, interlock control and emergency shutdown). It can be mounted directly on an engineering vehicle for field measurements. In between, the communication module with isolation protection PCM-3610 is used to connect computing platforms via RS-232/422/485.
Installed at both the field site and control central site, the PCM 3725 ensures digital I/O control will work properly during test procedures while the relay function can activate an alarm in the event of adefect or error during testing. All signals sampled during the testing can be transferred to the central computer via standard PC/104 or PCI-104 interface.
Conclusion
In order to resist the extreme vibration and heat during jet engine testing, the systems at the test facility are required to be extremely robust. These modules need to support multi-channel / optical isolation communication with fast data sampling and high precision via standard PC / 104 interface. Advantech's rugged I/O modules were the perfect solution with shock-proof designs and superior interference resistance. With standard driver programs and measuring software, customers can develop programs or easily update the testing software based on different requirements.
