Aircraft Engine Sustainment 

Developing Innovative Methods for Challenging Gas Turbine Engine Repairs

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Aircraft engines operate under extreme conditions such as high temperatures and pressures, which cause the materials to fatigue quickly. Life expansion and development techniques for more efficient means of repair are an important sector of the aerospace industry. Our Research group is working together to design and test new procedures for enhancing current repair techniques. These methods, along with increasing aircraft engine lifespans, potentially offer cost reductions by cutting repair and labor times. With state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, the team provides sensitivity studies, material characterizations, and physics-based models so that each procedure will have sufficient proof and documentation for immediate implementation. This partnership with Pratt & Whitney and Tinker Airforce Base provides significant opportunities for the advancement of maintenance, repair, and overhaul technologies for not only jet engines, but for the entire field of aerospace engineering.

 

Hand-held EDM Machine Used for Fastener Removal

 

Picture taken fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=38&v=egyQhdNeHC8