An Airborne Monitoring System for FOD and Erosion Faults

FOD and erosion are the events causing the most part of accidental damages in gas turbine engines. When FOD is not destroying or when erosion is in progress the performance level decreases and the necessity of unscheduled maintenance actions becomes quite real. Moreover when there is a light FOD, or the erosion process is constant in time, it may be difficult to detect the exact cause of performance decrease and to plan the most effective maintenance action. This paper deals with the results of a study carried out for developing an Engine Condition Monitoring system particularly suitable for detecting the MicroFOD and erosion effects in gas turbines. The developed numerical code has been applied to a single spool turboshaft engine with free power turbine. The obtained results are presented and discussed.