Role of Metrology During Aero Engine Component Testing

Metrology plays a vital role in any field of research and development. The precise and accurate measurement of the measured entity is crucial during the testing of hardware of an aero engine. Aero engine components go under rigorous testing of safety and life related tests before being certified for the flight application. So accurate tests results will only be possible if the measurements are accurate. Thus, it becomes extremely essential for the measurement system to support the accurate results. The current paper discusses about the metrology aspects involved during the life related cyclic tests of aero engine components like shafts. In this paper a case study explains about the dimensional metrology involved during the torsional fatigue testing on the aero engine components. Paper gives a brief account about the certain measurements like twist and a way of measuring it. Measurement involves use of coordinate measuring machine and conventional instruments as well. It also discusses about the importance of dimensional metrology involved during the testing.