Demonstration of Advanced Inlet Separation for Sustainability

NCMS Project #: 142192

Problem: All machinery and equipment operating in harsh environments is subject to a much higher level of attack, and aircraft engines are critical components that are particularly vulnerable.  Rotary aircraft engines are highly susceptible to Foreign Objects and Debris (FOD), increased maintenance costs due to sand ingestion, and experience greatly reduced time–on-wing (TOW).

Benefit: Proving the viability of this technology on a specific military application as a use case will demonstrate applicability across a broader range of both commercial and governmental systems and will maximize the benefits of this effort.

Solution/Approach: The industry participant has developed multiple dust separation strategies.  The goals of this initiative are to demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel inlet dust separation technology to reduce development risk for quick adoption by equipment Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and to accelerate technology modifications that will address particulate ingestion related issues.

Impact on Warfighter:

• Increase TOW and lower fuel burn rate 
• Decrease engine downtime and maintenance activities 
• Reduce lifecycle costs 
• Heighten safety  
• Ensure warfighter readiness and operational flexibility 

DOD Participation:

• NAVAIR Advanced Engine Development and Technology Transition Lead
• Army SRD (formerly AATD) (observer)
• Air Force Propulsion Directorate (observer)

Industry Participation:

• General Electric
• NCMS

Benefit Area(s):

• Cost savings
• Repair turn-around time
• Maintenance avoidance and reliability
• Safety
• Improved readiness
• Durability
• Reliability improvement

Focus Area:

• Reliability improvement (hardware)