Engine Control Reliability and Durability Improvement Through Accelerated Mission Environmental Testing

The integration of aircraft control systems for future weapon systems will require the engine control system to meet the mission reliability of the flight control system. This will be accomplished through system redundancy and verified by accelerated environmental testing. Combined environment reliability testing (CERT) will assure control system structural integrity and reliability growth of engine-mounted digital electronic controls. Pratt & Whitney, under contract to the U.S. Navy, has recently completed a 10,000-hr CERT program. Dual full authority digital electronic controls (FADEC), connected by a fiber optic data link, were subjected to environmental tests simulating a composite F-14 mission profile. The FADEC units were also exposed to periodic high vibration levels which would be experienced after foreign object damage and salt spray testing to simulate aircraft carrier environment. The test results are reported herein providing insight not only into the reliability and durability of digital electronic controls but also into the equipment and procedures required for testing of future military and commercial engine control systems.