Jet engine explosion

"desertdog5051" (desertdog5051)
10/18/2013 at 11:37 • Filed to: None

Watch a jet engine totally malfunction during testing.

DISCUSSION (21)

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 11:40

much bigger boom than i expected

TheOnelectronic > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 11:41

This looks like they had a charge on one of the fan blades, and detonated it to simulate a blade breaking loose.

At least that's what I think that orange bit was.

It's a "Porch-uh" > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 11:41

About to hop on a plane. Not sure why I decided to watch this.

Casper > TheOnelectronic
10/18/2013 at 11:44

I agree. This looked like a deliberate catastrophic failure caused by that explosive.

desertdog5051 > TheOnelectronic
10/18/2013 at 11:45

You may be right. Cool anyway. Spirit Airlines anyone?

desertdog5051 > It's a "Porch-uh"
10/18/2013 at 11:46

Hope it isn't Spirit Airlines.

HammerheadFistpunch > Casper
10/18/2013 at 11:47

This is exactly right; they are testing the integrity of the casing to make sure that...in the event of a total failure...the parts don't fly out and puncture the wing/fuselage leading to fiery death.

CKeffer > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 11:48

So evidently, according to a metalurgist friend of mine that work in an industrial turbine repair shop, this was done intentionally. It's part of something called an explosive rainbow test that is done to determine if the housing is strong enough to withstand the blast from a catastrophic failure. This is what it looks like when it goes as planned, and the housing contains all the bits.

desertdog5051 > CKeffer
10/18/2013 at 11:52

Interesting. Thanks.

CKeffer > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 11:53

Sure thing.

Jayhawk Jake > desertdog5051
10/18/2013 at 12:03

The blew up a fan blade with an explosive charge. It's a containment test, trying to show that the shroud can contain the shrapnel.

I have a story to share, I probably shouldn't but I like you people:

A while back (sometime last year) some managers from my company went to an engine manufacturer to visit and observe some tests.

They were going to observe a bird ingestion test, you know, the one where they fire a (dead) chicken out of an air cannon into a running engine. They set up the test and had everything ready, but decided to go to lunch before running the test.

After lunch, they came back and got the test going. Engine running, ready to fire the bird. They fire the bird, and the engine EXPLODES. Full on, uncontained failure. Not at all what's supposed to happen. The engineers from the engine manufacturer are shocked, wondering what the hell happened.

They go to review the high speed footage of the test, and discover what happened. While at lunch, a cat had managed to find its way into the test cell and into the air cannon. When the cannon fired, the cat went flying, full speed superman style right into the engine, causing the engine to fail completely as a cat is much larger than what the engine is designed to take.

Needless to say I don't think we'll be seeing THAT footage anytime soon.

I also can't verify the accuracy of this story. It very well may be a myth, I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend of a friend, that sort of thing.

desertdog5051 > Jayhawk Jake
10/18/2013 at 12:07

Great story, though.

Jayhawk Jake > CKeffer
10/18/2013 at 12:10

Yep. It's to make sure this doesn't happen

Kinja'd!!!

I remember learning about it in school. We were given a packet with pictures of structural failures. I flipped ahead and saw this and thought 'weird that it stopped there'

That's from the OTHER engine. The RH engine blew a rotor, it went THROUGH the fuselage and embedded itself in the LH engine!

http://forums.jetcareers.com/threads/americ…

We do still account for what's called 'Rotor Non Containment'. Hydraulic lines and control lines are routed carefully to avoid having a rotor non containment eliminate entire systems. These regulations come from previous incidents, notably this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Ai…

Similarly this incident, although this was a pressure bulkhead failing, also the worst single aircraft incident in history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air…

Jayhawk Jake > It's a "Porch-uh"
10/18/2013 at 12:11

I read a book about airplane crashes on a flight. Bad idea

davedave1111 > Jayhawk Jake
10/18/2013 at 12:22

Good story, but there's one thing you can check pretty easily: is a cat actually bigger than the largest birdstrike the engine is built to contain.

WhiskeyGolf > It's a "Porch-uh"
10/18/2013 at 12:34

I'd say watching it is a good idea before getting on a flight, and maybe watch a wing flex test, too. That will confirm that modern aircraft are designed, built and tested to be one of the most reliable forms of transportation. Plus when your seat neighbour complains about the wing tip bouncing 3", you can reassure them that engineers researched it!

f86sabre > Jayhawk Jake
10/18/2013 at 12:47

It's a "Porch-uh" > WhiskeyGolf
10/18/2013 at 13:08

I think it was the 777 wing flex test I saw. That was pretty reassuring seeing the wings bend up past the top of the fuselage. Something like it could take the stress of falling six times faster than physically possible.

Jayhawk Jake > davedave1111
10/18/2013 at 13:46

Knowing the size of the engine involved, I'm certain that it is

davedave1111 > Jayhawk Jake
10/18/2013 at 13:49

What size engine are we talking about? I'm sure I've read somewhere about them using turkeys instead of chickens for some tests to simulate bigger birds like geese being ingested by airliner engines. And most turkeys are bigger than most cats, I think.

Jayhawk Jake > davedave1111
10/18/2013 at 13:51

Not airliner. Business jet sized.