Abstract:  Jet Engine High Temperature Sensing in Harsh Environments
 
The aerospace industry wishes to sense many real-time high temperature areas throughout the jet engine.  Fan, compressor, turbine, augmentor design groups would love to instrument every inch of the engine so they gain an understanding of the engine’s behavior and performance, especially in the hot sections. There can be over 3,000 installed sensors with miles of wire on one test engine!  Counting the sheer number of sensors that are installed on an engine during a test, there are a number of questions that come to mind:  What parameters, conditions and engine components should be monitored? What components have the highest rate of field replacement and are these components candidates for high temperature sensing?  Are there any big paybacks for high temperature sensing in harsh environments? 
 
Pratt and Whitney conducted a trade study to answer these questions. This talk will give a general overview of what was learned from the trade study and discuss how Pratt and Whitney is addressing the future visions of high temperature sensing in harsh environments.