Aviation Test Stand
Snecma Moteurs

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Scope of the test bed project in brief: Aircraft Construction/Component Testing: Pilot Snecma Moteurs range of services. Bertrandt developed and constructed a flexible test bed for engine components that can carry out a large number of tests within a short period of time.
 
Task: pilot study and evaluation of solutions
In March 2000, Bertrandt Bièvres received an enquiry from Snecma Moteurs, one of the largest manufacturers of engines for the civil and military aerospace industry. Bertrandt’s task was to develop solutions that would signifi- cantly reduce the time needed to carry out vibration fatigue tests on blades.

The detailed objective of the project was to be able to set up the test beds within half a day instead of a week. In addition, the precision with which the siren (a highfrequency airflow generator) could be positioned was to be improved. It was also essential for Snecma Moteurs to have the option of adjusting the position of the siren quickly during the tests, with the guarantee that the position could be reproduced in the case of tests on several identical blades. The Bertrandt team suggested the following approach: drawing up a specification document followed by a functional analysis, demonstrating the technical solutions and making comparisons between them. Snecma Moteurs accepted the bid from Bertrandt Bièvres in the middle of 2000.

Result: three proposed solutions
Bertrandt presented a total of three solutions. Snecma Moteurs chose the solution that offered the highest degree of automation a signal bridge with three motorised and two manual axes. Using this test bed, the siren could be positioned in such a way that the control unit was located on the test bed itself, or at some distance away from it in the test area.
 

Preliminary design: overall cost estimate
At the request of the development department of Snecma Moteurs, Bertrandt Bièvres produced a preliminary design of the solution that had been chosen. The purpose was to define in more detail the proposed technical solutions and to specify the costs and the timeframe involved in this option.
 
Project management: from concept study to installation
Bertrandt Bièvres received the go-ahead to start developing and manufacturing the test bed in May 2002. The scope of the project involved Bertrandt Bièvres acting as general contractor and taking responsibility for the project management, the concept study, the manufacturing, assembly, installation and adjustment at the Snecma Moteurs site. Bertrandt Bièvres collaborated with partners on the electronics system and on the production of the test bed. The test bed was ready for delivery on schedule in October 2002. It weighed 1.4 tonnes in total, 800 kg of which was made up by the moving parts. At the request of Snecma Moteurs, the delivery was planned for 2003. The decision to delay delivery followed a joint initial acceptance procedure, which involved demonstrating the functional compliance of the test bed. The test bed was delivered, installed and commissioned in February 2003, a process that took two days. After this, the machine was presented to the Snecma Moteurs team in order to allow them to become familiar with its operation. After Snecma Moteurs had tested the test bed for a month, Bertrandt carried out the final acceptance procedure. At the end of the project, Snecma Moteurs was full of praise for the entire team and the results of their work.
 
Future prospects
As a result of the successful implementation of the project, Bertrandt Bièvres was awarded additional follow-up projects. Bertrandt very much appreciates Snecma Moteurs’ confidence in its competence and flexibility and looks forward to future collaboration in the field of test bed engineering. Thanks go to all those who have contributed to this positive development and to the success of this intriguing engineering project.
 
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