Manitoba Aerospace Week

18 Manitoba aerospace Week May 26 - 30, 2014 by Jennifer McFee For the Free Press t he sky's the limit when it comes to research possibilities at Manitoba's engine-testing centres. West Canitest R&D Inc., better known as WestCaRD, together with GE, StandardAero and Western Economic Diversification are introducing new equipment to allow for year-round tests at the GE Aviation Testing Research and Development Centre (TRDC) located at the Winnipeg airport. WestCaRD CEO Vic Gerden says it was a good winter for icing tests, which are required by certification authorities. Now, WestCaRD's additional equipment will enable year-round testing such as performance tests and ingestion tests. Various development and certification tests have already taken place on five different models of engines manufactured by GE Aviation. As well, the site is outfitted to conduct tests for birds, hail and sand that can occasionally be ingested through a plane's engine during a flight. "These engines need to operate in all sorts of environments. Sometimes there are birds near airports that are inadvertently ingested through an aircraft engine, and the aircraft needs to continue to operate safely. If there is any damage caused, that needs to be contained within the engine covering so that there is no major outcome from that bird ingestion," Gerden says. "These tests that are done on the ground are to certify that an engine can take a bird strike and continue to operate or at least not fail in any hazardous way." As a not-for-profit organization, WestCaRD aims to bolster Manitoba's economy through technology growth. "We do that by augmenting the facility with some of this new equipment to facilitate year-round testing and maximize the utilization of the GE TRDC facility," Gerden says. "We also help with arrangements to train the specialized workforce needed to conduct the advanced technology testing at this test centre. Plus we facilitate research and development projects that will assist in the smooth operation of the test facilities and bring in more new technologies to Manitoba." The Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research (GLACIER) in Thompson has also been upgraded to allow for new tests. GLACIER opened its doors in 2010 as a joint venture between Rolls-Royce Canada and Pratt & Whitney Canada. It also established a not-for-profit organization called EnviroTrec to interact with the research and development community. EnviroTrec executive director David Simpson says the recent upgrade will allow GLACIER to perform a number of other tests, including endurance testing. "This is where the engine is made to think it's operating on an airplane for an extended period of time simulating operations such as take-off and landing, climbs and cruise. It makes sure that all the engine systems work individually and together, not only for the short test periods but also for a longer life. It's an important part of engine certification and safety," Simpson says. "The other thing that's brand new is the ability to do reverse-thrust testing. Sometimes when you're landing in an airplane, you'll hear the engine roar just after you land. What is happening is the engines are, in essence, being used to slow down the airplane. We have the ability now to do that kind of testing on new and developmental engines, which is unique." This summer, GLACIER will begin conducting tests to evaluate environmental performance. "There is quite a sophisticated array of equipment set up to measure the content of the exhaust," he says. "It's a series of chemical tests to optimize the reduced carbon emissions and everything else in the engine." The fundamental purpose of these tests is twofold. "First, the regulatory environment will demand new engines demonstrate their performance under some fairly adverse conditions," Simpson says. "On the other side of it, the manufacturers are developing new engines all the time, and some of the tests may evaluate new concepts or designs." centres expand to year-round engine testing

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