The Assessment of Assemblability and Dissassemblability of Aero Engines During Preliminary Design

Abstract

With a continuous annual growth of air traffic by nearly 5%, an additional paradigm change towards industrially producible products is necessary to meet future demands of new airplanes and aero engines. To ensure the producibility of more and more sophisticated aero engines, an assessment of assemblability and disassemblability during preliminary design becomes necessary in this context. Major cost drivers can be identified at an early stage in the product development process regarding assembly-feasible design of the product and the corresponding assembly system. This paper introduces a 3D preliminary design model and a methodology to assess the assemblability and disassemblability of civil aero engines during preliminary design. Based on a systematic evaluation of three different variants of low-pressure turbine modules, implications for a reduction of the assembly and disassembly time can be deduced. Hence, optimization potentials for product design as well as for the design of the corresponding assembly system are identified. The generic models and parametric evaluation methodology of the presented approach allow an application on further aero engine modules, new aero engine technologies as well as other fields.