Portable test system for jet engines through FPGA technology

Abstract

This work describes the construction of a portable test system that was built by the Brazilian Air Force, capable of measuring every needed variable for a jet engine maintenance, with an emphasis on the project's programming. Its major blocks and functionalities are described and related with the selected physical equipment in a way that such endeavor could be replicated by different means. The necessity for such a project arises from a logistical dependency of several bases on a single testing facility. However, the same technology can be applied to propellants lacking an embedded health monitoring system with great benefits. Graphical language and compatible hardware were employed as tools to attain the required requisites: flexibility, scalability, robustness and determinism. Given a successful development, the new equipment measures every variable needed for a first layer of diagnosis. It brings economy, the decrease of a bottleneck and a higher degree of independency for the Brazilian Air Force as a whole.