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Pyestock Engine Test Facilities

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Introduction

The Engine Test Department at Pyestock is part of the Test and Evaluation Facilities Sector of the Defence and Evaluation Research Agency (DERA), an agency of the MOD. It was set up after the second world war to support the UK development of gas turbine engines, a role that it continues to fulfil. The site undertakes research and development activites into all aspects of gas turbine engine performance and component development, and is the UK's major altitude test facility for both military and civil aero gas turbine engines under simulated flight conditions.

All the facilities are supported by teams of dedicated engineers, scientists and technicians who have the expertise to define and conduct all aspects of engine testing to ISO 9001 standards.


Altitude Engine Testing

Three altitude test cells (Cell 2, Cell 3 and Cell 3 West) enable aero engines to be tested over a wide variety of simulated flight conditions. The facilities may also be used in support of engine and airframe icing certification in compilance with CAA/FAA critera. Maintaining more controlled and reproducible conditions than flight testing and without the inherent risk, the cells provided simulated flight envelopes to meet the most demanding civil and military engine test requirements.

  • Military Aero Engines: Comprehensive air moving machinery allows the simulation of the complete flight envelope demanded by military aircraft, including reheat operations. In addition a dedicated reheat development rig is available which replicates the turbine exhaust gas stream of an engine behind which a reheat system can be tested.
  • Civil Turbofans: Large civil turbofan engines can be tested over their full flight envelope. Tests to prove the satisfactory operation of components under aerodynamic conditions can also be accommodated in the large test chamber.


Marine Engine Testing

The site is also the home of the Admiralty Test House (ATH) which was developed as the Royal Navy's test facility for assessing gas turbines for naval applications. The ATH has been involved with the development and testing of all candidate gas turbine engines for service with the Royal Navy and has been operational since 1951. The facility caters specifically for the testing of marine and industrial engines.


Data Acquisition

The primary output from the test facilities is data defining test conditions and engine performace. The data aquisition systems provide a comprehensive, flexible and accurate real-time measurement capability across all the facilities. At Pyestock, data acquisition refers to the collection of data from an engine under test, and the subsequent processing of that data into a format suitable for presentation to the customer.


The Test Cells


© DERA