Some Investigations in the Field of Blade Engineering

The past ten years have seen a wide variety of axial gas turbine aero-engines pass through their development phase into military service. A new phase began when the first axial gas turbine engines to operate to a civil schedule entered service in 1956-7, powering the Britannia and Tu.104 aircraft. The coming years will see an ever-increasing percentage of the world’s air traffic being carried by axial gas turbine engines and it may be confidently predicted that in another ten years they will be the rule rather than the exception. The enormous importance of reliability in civil operation is well known. Possibly less well known is the incredibly rapid build-up of running hours which occurs when an engine is introduced into civil operation. In six months of civil operation these may exceed the cumulative hours in the whole life of a military type, and will outstrip the total manufacturers’ bench experience in an even shorter time. With all the achievements in bench development and military service in the past ten years, the axial gas turbine engine is still in the “ kindergarten ” in relation to civil operation.