Re:Greg Robinson fixed NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, re...
by WalterBright on Friday July 15, 2022 @06:26PM
(#32113432)
> Surely you can see that the P&W approach is only going to discover a subset of problems that will affect the engine in the wild.
Keep in mind that my former job was designing gearbox parts for the Boeing 757. This included doing the math, and devising a test plan. I've spent a lot of time on "what could go wrong" scenarios in the real world.
Also, when I prepare slides for a coding presentation, the implementation code for a concept gets trimmed way down to what will fit on a slide.
Then there's all sorts of complex failures that aren't addressed by single engines: " Prior to this crash, the probability of a simultaneous failure of all three hydraulic systems was considered as low as one in a billion. However, statistical models did not account for the position of the number-two engine, mounted at the tail close to hydraulic lines, nor the results of fragments released in many directions. Since then, aircraft engine designs have focused on keeping shrapnel from puncturing the cowling or ductwork, increasingly utilizing high-strength composite materials to achieve penetration resistance while keeping the weight low"
(I'm not disrespecting P&W- I'm sure they have more tests than just "100% power until it breaks, fix and repeat")