Turboshaft Test Cells
Atec and our subsidiaries – Vital Link and Celtech – have been the Prime contractors on many large - scale turboshaft engine test facilities, both internationally and domestically. Together we offer the most innovative menu of solutions for our aerospace customers.
Configurable for Multi-Engine Applications, such as:
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6, APUs
- Pratt & Whitney 100, 150, 200
- Rolls Royce T56, 501, AE2100 (J)
- Roll s Royce (Allison) A250, T63, RR300, RR500
- General Electric T64, T58, T38
- General Electric T700, CT7, GE38, T407/408
- Honeywell T53, T55, TPE331, AGT 1500, HTS 400, LTS101, CTS800, APUs
- Safran Turbomeca Arrius, Arriel, TM333, Arrano, Ardiden, Makila, RTM322
- Safran Power Units APUs
- UTAS/HS APUs
Overview:
- Turnkey engine test facilities: fixed masonry or portable
- Equipped to test multiple engines
- ADAQ™ Data Acquisition and Control System
- Choice of Engine Loading Systems
- Regenerative Electric Dynamometers – Green Power Approach
- Hydraulic Dynamometers with Complete Closed-Loop Cooling Water System
- Air Dynamometers, Propellers
- USN/USMC Air Depot in Cherry Point, NC
- Bristow in New Iberia, LA
- RollsWood Group in Sugar Land, TX
- Colombian Air Force/GE in Madrid, Colombia
- Bell/McTurbine in Corpus Christi, TX
- Indonesian Air Force in Halim, Indonesia
- USAF, ANG, US Army and USN in worldwide locations
- Romanian Air Force in Bucharest, Romania
- USN/French Air Force DGA in Bordeaux, France
- Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA
- HeliOne in Stavanger, Norway
- Piaggio in Savona, Italy
- AAMROC in Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis, IN
Ready to Design, Construct and Upgrade
Test Cell Facilities
Samples of our Turboshaft Projects
Rolls-Royce Gnome
Rolls-Royce Gnome 1400-1T modular engine test facility.
Installed and commissioned in 2008 at the Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovilton, in the south-west of the UK.
Makila
Makila 1A, 1A1 and 1A2 engine test facility.
VLE provided the test cell and control room building, as well as the test stand and control systems. Installed and commissioned in 2019 at the Stavanger Airport in Norway.
Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 and PW207 engine test facility.
Installed and commissioned in 2011 at the Piaggio Aerospace site in Finale Ligure Italy. It was later relocated to their Villanova d’Albenga site. VLE designed the new Villanova test facility building including foundations for construction by Piaggio.
Honeywell
Honeywell T53 and T55 engine test facility.
Installed and commissioned in 2015 in the Piaggio Aerospace Villanova d’Albenga test facility building that had been previously designed by VLE. We utilized their existing engine test trolley and provided the data acquisition and control system.
Heli-One
Vital Link Europe Ltd. (an Atec subsidiary, based in the UK) completed the design, manufacture, installation, test and commissioning of a CE compliant Makila Turboshaft Engine Test Facility for Heli-One Norway AS, a Helicopter Maintenance Services company based in Stavanger, Norway.
- Facility includes acoustically-treated Test Cell, Services Area and Control Room, DAS, throttle, software, CCT, dyno/torquemeter, fuel, oil, cooling, Novec fire system, training and tech pubs.
US Navy/US Marine Corps
- T64/T700 Turboshaft Engine Test Cell
- Atec has handled many significant projects in terms of complexity and cost. As part of a project for the Navy, Atec demolished the existing internal system and a completely new test system was installed. Atec was instrumental in the design of a custom water-dynamometer, which allows the T64 and T700 engines to be tested inside the same test cell.
- This included:
- Retrofit of T400 Engine Test Cell to accommodate T64 and T700 Series Turboshaft Engine Testing
- Design, manufacture, and install universal engine test stand
- Hydraulic dynamometers
- Closed-loop dynamometer cooling water system
- Improved airflow
- New ADAQ™, data acquisition and control system
- Upgraded operator control room, Fuel Delivery and measurement system, and new Air Start system for the T700 engine
- Install of new water cooling tower and piping, dual water dynamometer system (or the Versatile Engine Test System, VETS), electric start system for the T-64 engine
- Modification to the Air Intake system and new Exhaust system
- Upgraded Fire System
- Hazmat disposal of excavated soil and asbestos abatement in several areas
Air Logistics / Bristow
Turnkey A250 TurboShaft Test Cell
Atec designed, fabricated, and Installed an A250 test cell for Air Logistics, a Bristow Company. This was a turnkey test system that enables rapid engine throughput, simple operator interface, and a data acquisition system that captures all required engine parameters. Atec took an innovative approach to applying load to the engine during testing by incorporating a regenerative electric drive that utilizes two high-speed electric motors. The electrical power genterated by the AC motors will not only provide mechanical braking torque for loading the engine, but also turn the load into useable electric power that is synchronized for use on the local power grid.
Project:
- Turnkey A250 TurboShaft Test Cell
- Configured with ADAQ™ data acquisition and control system
Columbian Air Force / GE
T700, T53, PT6 Turboshaft Engines Test Cell Upgrade
Atec subsidiary Celtech completed a T700, T53, and PT6 test cell depot upgrade for helicopter and trainer/transport engines. Our personnel worked in-country for eighteen months under complex contracting, political, and administrative circumstances to achieve successful testing of all three of our customer’s turboshaft engines.
- Engine Types: T700, T53 and PT6 test cells (Depot) upgrade for helicopter and trainer/transport engines
- Retrofit test cell to test multiple turboshaft engine types
- Brought software & instrumentation together into an existing facility
- Upgraded Data Acquisition Software
- Installed touch screen facility (PLC) controls
- New pressure transducers
- Dynamometer controls
- Accessory mechanical items
- Operational consulting & troubleshooting
- High altitude (9200′) calibration & correlation assistance
RollsWood
Reciprocating Engine Test Cell to TurboShaft Engine Test Cell Conversion
Atec converted a marine test cell into a turbine engine test cell for a company in Sugar Land. The test cell is recognized for hot end and cold end drives, and is designed to test multiple engine types within the single cell.
- Design for single cell testing of multiple engines (T56 derivatives)
- Engine types: Rolls-Royce 501-KB, 501-KB5, 501-KB5S, 501-KC, 501-KC5, and 501-KF
- Capable of testing turboshaft engines up to 15,000 HP with additional adapters
- Floor-mounted skid with engine carts for quick engine change
- Air dynamometer interface with various engine shaft arrangements, Common with FEDS (T-24/T-33)
- Two exhaust stack systems to allow multiple engine test configurations with air dynamometer
- Oversaw installation of natural gas line
- Critical acoustic requirements
- Class 1, Div 1 test cell (explosion proof)
Rolls-Royce Gem
Rolls-Royce Gem 42 modular engine test facility.
Installed and commissioned in 2009 at the Naval Air Station in Korsør, Denmark.
