The LuBest project was funded by CleanSky.
The global objective of LuBest is to upgrade the oil flow test bench ATM-01 of ULB to an oil pressure of 27 bar and an oil temperature of at least 200°C with an upgraded oil of what is called the HTS (High Thermal Stability) standard of Jet Oil Type II. This should first be done for pure oil flow conditions but also after that, for air-oil flow conditions that are representative of real lubrication systems of new and future turbofans (as open rotor engines, UHBPR or geared turbofans).
Phase 1 of the project is with pure lubrication oil and must be validated through characterization and endurance testing of typical aero-engine lubrication feed pumps in unpreceeded working conditions (for oil pressure, temperature and mass flow rate).
Phase 2 of the project is with two-phase flow conditions (oil and air in various mixture ratio’s) and must be validated through characterization and endurance testing of typical aero-engine oil scavenge pumps. Innovative oil pump configurations will also be tested in the frame of this LuBest project.
The project led to have an oil flow test bench able to reproduce real working conditions of the lubrication system in modern and future aero-engines. This test bench is fully instrumented and able to be used for characterization tests as well as for endurance tests of feed and scavenge pumps of different sizes and configurations. The test bench is able to work in automatic sequences able to simulate accelerated engine cycles for endurance testing.
More information can be found at : http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/101050_en.html
The projects achievements have resulted into following publications:
- Berten, O., Hendrick, P. Villar, A. and Seveno, D. Using a Lubrication Test Bench for Testing New Oil Quality Sensors. ASME Turbo Expo 2013: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, San Antonio, USA. LINK
- Steimes, J., Berten, O. and Hendrick, P. Test bench and measurement system development for classical and more-electric aero engine oil system components characterization. In Proc. of Greener Aviation 2016, Brussels, Belgium. LINK