Reliability Assurance and the Concord Engines

This paper explains the background of the Concord engines and how a design specifically for civil operation has been derived from a military supersonic engine. It reports a study of the failure pattern of current engines, which shows that the traditional approach to reliability must be extended by all means available. Reference is made to the application of the disciplines of reliability engineering and the special design features to assure safety and reliability. The test program and some of the special test equipment required for a supersonic engine are described.