A Practical Approach to Reliability in Turbomachinery

The AiResearch Turbocompressor which is used for pressurizing the Boeing 707 airplane is described; the design and development program for the machine are outlined; and data regarding field service experience are presented. It is stated that this complex but highly reliable machine was produced using conventional project organization, procedures, and techniques, but with particular emphasis on thoroughness of the engineering design and development process. It is submitted that the success of this machine verifies the suitability of this approach for achieving reliability in complex mechanical equipment, and that application of the procedure to similar programs can be expected to yield similar results.