Jet engine test cells have 20-foot-thick walls built from a special high-density concrete. The construction team vibrated the wet concrete down to squeeze out air and eliminate weak spots. (Image credit: GE Reports)
Every day is a bad day for flying if you hang out with Brian DeBruin. DeBruin runs GE Aviation’s jet engine test operations site in Peebles, Ohio, and his job is to make sure that GE engines keep working when they fly into an hailstorm, encounter a dust cloud or ingest a goose. He and his team even set off small explosions inside jet engines to simulate blade failure. “Some of these tests are relatively benign, but others are quite damaging,” DeBruin told GE Reports. “You’ve got to prove that your engines are good.” We recently sent photographer Chris New to check Peebles out.
Jet engine test cells have 20-foot-thick walls built from a special high-density concrete. The construction team vibrated the wet concrete down to squeeze out air and eliminate weak spots. (Image credit: GE Reports)
The Death Star-like turbulence control structure (TCS) streamlines the air flowing inside a jet engine during testing. (Image credit: GE Reports)
From Star Wars to Alien. This GEnx jet engine could be easily mistaken for a machine designed by H.R. Giger. (Image credit: GE Reports)
The test cells and their massive air inlets from the outside. (Image credit: GE Reports)
Peebles also has outdoor test stands where engineers can simulate everything from hail storms to bird strikes. (Image credit: GE Reports)
