Aviation and aero-engine test facilities

Noise and jet blast control equipment for airfields, and the acoustic package for aero-engine test facilities: blast barriers, ground run-up enclosures, apron working pods, hush houses and test cell acoustics.

• A jet blast barrier exists to control engine efflux so that buildings, roadways, vehicles and personnel downstream are protected. The type has to match the engine power settings actually used at that location, not an average.
• An angled mesh barrier protects a taller area behind it than a vertical mesh barrier, because it turns the flow through almost ninety degrees. It needs a wider base to do so.
• A palletised angled mesh version mounts each section on a concrete pallet for airfields being reconfigured while remaining operational, and can later be taken off the pallet and set on permanent foundations.
• Fibreglass barriers exist for positions where metal structures would interfere with radar or ILS. The manufacturer notes that even the fixings are fibreglass, and that the construction is frangible on impact.
• The manufacturer states over 10 dB(A) reduction for airfield acoustic barriers, and acoustic benefit of up to 20 dB(A) for a ground run-up enclosure, which also builds jet blast protection into its rear wall.
• A ground run-up enclosure has to provide an aerodynamically stable environment across the widest possible range of weather. Crosswind performance is what decides how many days a year the facility is usable, not the attenuation figure alone.
• The apron working pod is quoted by the manufacturer at up to 58 dB(A) reduction, which is what allows dispatch staff to remove hearing protection and do paperwork at the head of stand.
• A hush house tests engines both installed in the aircraft and uninstalled on a test stand, and comes with fire suppression, a fuel system, an engine start system and separate control and auxiliary rooms.

Where this is specified

• Commercial, regional and military airfields
• Aircraft maintenance bases and MRO providers
• Aero-engine manufacturers and engine test houses
• Communities adjoining runways and ground running areas
• Aircraft stands and apron operations

Product lines in this family

• Vertical and angled mesh jet blast barriers
• Palletised angled mesh barriers for relocatable installations
• Curved solid jet blast barriers
• Fibreglass jet blast barriers for use near radar and ILS
• Acoustic barriers for airfields and ground running areas
• Ground run-up enclosures
• Fli-Pod apron working pods
• Hush houses for civil and military operators
• Test cells for uninstalled turboshaft, turbojet, turbofan and turboprop engines
• Auxiliary power unit test facilities
• Test cell acoustic packages: intake and exhaust silencers, shaft and cell lining panels, turning vanes, debris screens, turbulence control screens, augmentor sections, acoustic doors and windows
• Upgrading of existing test cells for new engine types