A case study of vibration fault diagnosis applied at Rolls-Royce T-56 turboprop engine

Gas turbine engines include a plethora of rotating modules, and each module consists of numerous components. A component’s mechanical fault can result in excessive engine vibrations. Identification of the root cause of a vibration fault is a significant challenge for both engine manufacturers and operators. This paper presents a case study of vibration fault detection and isolation applied at a Rolls-Royce T-56 turboprop engine. In this paper, the end-to-end fault diagnosis process from starting system faults to the isolation of the engine’s shaft that caused excessive vibrations is described. This work contributes to enhancing the understanding of turboprop engine behaviour under vibration conditions and highlights the merit of combing information from technical logs, maintenance manuals and engineering judgment in successful fault diagnosis.