Frangible Bearing Support High Cycle Fatigue Test Rig

The frangible bearing support is a turbofan engine component designed to break under extreme conditions, such as fan blade-out, to prevent damage to the main structure of the engine. It must, however, be able to withstand icing loads, which are less extreme. Icing loads occur when condensation gathers and freezes inside the engine, creating an imbalance on the main shaft and imparting a rotating load on the frangible bearing support. The frangible bearing support was recently redesigned to meet a stricter icing life requirement of 5,000 pounds radial load for 30 million cycles.The new test rig design simulates high-cycle fatigue under icing conditions. The cycle count for this test was adjusted to 100,000 cycles with a rotating load of 8,500 pounds, applied radially outward on the inner cylindrical wall of the frangible bearing support. The test rig applies the load through the use of two actuators with connections to a puck in the center of the frangible bearing support. The test rig was designed to last 250,000 cycles so it can test both the original and redesigned frangible bearing support.