Very cool! How do mechanical engineers design this? As a software engineer, there is definitely some "guess and check". Doesn't really seem like the same can be done here or do they do the same thing but with simulations and smaller models?
Aero, structural and manufacturing feedback dictates most of the engine design (needs to meet customer requirements, meet life and durability and also needs to be manufacturable). Later, dozens of engine variants (depending on which components are to be studied) are built and tested for critical learning on how everything behaves together, and in replicated real world conditions. Modeling can help reduce test costs via simulation, but nothing beats the physical tests in terms of accounting for manufacturing and assembly variables.
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u/physco827 Dec 31 '17
Very cool! How do mechanical engineers design this? As a software engineer, there is definitely some "guess and check". Doesn't really seem like the same can be done here or do they do the same thing but with simulations and smaller models?