An Evaluation of the Technical Condition of the ROTAX 912S Engine Based on Spectrographic Oil Analysis

Abstract

Flight safety, which characterizes the aviation industry, is an important element that contributes to increasing the trust of customers and passengers. The aforementioned factor closely corresponds to the reliability of aircraft and their individual components, including power units. Over one hundred years of development of aviation techniques has led aviation to the currently observed level of safety and reliability. Aviation techniques should be understood as technologies as well as local and global regulations affecting individual branches of the industry. Guidelines No. 9 of the President of Polish Civil Authority of August 29, 2016 on the inter-repair periods of piston engines, indicate the possibility of waiving the requirements related to the performance of major repairs, and a number of conditions must be met. One of the requirements set out in the Guidelines is performing a spectrographic analysis of engine oil in order to estimate the rate of wear of individual engine parts (ULC, 2016). The main goal of this study was to recognize whether regular analysis of engine oil may affect the assessment of the technical condition of aircraft piston engines based on the example of ROTAX 912S, thus affecting or not influencing the maintenance intervals. The engines referred to in the research were produced in the amount of about 2,000 units. Thus, these engines gained popularity as power units for airplanes, helicopters, and gyroplanes. With the increasing number of ROTAX units introduced into service, research into the technical condition becomes more important due to their percentage share in the market