Aircraft engines ingest a certain amount of water from the atmosphere when operating in rainy or snowy conditions or near surfaces such as seas or oceans. For manned aircraft engines, the FAA 14 CFR Part 33.77, EASA CS-E 780, and ICAO Annex 8 standards include certification criteria and test methods for water ingestion in aviation engines. For unmanned aircraft engines, these or similar standards may be referenced by end users.

In internal combustion aviation engines, water ingestion can result in performance losses, structural damage, or engine flameout. Therefore, analyzing the engine’s behavior during water ingestion is critically important for safety.

Water ingestion tests are typically conducted on ground test stands using systems placed in front of the engine’s air intake. Depending on certification criteria, these systems condition the water, controlling particle size and flow rate. Since the engine remains operational during testing, synchronization and communication between the test system and the engine’s control system are vital for test safety.

E2T develops customized water ingestion test systems tailored to customer requirements with its expert team. Our test systems feature high-speed, precise data acquisition and control capabilities and are 100% compatible with your engine’s test stand and controller. With E2T’s water ingestion test systems, you can conduct tests in compliance with international standards and with full safety.