Estimating design effort for the compressor design department: a case study at Pratt & Whitney Canada

Abstract

The effort required in a design project not only impacts the final cost, but also the project lead-time. This paper presents a case study carried out with the collaboration of Pratt & Whitney Canada, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of aircraft engines. The study uses a parametric modeling approach for the purpose of design effort estimation of an integrated blade-rotor low-pressure compressor (IBR LPC) fan. Later the model is validated and is utilized for the estimation of the design effort. A sensitivity analysis is carried out and the impact of various factors considered in the parametric model is also discussed.