Originally Posted by
etudiant
Would it be pointless to run some of these gearboxes to destruction?
Documenting the failure paths in order to provide some improved understanding of these disasters. Perhaps we might even learn something new.
Unfortunately, the type of testing you describe would not likely be helpful. What most people, including many engineers, don't understand is the fundamental purpose for conducting tests. In the aerospace industry, the primary reason for conducting tests is to validate design and analysis work. Normally, tests (qualification, acceptance, etc) are conducted under very tightly controlled conditions using a test article specifically constructed for the test procedure.
Consider what would be required to bench test say 5 EC225 main gearboxes to their service life limit. There is the huge cost to manufacture the gearbox test articles. There is the significant cost to operate the test stand for a couple thousand hours required for each test procedure. At something like 2000 hours per gearbox test, it would take over one year to complete the 5 tests operating non-stop.