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The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the operations strategies (OSs) adopted by six of the all seven automobile engine manufacturers in action in Brazil during the years of 2005 and 2006.

Semi-structured interviews were held with at least one of the top managers at each engine manufacturing plant to collect information about the aforementioned strategies. The questions were aimed at identifying possible changes, over a four years period, in some of the operations-related competitive priorities and decision areas.

This research revealed the strategies adopted by six of the all seven major automobile engine manufacturers installed in Brazil in 2005, enabling a discussion of relevant themes from both the theoretical and practical standpoints. Competitive priorities and decision areas form a very inter-related system and any significant change of OSs requires significant investments, effort and time.

Case studies were carried out in a specific context of the automobile market in Brazil in 2005 and 2006. Firms must treat operations as a system that changes continuously.

In dealing with operations as a system, managers should know and apply OS concepts. This is even more important at dynamic (economic) sectors/industries.

This paper describes and discusses – via qualitative research and in a comprehensive way – the OSs of two groups (established and entrant manufacturers) of firms in a relatively dynamic context in Brazil.

This paper aims to set up and assess a new method to collaboratively mature the requirements for engine development in a more efficient way during the preliminary design phase.

A collaborative process has been set up in which detailed information on the behaviour of designed engines has been integrated into the aircraft preliminary sizing process by means of surrogate modelling.

The engine surrogate model has been invoked as a black box from within the aircraft preliminary design optimisation loops. The surrogate model reduces the uncertainty of coarse-grain formulas and may result in more competitive aircraft and engine designs. The surrogate model has been integrated in a collaborative cross-organisational workflow between aircraft manufacturer, engine manufacturer and simulation service providers to prepare for its deployment in industrial preliminary design processes.

The new collaborative way of working between aircraft manufacturer, engine manufacturer and simulation service providers could contribute to remove time consuming rework cycles in early and later design stages within delivering the optimal aircraft-engine combination.

The assessed process, based on an innovative collaboration standard, provides the opportunity to introduce useful design iterations with much more enriched information than in the classical design process as performed today. Specifically, the application of an engine surrogate model is advantageous, as it allows for extensive trade-off studies on aircraft level because of the low computational effort, while the intellectual property of the engine manufacturer (the engine preliminary design process) is respected and kept in-house.

The Annual Conference held in London and sponsored by British Caledonian Airways attracted delegates from 18 countries covered many aspects of airworthiness.

Strategic alliances are an important feature of the aerospace industry and many studies have sought to evaluate their performance. Most have taken a policy perspective exploring the economic and political benefits claimed for collaboration of this type. The perspective is a reflection of the political origins of many aerospace alliances. This study seeks to evaluate, from a managerial perspective, one of the newer alliances established on a strictly commercial basis. It focuses on BMW Rolls‐Royce GmbH, one of a small number of truly European alliances. The study concludes that, although Rolls‐Royce bought out its German partner after a decade of operation, the alliance was a success. The two engines developed by the alliance over this period were a technical success, overall sales were well on target and the alliance was about to break even. In addition, the study concludes that the alliance formed a key element in Rolls‐Royce’s successful strategy to extend its product portfolio, a strategy that elevated the company to second place in the global aero engine market.

Crankcase lubricants for automotive and commercial use are differentiated by their physico‐chemical properties but more importantly by their performance in a series of engine test sequences. The sequences are devised by committees formed by representatives from the vehicle manufacturers, the oil companies and the additive suppliers. The article describes the sequences devised by the American Petroleum Institute and the European ACEA organisations, including some historical background as well as the current specifications. Methods of compliance monitoring and enforcement are also covered.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the “automaker‐supplier” relationships that exist in a supply chain of the Brazilian automotive sector, based on assumptions and variables of transaction cost economics (TCE).

The paper explored case studies carried out at an automotive engine manufacturer and six of its suppliers, applying semistructured interviews.

The findings indicate that automakers seek to utilize a form of hybrid relationship with their suppliers, which sometimes resembles competition and at other times cooperation; asset specificity tends to be greater in the first‐tier of the supply chain; and asset specificity seems to be mediated by aspects such as the amount of production destined to the manufacturer, the objective of maximizing return on previous investments, and the configuration of higher value‐added supply operations.

The results corroborate that close, long‐lasting, and trustful relationships tend to reduce transaction costs and improve performance, but in some cases, “latent competition” may also lead to reduced costs; managers should not undervalue the self‐reinforcing effects of asset specificity in a context of shared investments; and business strategy should guide every decision made inside supply chains in order to align supply and operations priorities.

Considering the deep restructuring process that Brazilian automotive industry has experienced, this paper brings its contribution in using TCE tools to analyze relationships inside an engine‐producing supply chain, dealing with the links between TCE and supply chain management.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a warranty-based bilateral automated multi-issue negotiation approach.

A methodology for bilateral automated negotiation process is developed considering the targets such as warranty attractiveness, warranty cost, mean time between failures, spare parts cost to the end user over the useful life of the life. The negotiation methodology is explained using different cases of negotiation. The optimization for each negotiation step is carried out using genetic algorithm with elitism strategy.

The result after optimization indicates that the desired target values are achieved and manufacturer obtained desired profit margin.

Application of automated negotiation model is illustrated using a real life case of an automobile engine manufacturer. The proposed approach helps the manufacturer of any product to develop a methodology for carrying out the negotiation process. The approach also results into taking warranty-related decisions at the design stage.

This paper contributes in proposing a generalized methodology for warranty-based negotiation in which the negotiation is carried out between the manufacturer and the customer.

Perhaps in no other transport manufacturing industry is the relationship between powerplant and vehicle more critical than in the aircraft business. While an harmonious engine/ vehicle combination is a logical requirement of all transport modes it is a crucial prerequisite to a safe, efficient and reliable aeroplane.

The purpose of this paper is to create high-accuracy thrust modelling for cruise flight using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm.

In this study, using PSO, new thrust models with high accuracy for the cruise flight stages of Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3, JT15D-4C and TF-30 engines were created. For this aim, real Mach number, flight altitude and thrust values taken from the engine manufacturers were used. In the model, thrust is given as a function of altitude and Mach number. The sensitivity of the results given by the PSO thrust model has been examined using several different error types. Finally, the effect of some PSO parameters on the created models is examined.

It was observed that the model created predicted real thrust values with high precision.

The PSO thrust model can be used in the trajectory estimates of today’s aircraft with the use of accurate scaling factors. In addition, using the developed PSO thrust model together with a correct aerodynamic model provides more effective management of air traffic flow in air traffic management applications. Combining the PSO model with fuel flow-rate models will significantly increase engine efficiency and performance; thus, making a major contribution to reducing engine emissions.

The originality of this study is that it is the first thrust modelling made with PSO in the literature for turbofan engines. The use of real data in the study and the creation of models for several different turbofan engines are important for the reliability of thrust models.

The purpose of this paper is to present the challenges of turbine engine installation on small aircraft. The work was a part of the European Union project Efficient Systems and Propulsion for Small Aircraft, FP7 EU – Activity, 7.1.4. improving cost efficiency.

Few of the most interesting issues associated with replacing a piston engine with a turboprop engine were chosen: changes in engine bay cooling, air inlet, exhaust system, nacellès weight and parts reduction, flight tests and performance. The publication presents an approach to: design, assemble and test the small aircraft with a turboprop engine.

Replacement of piston engine by turbine was carried out. The full program of ground and flight test small aircraft has been successfully completed. Pros and cons of the new design are described in the paper.

Currently, aviation gasoline (AVGAS ) is increasingly being replaced by JET-A1 (kerosene-type fuels) or diesel fuel. The change concerns engine replacement and all the necessary additional components on the aircraft. This is consistent with the new directions of development of aviation: clean, green and eco design. Replacing the piston engine with a turbine allows improvement to performance and reduces operation cost.

The achieved results allow for identifying and highlighting new directions of aviation technology development. A significant added value is to draw attention to the necessity of preparing for future requirements and amendments in regulations for the new class of aircraft: general aviation SET(L) – single engine turboprop.