Thrust Reverser Research Articles

Integrating safety and formal analyses using UML and PFS

Where software systems are safety critical, for example in aircraft engine control, it is necessary to carry out safety analysis on designs in support of certification. We argue that there is also significant value in formally validating such a design. Few “classical” formal notations and methods are geared towards embedded systems. We illustrate one such method known as Practical Formal Specification (PFS), showing how it can be integrated in a UML context with various forms of safety analysis. The PFS method was developed to extend classical approaches in the development of embedded software systems in a way that adds engineering value, and fits into existing well-established frameworks. We exemplify the approach to model the reverse thrust selection function of the thrust reversal system of a turbo-jet engine.

Characterization of aircraft noise during thrust reverser engagement

Airport noise impact on communities has been an area of considerable study. However, it has been determined that thrust reverser engagement is an area requiring further research. This paper presents findings on thrust reverser from a noise study done at Washington‐Dulles International Airport (IAD) in October of 2004. Previous studies have found that high levels of acoustic energy in commercial aircraft during takeoff are contained below 300 Hz [Sharp, Ben H., Guovich, Yuri A., and Albee, William, W., ‘‘Status of Low‐Frequency Aircraft Noise Research and Mitigation,’’ Wyle Report WR 01‐21, San Francisco, September 2001]. Preliminary analysis of thrust reverser signatures indicates similar findings. A categorization of aircraft noise during thrust reverser engagement is given and looks at factors that may affect the noise characteristics. Some of these factors include: plane type, engine type, and thrust ratings. In addition, a brief analysis of frequency weightings of the Equivalent Sound Level (Leq) and Sound Exposure Level (SEL) metrics, and their application to thrust reverser noise is discussed. [Work supported by the Federal Aviation Administration.]

Vibration and rattle impact due to low frequency noise investigated at Dulles airport

A noise study was conducted at Washington Dulles International Airport to further investigate the noise and vibration impact of thrust reversers and start of takeoff roll on communities near runways. Two different houses located on the airport property were instrumented with outdoor and indoor microphones and accelerometers mounted inside on walls, windows and floor. This presentation will discuss both the experimental design and data obtained from the two different structures. Correlations between plane types, outdoor signatures and acceleration levels are considered. The outdoor signatures and acceleration levels are used to investigate the conditions under which rattle of a loosely coupled window is observed. Additionally, the design of a subsequent subjective study to examine the effects of rattle on human perception will be discussed. The combination of the objective measurements with the results of the subjective study is intended to give a better understanding of community impact due to airport noi...

Late Mesozoic to Paleogene stratigraphy of the Salar de Atacama Basin, Antofagasta, Northern Chile: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Central Andes

The Salar de Atacama basin, the largest “pre-Andean” basin in Northern Chile, was formed in the early Late Cretaceous as a consequence of the tectonic closure and inversion of the Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Tarapacá back arc basin. Inversion led to uplift of the Cordillera de Domeyko (CD), a thick-skinned basement range bounded by a system of reverse faults and blind thrusts with alternating vergence along strike. The almost 6000-m-thick, upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene sequences (Purilactis Group) infilling the Salar de Atacama basin reflects rapid local subsidence to the east of the CD. Its oldest outcropping unit (Tonel Formation) comprises more than 1000 m of continental red sandstones and evaporites, which began to accumulate as syntectonic growth strata during the initial stages of CD uplift. Tonel strata are capped by almost 3000 m of sandstones and conglomerates of western provenance, representing the sedimentary response to renewed pulses of tectonic shortening, which were deposited in alluvial fan, fluvial and eolian settings together with minor lacustrine mudstone (Purilactis Formation). These are covered by 500 m of coarse, proximal alluvial fan conglomerates (Barros Arana Formation). The top of the Purilactis Group consists of Maastrichtian-Danian alkaline lava and minor welded tuffs and red beds (Cerro Totola Formation: 70–64 Ma K/Ar) deposited during an interval of tectonic quiescence when the El Molino–Yacoraite Late Cretaceous sea covered large tracts of the nearby Altiplano-Puna domain. Limestones interbedded with the Totola volcanics indicate that this marine incursion advanced westwards to reach the eastern CD slope. CD shortening in the Late Cretaceous was accompanied by volcanism and continental sedimentation in fault bounded basins associated to strike slip along the north Chilean magmatic arc to the west of the CD domain, indicating that oblique plate convergence prevailed during the Late Cretaceous. Oblique convergence seems to have been resolved into a highly partitioned strain system where margin-parallel displacements along the thermally weakened arc coexisted with margin-orthogonal shortening associated with syntectonic sedimentation in the Salar de Atacama basin. A regionally important Early Paleocene compressional event is echoed, in the Salar de Atacama basin by a, distinctive, angular unconformity which separates Paleocene continental sediments from Purilactis Group strata. The basin also records the Eocene–Early Oligocene Incaic transpressional episode, which produced, renewed uplift in the Cordillera de Domeyko and triggered the accumulation of a thick blanket of syntectonic gravels (Loma Amarilla Formation).

Optimization Design for Thrust Reverser Cascade with a View to Reduce Noise

reverser considered in this paper uses the natural blockage concept, with only the fan duct flow being reversed. This paper focuses on the study of the aerodynamic performance of the cascade within a cold stream thrust reverser. Aerodynamic simulations are carried out using realistic operating conditions, for idealized cascade models representing three design options. The aim of this work is to investigate whether the aerodynamic performance of the thrust reverser cascade has been improved while minimizing weight of the cascade. In addition, t1his is the first attempt of us to considering noise reduction during design of the thrust reverse. The numerical simulations show that despite a reduction in total reverse thrust for the weight reduced designs, the supersonic flow regime, which existed in the original design, was eliminated after changing vane configurations made with the 5% and 10% weight reductions. The aerodynamic performance around the cascade and in the fan duct within the thrust reverser has been improved. Moreover, the acoustic characteristics of the thrust reverser are improved too. The total reverse thrust is not significantly affected with the modified cascade.

Enhancement of thrust reverser cascade performance using aerodynamic and structural integration

AbstractThis paper focuses on the design of a cascade within a cold stream thrust reverser during the early, conceptual stage of the product development process. A reliable procedure is developed for the exchange of geometric and load data between a two dimensional aerodynamic model and a three dimensional structural model. Aerodynamic and structural simulations are carried out using realistic operating conditions, for three different design configurations with a view to minimising weight for equivalent or improved aerodynamic and structural performance. For normal operational conditions the simulations show that total reverse thrust is unaffected when the performance of the deformed vanes is compared to the un-deformed case. This shows that for the conditions tested, the minimal deformation of the cascade vanes has no significant affect on aerodynamic efficiency and that there is scope for reducing the weight of the cascade. The pressure distribution through a two dimensional thrust reverser section is determined for two additional cascade vane configurations and it is shown that with a small decrease in total reverse thrust, it is possible to reduce weight and eliminate supersonic flow regimes through the nacelle section. By increasing vane sections in high pressure areas and decreasing sections in low pressure areas the structural performance of the cascade vanes in the weight reduced designs, is improved with significantly reduced levels of vane displacement and stress.

Weight reduction methodologies for a thrust reverser cascade using aerodynamic and structural integration

This paper focuses on the aerodynamic and structural design of the cascade within a cold stream thrust reverser. Methodologies are established for improving the efficiency of the design process. Aerodynamic and structural simulations are carried out using realistic operating conditions for idealized cascade models representing three design options. The aim of this work is to minimize weight while maintaining or improving aerodynamic and structural performance. Total reverse thrust decreases by 0.28 per cent when the aerodynamic performance of the deformed cascade is compared with the undeformed case. This shows that, for the conditions tested, the displacement of the cascade vanes has a minimal affect on aerodynamic performance, and that there is scope for weight reduction. When cascade weight is reduced by 5 per cent and then 10 per cent by modifying the vane configurations, the structural performance of the cascade improves, with significantly reduced levels of vane displacement. Although reverse thrust is reduced by 9 per cent for both of the reduced-weight designs, the maximum airspeed within the thrust reverser is subsonic. The maximum airspeed is above Mach 1 for the original design. This reduces the risk of the structure being subjected to the complex loading conditions associated with the shock waves due to supersonic air flow.

Focal mechanisms of shallow and intermediate depth earthquakes along the Hellenic Arc

The active tectonics of the southern Aegean Sea, a region of intense shallow and intermediate depth seismicity, is studied based on well-constrained focal mechanisms. We use the focal mechanisms of 28 earthquakes (with moment magnitudes M>4.9) of the period 1977–2002 whose source parameters we determined from inversion of body waves and the focal mechanisms of 85 other earthquakes to re-examine the style of faulting in the shallow and deeper parts of the subducting slab. The deepest event that we studied has depth of ∼160 km. The combined data set of focal mechanisms, indicate the following, starting from south to north: (a) NW–SE compression with thrusts along the outer central Mediterranean Rise; (b) reverse and low angle thrust faulting at depths up to 40 km with P axis having a constant direction which is almost perpendicular to the strike of the arc, in the western and central parts and parallel to the arc in the eastern part; (c) normal faulting with E–W trending T-axes showing along—arc extension at depths up to 40 km; and (d) strike–slip faulting with P-axes parallel to the strike of the arc for events deeper than 40 km. Of special interest is the area between the island of Zante and the western coasts of Peloponnese where shallow and deeper events are of strike–slip faulting. The eastern part of the Hellenic arc exhibits a different behaviour than the western and central part. In the eastern part P-axes for both shallow and deeper events have the same NE–SW parallel to the arc trend. This is not the case in the western and central part of the arc where there is a clear discrimination between shallow and deeper events. In the eastern part the angle of the subducting plate is steeper than the other parts and the T - axes are well aligned along dip of the subducting plate. If for the deeper than 40 km events the ∼E–W trending planes are assumed as the fault planes, then the western parts of the arc (Kythira, Milos islands) are connected to dextral strike–slip motions while the eastern parts (near Rodos Island) are connected to sinistral strike–slip motions.

Acoustic treated thrust reverser bullnose fairing assembly

An acoustically treated bullnose fairing assembly for a thrust reverser of an aircraft, the thrust reverser having an outer fixed structure and a stowable blocker door. The bullnose fairing assembly includes a back sheet, a face sheet and a honeycomb structure positioned between the face sheet and the back sheet—these three items being bonded together and securely affixed to an outer fixed structure of the thrust reverser. The back sheet has a forward end and a back end. The face sheet has a forward portion and a back portion, the back portion being aft of a forward edge of the blocker door when the blocker door is stowed. The forward portion of the face sheet is perforated. The perforated forward portion of the face sheet cooperates with the honeycomb structure to maximize the acoustic performance of the thrust reverser.

Glottic-modulated lung ventilation during continuous transtracheal gas insufflation: an experimental study.

We investigated a new method of pulmonary ventilation that included a minitracheostomy, a reverse thrust catheter to deliver continuous flow of gas to the carina, and a threshold valve to avoid lung overinflation. In six lightly sedated healthy sheep, at a continuous flow of 5, 10, or 15 L/min and a threshold valve of 5, 10, 15, or 20 cm H(2)O, we observed a novel respiratory pattern that was characterized either by active lung inflation followed by passive and prolonged inspiratory hold (mixed pattern) or by an absence of all active inspiratory effort and only passive inflation of the lungs (passive pattern). We correlated airway pressure changes with direct visualization of the glottic opening through a fiberoptic bronchoscope. We measured airway pressures at the level of the carina, the subglottic level, and in the pleural space, and respiratory events were monitored through inductive plethysmography. An increase in continuous flow, threshold valve, or both resulted in 1) an increase in glottic breathing; 2) a decrease in respiratory rate, with a decrease in inspiratory pleural pressure excursion; or 3) an increased inspiratory/expiratory ratio and mean airway pressure. During transtracheal gas insufflation, as in this study, a novel respiratory pattern evolved that was modulated by the glottis, accompanied by a decreased effort of breathing; coughing and swallowing remained, and vocalization remained unimpaired.

Post-Taconian shortening, inversion and strike slip in the Stephenville area, western Newfoundland Appalachians

Deformed terrigenous and carbonate sedimentary rocks representing the early Paleozoic Laurentian continental margin form a series of elongate, fault-bounded blocks that plunge north beneath the Humber Arm Allochthon in the Stephenville area, west Newfoundland Appalachians. The continental shelf succession was folded and thrust-faulted after emplacement of the Humber Arm Allochthon. In the west of the area, Table Mountain is cut by a "pop-up" structure bounded by downward-converging reverse faults. Structures at the east margin of Table Mountain indicate both dextral and reverse slip. The Phillips Brook Structure, farther east, contains multiple, fault-bounded carbonate slices; one slice, carried by the West Blanche Brook fault, is thrust over the Humber Arm Allochthon. The western edge of the Indian Head massif, consisting of Grenville basement, is also a thrust contact. These reverse faults and thrusts, which cut the carbonate succession and postdate emplacement of the Humber Arm Allochthon, are in turn overprinted by structures formed during dextral strike-slip motion. Unconformable Early Carboniferous cover postdates most of the deformation. Cross-sections indicate shortening of a few kilometres, and basement was clearly involved in the deformation. The Port au Port Peninsula, immediately to the west, records a history of Acadian inversion of Taconian basins. The prevalence of pop-up structures and mappable variations within the stratigraphic units forming the top of the carbonate succession indicate that a complex geometry of Taconian horsts and grabens was inverted during post-Taconian (?Acadian) shortening and dextral strike-slip motion. These relationships suggest a variety of attractive targets in petroleum exploration.

Detection of a recent earthquake fault by the shallow reflection seismic method

The 1999 Chi‐Chi earthquake in Taiwan was a relatively unique seismic event which activated the Chelungpu thrust fault with extraordinarily large surface ruptures up to 9.8 m horizontally and 5.6 m vertically. The fault is 80 km long, lying mostly in a north–south direction and with a reverse thrust dipping shallowly to the east. For this paper we used the shallow reflection seismic method (a small‐scale method) to map this active fault (a large‐scale structure) and provide evidence in support of the thin‐skinned thrust model for this earthquake fault. The investigation is comprised of two parts. The first concentrates on the northern portion of the fault where the fault trace was bent 70° to the northeast and was accompanied by abnormally large ground displacements and damage. The seismic sections obtained are of good quality and can be used to explore the detailed faulting mechanism. The second part aims to find the gross features of the 60 × 20‐km fault surface using limited shallow seismic measurements (about 50 seismic lines), incorporating the thin‐skinned thrust concept. This is a test to examine the feasibility of using a small‐scale economical method to study a big structure. The results are quite plausible.

Restricting Use of Reverse Thrust as an Emissions Reduction Strategy

As more metropolitan areas approach “nonattainment” status for ozone, air pollution at airports is becoming an increasingly important topic. Most proposed emissions reduction strategies target passenger automobiles and airport ground service equipment (GSE). At many airports, the future growth in oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from aircraft is likely to offset any reduction achieved from GSE or passenger vehicles. In some metropolitan areas, airports may be responsible for as much as 10% of the regional NOx. As a result, other alternatives are needed for emissions reduction at airports. Reverse thrust is commonly used along with wheel brakes to slow aircraft during landing and to “power back” aircraft away from a boarding gate. Currently, air pollution emissions generated during reverse thrust are not included in airport emissions inventories. Because the majority of aircraft NO, emissions occur off-airport during climb out and approach, reverse thrust can be responsible for an additional 15% or more of the on-airport NO,. Because this additional NOx is emitted over a relatively small area, it can create significant air quality impacts in the vicinity of the busiest airports. An attempt is made to quantify the air quality effect of NOx emissions produced during reverse thrust, using Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as a case study. The significance of the airport’s emissions from a regional standpoint and state implementation plan photochemical grid modeling are addressed.

Intratracheal pulmonary ventilation keeps tracheal tubes clean without impairing mucociliary transport

Background : Intratracheal pulmonary ventilation (ITPV) is a form of tracheal gas insufflation through a reverse thrust catheter that facilitates expiration and enhances CO 2 removal. Tracheas of sheep mechanically ventilated for 3 days with gas delivered through the reverse-thrust catheter remained free of secretions, without suctioning. It was hypothesized that: 1) The expiratory flow from the lungs, combined with continuous cephalad flow from the reversethrust catheter keeps endotracheal tubes clean; and 2) tracheal mucus velocity is not impaired by ITPV. Methods : A model trachea connected to a test lung and to a ventilator, via an 8-mm endotracheal tube, was used. Inspiratory and expiratory peak flow velocities and the movement of mucus in the model trachea and in the endotracheal tube were measured during conventional mechanical ventilation and ITPV. Tracheal mucus velocity was measured radiographically, using tantalum discs as markers, in seven intubated sheep ventilated for one hour with volume-controlled ventilation, and with ITPV. One millilitre Evans Blue dye was introduced into the trachea, to visualize mucus transport into the endotracheal tube. Results : Peak expiratory flow velocity exceeded peak inspiratory flow velocity by 100% during ITPV. During volume-controlled ventilation, flow velocities were equal. During ITPV, there was slow, then rapid cephalad movement of mucus in the model trachea, 0.5 cm distal to the tip of the endotracheal tube, the velocity increasing once mucus entered the endotracheal tube. During volume-controlled ventilation, no movement of mucus was found. Baseline tracheal mucus velocity was equal during volume-controlled ventilation and ITPV. Secretions stained with Evans Blue dye entered the endotracheal tube and were rapidly expelled from within the endotracheal tubes during ITPV; only traces of mucus were found in two sheep during volume-controlled ventilation. Conclusion : The enhanced expiratory flow during ITPV expels secretions from the endotracheal tube through entraining of mucus at the tip of the endotracheal tube. Tracheal mucus velocity is not influenced by ITPV.

Determination of the Altyn Tagh strike-slip fault basin and its relationship with mountains

A special extended basin topography is developed in the middle segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault Zone. The ratio of its length to width is over 50. The long boundaries at the two sides of the basin are controlled by the straight normal faults with strike-slip component. Within the basin, the Cenozoic strata are spread. The Altyn Tagh main fault goes through the basin, and a series of strike-slip topography was formed within the basin. The reverse thrust structures were formed at the two sides of the center of the basin, thus making the geological bodies composed of old metamorphic rocks at the two sides of the basin extrude vertically, and forming the extended massif (mountain) at the sides of the basin and parallel to the basin. This special topography was called the strike-slip fault basin. The giant extended strike-slip fault basin began to form during Pliocene, and its topography was basically formed during the late Pleistocene. It is the special topography formed during the strike-slip deformation process of the Altyn Tagh Fault Zone and under both transpression and uplifting.

Thrust reverser modulation—a tool to command landing ground run

Due to inefficiencies and associated cost incurred by taxi-in related delays in a busy airport, a new idea has been proposed to efficiently command and control the landing ground run of medium to heavy transport aircraft equipped with thrust reversers. The idea is based on the modulation of thrust reversers installed on the aircraft. To demonstrate the efficiency of such a system, the complete equations of motion as soon as the main gears touch the ground, up until the aircraft comes to a complete stop have been developed. In addition to the thrust reversers, all effective control mechanisms during the landing process, such as brakes and spoilers have been included in the mathematical model. By proposing a suitable definition for an optimum landing ground run and its associated cost function different contour plots for landing ground run vs. optimal control commands have been developed for a typical heavy transport. It is further shown that a modulated thrust reverser could be an effective tool to command and control the landing ground run of an aircraft. The results of simulation program for a typical heavy transport, such as a B-747-100, show a possibility of 12% decrease in the time associated with taxi-in.

The Gujarat, West India, earthquake (Jan 26th 2001). A geodynamic event in an intraplate compressional regime?

The Jan. 26, 2001, Ms=7.7 earthquake occurred in Gujarat region of W. India, which lies 200-400 Km away from the active plate boundary zone, between the Indian subcontinent and the Asian plate, along the India-Pakistan border and the Himalayan belt. An Ms=7.7±0.2 earthquake also occurred in the same region in 1819. A zone of co-seismic E-W surface ruptures, 30-40 Km long and 15-20 Km wide, observed near the epicentral area and seems to be associated with pre-existing reverse faults and thrust folds, which were partially reactivated during the recent earthquake. Except the reverse vertical displacement a significant right lateral displacement was also observed along these E-W surface ruptures. This Ms=7.7 seismic event has been also accompanied by a large scale flexural-slip folding, as the absence of significant co-seismic fault displacement and fault scarp shows. This type of compressional tectonic deformation is also confirmed by the focal mechanism of the earthquake and the seismo-tectonic "history" of the area. The NW-SE open cracks, also observed along the same zone, are associated with the right lateral horizontal displacement of the reactivated fault (or branch faults) and the development of local extensional stress field in the huge anticlinic hinges of the co-seismic flexural-slip folds. A large number of ground ruptures, failures and open cracks are also associated with extensive sand boils, liquefaction phenomena and lateral spreading.

The effect of intratracheal pulmonary ventilation on the decrease of dead space in rabbits with acute respiratory failure.

A technique that improves the efficiency of alveolar ventilation should decrease the pressure required and reduce the potential for lung injury during mechanical ventilation. High partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) can be tolerated if associated with a lower airway pressure as in permissive hypercapnia (PH). Intratracheal pulmonary ventilation (ITPV) was developed to allow a decrease in physiological dead space during mechanical ventilation. We compared the effect of hybrid ventilation (HV) as a modification of ITPV with PH on the decrease of tidal volume and airway pressures in rabbits with acute respiratory failure. Tracheostomy was performed in seven rabbits ventilated under volume-controlled mode in the supine position. Arterial blood gas analysis, airway pressures, and dead space ventilation were measured at respiratory rates of 20/min as control values. Oleic acid (OA) of 0.06 mL/kg was injected to induce acute respiratory failure. Tidal volume (V(T)) was elevated to maintain PaCO2 in the normal range. These same parameters were measured as OA values. Then V(T) was reduced to the control level to allow PH. Hybrid ventilation was initiated by inserting a reverse thrust catheter (RTC) into the endotracheal tube. Hybrid ventilation consists of a pressure-controlled mode of mechanical ventilation and ITPV while flushing fresh gas continuously via the RTC. Respiratory parameters were compared under control, OA, PH and HV conditions. Oleic acid injection decreased partial pressure of oxygen (PaCO2) from 401+/-35 mmHg to 129+/-39 mmHg, increased V(T) from 42+/-5 mL to 52+/-10 mL, and increased dead space (V(D))/V(T) ratio from 0.65+/-0.07 to 0.71+/-0.07. During PH, the increase in PaCO2 was accompanied by an increase in V(D)/V(T) ratio from 0.71+/-0.07 to 0.79+/-0.03 and by a decrease of peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) from 19.4+/-4.0 cmH2O to 16.8+/-3.1 cmH2O. PaCO2 was lowered from 50+/-5 mmHg in PH to 39+/-5 mmHg in HV with a lower V(T). V(D)/V(T) ratio in HV which was as low as that in control. Hybrid ventilation is an effective and easy-to-use ventilatory modality to reduce PaCO2 and airway pressures by the reduction in V(D)/V(T) ratio in acute respiratory failure model.

Aerodynamic Analysis of an Installed Thrust Reverser

One of the most challenging problems for modern computational  uid dynamicsmethods is the accurate calculation of installed thrust-reverser performance. In this paper, a three-dimensional Cartesian grid Euler method is used to compute the  ow about a contemporary business jet with thrust reversers deployed in ground effect. While the entire aircraft is included in this simulation,themultigrid procedure facilitates grid reŽ nement near the thrustreverser components. Further, the Cartesian grid structure can be assembled in a few days and preliminary design solutions computed in 1–2 h of Cray J90 time. More detailed solutions may be obtained via program restarts. Regardless, subsequent solutions at other design points or with minor designmodiŽ cations are achieved within 1-day elapsed time. For the case analyzed, computedparticle traces are qualitativelysimilar to exhaust plumetrajectories observed in tests on similar installations. Furthermore, the computed pressure distribution on the windward side of the thrust-reverser door compares favorably with available test data, and the computed net braking force is within 2% of the measured data. Based on these data comparisons and the practical user/computational requirements of the method, numerical simulations of installed thrust reverser applications are feasible for preliminary designs.

Estructura andina de la Cordillera Oriental en el área de la Quebrada de Humahuaca, Provincia de Jujuy, NO de Argentina

In the Eastern Cordillera and Subandean Ranges in northern Argentina, two large groups of rocks can be distinguished: an upper Proterozoic and Paleozoic basement, deformed during Panamerican and Famatinian orogenic cycles, and the Andean cover, lying unconformably over the old basement. Two main andean tectonostratigraphic units can be also defined: a preorogenic sequence (major part of Salta group), linked to an extensional tectonic event, and the upper part of Salta group and the Oran group that correspond to the sedimentary filling of a foreland basin adjacent to a fold-thrust belt. The structures related to the extensional tectonic process are normal faults arranged in a N-S trending bands. The most important compressional structures are reverse faults and thrusts, and scarce related folds. Most of the reverse faults result from inversion of the extensional faults during the compressional tectonics process. The analysis of different kinematic markers shows an East tectonic transport direction for the Andean compressional structures. Structural and kinematics analysis allow us to distinguish several stages during the compressional event. Thrust faulting started at 17 to 14 Ma in westermost tectonic units of the Eastern Cordillera and at 11 Ma in eastern thrust sheets. The compressive deformation was transferred to the Subandean Ranges at 8.5 Ma and lasted, at least locally until 1 Ma, and it probably caused the second generation of thrusts (out of sequence thrusts) in the Eastern Cordillera. Latest extensional and strike-slip faults started at 1-2 ma. and are still active.