GUY NORRIS / CINCINNATI
Engine maker says technology package could be ready for Airbus A320 and Boeing Next Generation 737 by 2006
CFM International is studying the launch of a Tech56-based upgrade for the CFM56-5B/P-powered Airbus A320 family and the -7B-powered Boeing Next Generation 737.
The plan, if adopted, will see the first significant insertion of technology developed under the Tech56 programme, which started in 1998. "We see in the future the turbine technology possibly going into a kit, reblading the compressor with three-dimensional aerodynamics for less deterioration, and potential modest improvements in the combustor. We could see these items in a kit around 2006," says CFMI executive vice-president Bill Clapper.
The company is conducting trade studies this year, "so it could fit into the certification cycle around 2004-5", says Clapper. The upgrade would also be incorporated into new production -5B/P and -7B engines, which CFMI plans to carry on making until at least 2010. The upgrade would increase efficiency and life-on-wing, rather than improve performance. "The idea is you could have one of today's engines on one side and a 2006 [kit upgrade or new build] engine on the other," says CFMI president Pierre Fabre.
The Tech56 kit would add to a group of upgrades including the -3 package entering service on South-west Airlines CFM56/3H-powered 737 Classics and a -5C/P kit due to enter service with Swiss in November on its Airbus A340-300 fleet. The potential market could be as much as 50% of the fleet of around 1,250 -5B/Ps and the fast-growing fleet of 2,500 -7Bs, "if we can make the economics work", adds Clapper.
Tests on improved efficiency, high- and low-pressure turbines have shown fuel savings, while work on an advanced six-stage high-pressure compressor shows potential durability benefits from a similarly designed reblading of the current engine's nine-stage compressor. Work on the Tech56 twin annular pre-swirl combustor have also shown major emission reductions, but have also shown "ways to make the current combustors more efficient", says Clapper.
Source: Flight International
