GEOFF THOMAS
Honeywell¹s AS900 engine programme has successfully completed more than a dozen critical FAA certification tests and will be performing ‘fan blade out', bird strike and ice ingestion testing later this summer. The AS900 programme has accumulated more than 6,000h of total test time including 400h of flight testing on Honeywell's Boeing 720 flying test bed and 100h on BAE Systems' Avro RJX airliner. Says Mike Redenbaugh, vice-president and general manager of the AS900 programme: "The engine has accrued more than 7,000 cycles of accelerated mission testing, where the complete propulsion system is subjected to a gruelling schedule designed to test the durability and reliability of all its components. "These processes led us to the product improvements we are now building into the engine for the final phase of the certification programme."
Robust
Honeywell has now shipped eight fully-podded AS977 flight test engines to BAE Systems for its RJX programme. The Avro RJX has completed more than 25 flight tests and certification is expected in the first quarter of 2002 enabling delivery to launch customer British European, which has 20 RJX-100s on order. The AS900 has a 34.2in (87cm) high efficiency, wide-chord damperless fan and a bypass ratio of 4:2. It features a simple, robust design and a reduced part count designed to reduce the cost of ownership. With four axial compressor stages, including two variable-geometry stators, a single centrifugal compressor, a two-stage high-pressure turbine and a three-stage low-pressure turbine, the engine will have accumulated more than 10,000h of test cell, flight and accelerated mission testing before entering revenue service.
All discs in the AS900 are designed for a life of 25,000 cycles with a service introduction life of 15,000 cycles. The axial compressor features integrally-bladed rotors for lower parts count and improved life properties while the effusion-cooled combustor provides uniform temperature profiles and reduced emissions.
Source: Flight Daily News
