Engine makers were busy at Paris, with orders sealed and future projects revealed

The intrigues of the commercial propulsion market again took centre stage at the show, with manufacturers posturing to power next-generation narrowbodies, jostling for top spot on the new Airbus and Boeing twins and reviving proposals for Bombardier’s proposed CSeries.

The most unexpected developments came from the United Technologies (UTC) stable, with Pratt & Whitney announcing studies to power the next-generation Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 with yet another attempt to bring a geared turbofan (GTF) to market, and Pratt & Whitney Canada moving to meet the needs of the CSeries with a new core based on the PW800 technology demonstrator.

The latter development proves that what goes around comes around. Two years ago, at the 2003 Paris air show, P&WC was licking its wounds over losing yet another contest with the PW800 on the Airbus A400M military airlifter. Although conceived to power new-generation regional jets, as well as large business jets, the PW800 had by then already lost the competition to power the Chinese ARJ21 regional jet to the General Electric CF34, as well as losing the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) engine contest to the Snecma/Saturn SM146.

Prophetically, P&WC president Alain Bellemare said at the time: “In both cases we kind of expected to lose. We realise we have missed the first wave of regional jets, and are really gearing up for the next wave. We just have to be patient, as it may take five to 10 years. The end of the decade may be about right.”

If the CSeries becomes a reality with PW800 power, Bellemare’s wishes will be fulfilled sooner than he expected. Although not described as a regional jet, Bombardier’s proposed small airliner is a cut above the sector, but provides an entry to possible future regional jet projects requiring engines in the 16,000-22,000lb thrust (70-98kN) range. Equally importantly, it gives P&WC a new core from which to launch a possible range of next-generation the next wave of large business jets. “We missed the regional jet wave and we don’t want to pass on another opportunity,” said Bellemare at the show.

Still defining

“We are still defining the engine,” said Bellemare, who says provisional engine data will be supplied to Bombardier to allow the airframer to establish the performance characteristics of the CSeries for presentation to airlines. The schedule, assuming a go-ahead later this year, will see engine certification in mid-2009. “This is very do-able. We don’t consider this is an aggressive schedule,” said Bellemare.

The other big surprise to emerge at the show was P&W’s potential “go-alone” bid to power the next-generation A320/737 families with a GTF concept. Based on the PW6000 core, the concept demonstrator is planned to fly in 2008 in a programme believed to involve Boeing and NASA. “We’ve already had discussions with Boeing on a next-generation aircraft,” said P&W president Louis Chenevert, who added that “they’re looking at applying 787 technology – more electrics and composite technology. I’m sure they’re going to do it.”

Officially, Chenevert played the politically correct game and said the company’s main route to market remains through International Aero Engines. Without much prompting, however, he warned that “if for whatever reason it was decided it was not the way of the future, we’d be ready to go it alone. We believe we have the processes in plan to shorten the time to market considerably, and be in service within 36 months of launch.”

Chenevert emphatically believes the GTF “could be the step change we’re looking for”, and would be the fulfilment of a 15-year crusade to see the geared-fan concept into service. Although the technology has been tried out on the recent Advanced Ducted Propulsor and Advanced Fan Technology Integrator (AFTI) demonstrators, concerns over maintenance costs remain. Recent breakthroughs in oil-lubrication technology, including a new technique of directly spraying lubricant on to the meshing gear teeth, will be evaluated in the full-scale tests.

The nature and timing of the GTF test would suit the targets of Boeing’s Quiet Technology Demonstrator (QTD) programme, now entering a second phase of flight tests. Although QTD 2 involves General Electric with the GE90, Goodrich, and All Nippon Airways (ANA) with a donated 777, it is not yet known if the P&W effort is aimed at the next QTD phase. Although requests for proposals have been issued for a third QTD round for tests in 2008, it is unclear if the newly revealed P&W initiative is connected. What is significant about the QTD 3 is that it is aimed at noise reduction technology for the 150-seat market, rather than the 300-seater sector targeted with QTD 1 and 2.

Future questioned

The re-emergence of the GTF will almost inevitably pose serious questions about IAE’s future, despite reassurances by Chenevert and IAE president Mark King, who believes the abortive offer of a new engine for Bombardier’s CSeries strengthened its links on the all-important next-generation engine. “We have a process and we’re still very clearly focused on what Boeing and Airbus may do,” says King. He says IAE “will need a game-changing engine and is looking at all architectures. We’re confident we’ll have something we can put together and do it quickly.”

CFM International, which is set to enjoy a record year, has fine-tuned its focus on the future by launching the Leap56 (leading-edge aviation propulsion) programme – a broad-based technology initiative modelled on the successful Tech56 effort. “With Leap56, we have started the fundamental technology work that will position CFMI in the market for the next 30 years and beyond,” says president Pierre Fabre.

Specifically targeted at dramatically reducing noise, as well as cutting fuel burn by 10%, and maintenance costs by around 25%, the technology “basket” includes work on new lightweight structures that has been kick-started with the development of composite fans and fan casings for the GEnx engine. Leap56 will take this even further with studies of resin transfer moulding (RTM) fan-blade technology, as well as innovative electric power-generation systems, three-dimensional aerodynamic cooling, high-lift, low-pressure turbine designs, next-generation high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade cooling and a closed loop HPT clearance control system. The effort also includes systems improvements, such as next-generation controls with in-built diagnostics and a lightweight advanced gearbox. Rig tests are set for 2007.

CFMI is keen to give a clear signal that it has the future market in mind, having seen its CFM56 installed base swell massively again over the first six months of 2005. During the Paris show alone it logged orders for 218 CFM56 engines with a combined value of $1.3 billion, taking overall orders for 2005 so far to almost 820.

In the larger engine arena, the hidden winner of the Paris show was the GE90-115B, which quietly moved up the order tables on the back of a stream of new 777-200LR/300ER business. Although overshadowed by the high-profile wheeling and dealing over the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 engines, the exclusive deal between Boeing and GE is guaranteed to bring big dividends to the engine maker.

Attention also fell on Rolls-Royce’s increasingly urgent attempts to secure an engine agreement with Airbus on the A350 with a bleed-adapted version of the 787’s Trent 1000. R-R was tight-lipped about details, but it emerged that talks are focused on the scope and timing of changes needed to tailor the engine to the A350. Crucially for R-R, however, it secured concessions from Airbus that will enable the engine to be offered for earlier deliveries, even though R-R cannot officially take its first formal order until GE has logged at least 150 sales for the GEnx-powered A350.

With the hectic pace of engine developments, it is hard to predict what will be revealed by the time Farnborough comes around next year. At least one strong trend was clear at Paris, however, and that was that some imaginative concepts refuse to die and have come back to the fore once more – or as the French would say: “Plus ça change.”

GUY NORRIS

 

Source: Flight International

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