PRATT & WHITNEY Canada's PW530 turbofan has passed a new birdstrike test after failing the first in mid-1994, necessitating a redesign of the engine's integrally bladed rotor (IBR) fan.
The 12kN (2,600lb)-thrust PW530 will power the Cessna Citation Bravo light business-jet, with a first flight scheduled for next month.
The engine is required to ingest two 0.45kg birds and continue producing at least 75% power. The 75% target was not met in the first test, says P&WC's corporate-aircraft marketing manager, Anthony Cristofaro.
The titanium IBR fan was given with thicker blade profiles and the test was re-staged in late February. It passed, producing "well above" 80% residual thrust, he says.
The revised fan had to meet the altitude performance already guaranteed to Cessna and the result is a slight sea-level penalty, but no impact on specific fuel-consumption, Cristofaro says.
The PW530 passed a 1.8kg birdstrike test, first time, Cristofaro says. In that test, the engine was required to shut itself down safely after ingesting a single large bird.
Shaft-shear and blade-off tests have been completed and two consecutive 150 endurance tests run on the same engine, which was in "excellent shape" afterwards, he says. Cessna is flight-testing a PW530 on a T-47 Citation testbed.
Source: Flight International
