Karen Walker
CFM International (CFMI) is gearing up for a year of important milestones in its TECH56 engine technology programme.
During 2000, the third and final year of project TECH56, CFMI will perform performance, crosswind and ingestion tests on a 68in hollow swept fan blade. These tests will follow on from full-scale performance, crosswind and acoustics testing of a swept wide chord fan blade on a modified CFM56-7 that were completed in January. CFMI describes the test results as "outstanding".
While this year will consist of a lot more validation and testing, it will also mark the period when the company begins thinking about applications for TECH56 technologies.
Potential
TECH56 is a technology acquisition programme that aims to serve as the basis for potential new and derivative engines, as well as to provide technology upgrades to the existing CFM56 product line.
In keeping with CFMI's tradition of always working as a team - the company is a joint venture between General Electric and Snecma - testing is being performed at both GE's site in Ohio, USA, and Snecma's location in Villaroche, France.
CFMI executive vice-president Bill Clapper says tests completed so far indicate growth potential in the range of 4-6% on the newest variant, the CFM56-7. "That's technology we like a lot," says Clapper.
Develop
At the same time, the company is keen not to develop new technologies at the expense of strengths in the current CFM56 product. "We don't have engines that stall; it's an advantage we have in the marketplace and we want to make sure that whatever we do, we protect that advantage," says Clapper.
To this end, TECH56 engineers have attached a mantra to their programme: "Simple, reliable, affordable." It is this formula that will dictate the direction of TECH56.
For example, the goal is to reduce the current nine-stage compressor to six-stage. The simpler design, with fewer parts, should lead to lower maintenance costs and slightly better fuel burn. An aero rig for six-stage compressor testing will be in place later this year, with the first test planned for summer or early fall and the second right after New Year.
"We are hoping for very, very good results. It's going to be a big summer," says Clapper.
Another important validation test this year will be of the twin annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor. Such a combustor would significantly reduce all emissions - by as much as 50% - across the entire thrust range.
Operating
This should prove particularly attractive to airlines in European countries operating under increasingly strict environmental rules. It is, however, one of the most technologically challenging aspects of the TECH56 programme. "If you want a degree of difficulty, that's a 10," admits Clapper.
CFMI is also actively involved in dialogue and briefings with airline customers so that they are aware of TECH56 progress and can include their input and feedback.
A technology conference for customers was held in Phoenix, Arizona, earlier this year. Two of the largest customer issues raised at that conference, says Clapper, centred on how the programme and any resulting engine would improve value and also how it would address new noise standard rules.
Airlines also emphasise the need for robustness and reliability, and want to be sure that any new technologies would be retrofittable.
Competitive
"It's about functionality as well as costs," says Clapper. "This is a very competitive marketplace and you have to keep your product modern."
But an important question being asked about the purpose of TECH56 is whether it will lead merely to an updated CFM56 or whether a new engine will emerge from the programme. That decision will not be taken for a while, but Clapper believes the answer is already becoming clear.
"You could see a new engine out of this, but I think it will be in the long term - not before 2006," he says.
"What has got us to where we are now is keeping our current product modern, building on our 140 million hours and continuing to build the best product we can."
Source: Flight Daily News
