Swedish company Volvo Aero is playing a major role in the newly created European Union project, Vital, which is responsible for co-ordinating research into a future environmentally friendly aeroengine, likely to be used on the successors to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families of narrow-body airliners. Vital is a four-year programme with 53 partners and a total budget of €90 million ($107 million).
It is hoped that Vital will deliver the technological breakthroughs required for the industry to meet the dual goals of lower fuel consumption - and lower noise - set for the aerospace industry by 2020. These goals include a 50% reduction in noise and carbon dioxide emissions as well as an 80% reduction in oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Vital focuses on the low-pressure parts of the engine, such as the fan module, compressor and low-pressure turbine.
Higher by-pass ratios will deliver lower noise levels (down by 5dB to 8dB) while a 7% reduction in CO2 emissions will result from lower fuel consumption. These targets will be achieved both as a result of the enhanced efficiency of the engine and the development of lightweight materials/structures.
Volvo Aero is leading a subproject within Vital, with 14 European partners, involving the development and testing of load-bearing structures in the engine. The Swedish company will produce a fan frame in polymer composite material – with help from the Swedish Institute of Composites - and test it in a full-scale rig.
Within the structures subproject, Volvo Aero will also develop automation concepts and new production techniques for titanium, as an alternative material for creating lighter components. In this area, Volvo Aero will co-operate with the local University of Trollhättan/Uddevalla.
In another subproject within Vital, Volvo Aero is involved in the design of the engine’s booster compressor. And here, the company is applying its military engine expertise to develop a high-performance, low-pressure compressor for commercial engines. The compressor will be tested by Volvo Aero’s partner, the Swedish defence research agency.
Volvo Aero’s subsidiary in Kongsberg, Volvo Aero Norway, is part of yet another subproject in Vital, involving the development of technologies for stiffer engine shafts, which will be required to cope with higher fan torques.
Source: Flight Daily News
