Air and Sea Power
New technologies permit reduced noise and climate protection
Cutting-edge technologies for geared turbofan engines by Dr Joachim Wulf, Chief Engineer, Technology Demonstrators, MTU Aero Engines, Munich
Aircraft engines of the future will have to be quieter, more fuelefficient and cleaner than the engines in service today. MTU Aero Engines has been working for years on new technologies to further improve the environmental compatibility of future engines. The future belongs to the geared turbofan engine™ (GTF). Pratt & Whitney and MTU are collaborating on the PurePower® PW1000G to develop a game-changing propulsion concept and are planning to build a complete family of engines based on this concept.
GTF is a real breakthrough This technology holds the promise of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 15% each, and of cutting present perceived noise levels in half compared with today’s engines. Among its key components are the unique, high-speed lowpressure turbine made by MTU and a high-pressure compressor jointly built by Pratt & Whitney and MTU. This year, MTU was honored with two German innovation awards for the highspeed low-pressure turbine. The GTF concept is catching on with air framers: Airbus is offering the geared turbofan engine for its re-engined A320neo; Bombardier has selected it as the exclusive engine to power its new CSeries; Mitsubishi will equip its MRJ with this new type of propulsion system; Irkut has chosen it for its MS21, and Embraer has picked the GTF engine for the upgraded versions of its E-170 and E-190 family of aircraft.
Dr Joachim Wulf is Chief Engineer, Technology Demonstrators at MTU Aero Engines and has been responsible for the development of all of MTU Aero Engines’ technology demonstrators since 2012. The longstanding German company engages in the design, development, manufacture and support of commercial and military aircraft engines and Photo: MTU Aero Engines industrial gas turbines. Wulf studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technische Universität, Munich, from where he earned his PhD. After joining MTU in 2001, Wulf worked in various positions at the company’s headquarters in Munich before taking on the role of Engineering Director at MTU Aero Engines Polska in 2008, with responsibility for setting up the engineering and development location in Rzeszów. Today, on-site operations include parts repair and assembly activities in addition to engineering and development.
Reducing noise and protecting the climate Thanks to its efficiency and markedly reduced noise emissions the GTF will make an important contribution towards climate protection in the future and there is still great potential for improvement. Under the European Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative, which is approaching the home stretch, the successful technology will again be substantially enhanced. The various project activities, which span the whole gamut of game-changing aircraft, engine, system and eco-design concepts, are coordinated by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking especially set up for the purpose. Targets to be met by the year 2020, let down by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE): Aircraft are expected to emit 50 % less carbon dioxides (CO2) and 80 % percent less oxides of nitrogen (NOx) as compared with year 2000 levels. The perceived noise level is to be halved.
Clean Sky activities MTU Aero Engines is participating in this mammoth project. High-pressure compressors and low-pressure turbines have for decades been among MTU’s key areas of expertise. In the Clean Sky activities, too, we are mainly focusing on these two modules for the next generation geared turbofan™ engine applications to demonstrate the maturity of the technologies for new, weight-saving designs and materials when subjected to further increased mechanical and thermal loads. MTU is also responsible for building a demonstrator engine. As part of the programme’s “Sustainable and Green Engines” (SAGE) platform, five demonstrator engines will be built. MTU has taken on responsibility for the SAGE 4 sub-project. Plans are to have the demonstrator assembled and ready for testing in the first quarter of 2015. On July 12 this year, the SAGE 4 team passed the preliminary design review with flying colors and is now mid-way through the SAGE 4 sub-project. The design of the demonstrator engine must be completed; all components must be released for production by the end of 2013. The first component prototypes have already arrived in Munich and these prototypes will be put through their paces in components tests. For this purpose, the modified engine parts are provided with a variety of sensors that measure, for instance, the temperature and pressure distribution under simulated load conditions. They also permit the engineers to analyse the behaviour of the parts when subjected to vibrations at different frequencies. If all tests are successfully passed by mid-2014
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