Airbus is developing subscale full aircraft models to assess how an open fan propulsion system affects aircraft performance.
PARIS—CFM International is increasing the pace and breadth of testing for its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) advanced propulsion technology program with more than 350 key tests completed and preparations underway with Airbus for subscale aircraft performance wind tunnel tests.
Recent milestones completed include more than 3,000 hr. of high-pressure (HP) turbine and nozzle endurance tests by CFM joint venture partner GE Aerospace. Meanwhile, co-partner Safran has focused on blade tests as well as evaluations of the low-pressure (LP) turbine and compressor, bearing systems and equipment associated with the open fan's variable pitch control functions.
The GE tests, which included simulated high-thrust takeoff and climb to validate the ability of the compact parts to withstand flight loads, are to be followed by a series of dust-ingestion tests. Safran’s blade test campaign has meanwhile evaluated three different blade configurations to demonstrate mechanical strength, as well as improved aerodynamic and acoustic performance.
“More than 175 ingestion and endurance tests were conducted in the Villaroche site's test benches, specially configured to accommodate large parts, in addition to the 300 hr. of testing carried out on a scale model of the open fan in the wind tunnels of Onera (France) and DNW (Netherlands) in partnership with Airbus,” Safran said in a briefing ahead of Paris Air Show.
The French engine-maker adds that a new 26-ft.-dia. test facility is currently under construction at its Villaroche site near Paris. “Starting next year, it will enable testing of large modules and will have the capacity to test the open fan's pitch control systems,” Safran says.
Safran Aircraft Engines also continued to mature electric hybridization systems as part of the RISE effort, much of which is focused on tests of a modified Silvercrest engine. Under the RISE’s hybrid-electric concept, the LP and HP shafts will share power through a set of motor-generators to optimize the power balance between the two spools for improved transient thrust performance.
Although the 12,000-lb.-thrust-class Silvercrest is smaller than the RISE, sized for a narrowbody aircraft, Safran says the testbed engine can support a comparable electric power level of several hundred kilowatts.
Airbus is also designing and manufacturing a pair of subscale full aircraft models to assess how an open fan propulsion system affects aircraft performance. The tests could prove crucial to whether Airbus adopts the concept for its next generation single aisle in the 2030s or opts instead to power its A320 successor with advanced ducted engines.
A 1:11 scale model is being developed for high-speed tests at Onera, while a 1:14 scale model will be used for tests at Airbus’ low-speed facility in Filton, England, in 2026. “Their design and production is already in progress,” says Airbus, which also recently worked with Safran on tests of an open fan demonstrator at a large wind tunnel in Modane, France.
This test phase focused on two “minimum body models”: a 1:5.5 scale model for high-speed testing and a 1:7 model for low-speed work, the latter of which was evaluated in the Dutch-German DNW wind tunnel facility in Marknesse, Netherlands.
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