CFM International has announced new design and test milestones achieved for its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) technology demonstration program.
The company says that over the five-year-long program, aimed at providing engine technologies for next-generation aircraft propulsion systems, approximately 500 test campaigns have been conducted on advanced engine architectures such as Open Fan, compact core, and hybrid electric systems, with the aim of conducting ground and flight tests by 2030.
Recently completed reviews for key Open Fan and compact core modules have confirmed design concepts, CFM added.
Open Fan is an engine that removes the traditional casing, allowing for a larger fan with more efficiency.
“Our engineers are doing a fantastic job maturing the most advanced technologies the industry has seen to date while balancing this innovation with the experience of more than 1.4 billion flight hours in the single-aisle market,” CFM president and CEO Gaël Méheust said July 18, ahead of the Farnborough Airshow.
“At CFM, we have a unique understanding of our customers’ day-to-day operations and the important role that durability and maintainability play, in addition to efficiency,” Méheust said.
CFM, a GE Aerospace-Safran JV, said that “mechanical and material tests are underway on Open Fan blades and outlet guide vanes (OGV), including impact, ingestion, fatigue, endurance, load, icing and vibration response.”
OGVs are the second stage or row of airfoils behind the fan to help direct air flow, which are key to how the open fan design can achieve the same speeds and altitudes as today’s turbofans.
“First results from test campaigns including wind tunnel facilities have demonstrated that aeroacoustics performance has exceeded technology maturation objectives.”
The first high-speed, low-pressure turbine (LPT), part of the fan system, was also recently tested for more than 1,000 hr. Teams validated the LPT’s aerodynamic design as well as its aerothermal performance.
Preliminary design reviews of both Open Fan and OGV airfoils are complete, and the company is preparing to test a full-scale front module of the open fan in a new 8m test cell at Villaroche, France.
“While Open Fan is a new architecture, the technologies inside have been proven over decades of innovation,” GE Aerospace VP future flight engineering Arjan Hegeman said. “We’re testing real, full-size Open Fan hardware, showing real progress and a renewed ambition from CFM to advance the RISE program and deliver the vital technology step-changes for durability and efficiency to power the future of air travel.”
CFM says Open Fan architecture has inherent durability advantages compared to a next-generation conventional engine design, including cooler core temperatures and adaptive cycle technology for more effective particle extraction.
More than 2,000 cycles of dust ingestion tests have been completed to evaluate next-generation high-pressure turbine (HPT) airfoil technologies in an engine core. A second dust ingestion test of RISE program HPT technologies inserted into a more product-representative LEAP-1B engine is also improving understanding of how next-generation technologies could benefit the fleet today.
Both CFM parent companies are also ground testing hybrid electric systems as part of RISE.
“The RISE program is gaining strong momentum, moving from concept to reality.” Safran EVP engineering and R&T Pierre Cottenceau said.
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