The new HPT blade.
Credit: GE Aerospace
CFM International is rolling out an upgraded CFM56 high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade that the company expects to improve durability in a fleet that still has years of overhauls and service life ahead.
The new blades, which can be installed on all CFM56-5B and -7B versions, include increased wall thickness and an optimized dovetail design to minimize stress, while maintaining fuel-burn improvements introduced with the Tech Insertion blade lines brought out in 2007.
Operators will have ample opportunity to benefit from the new blades. Almost half of the 24,000 CFM56s in service have yet to see the first of what will likely be at least three shop visits in their service lives.
“Many of our customers are transitioning their narrowbody fleets, and the new CFM56 HPT blade can help them to extend time on-wing to optimize cost of ownership and enhance the residual value of their engines," said Jacey Welsh, GE Aerospace's executive vice president for the CFM56. "We are also providing attractive upgrade options to customers operating older CFM56 configurations.”
CFM56 shop visits topped 2,000 annually in the years leading into the 2020 downturn. Safran, a 50-50 partner in CFM with GE Aerospace, said in July that worldwide shop visits were on pace to hit 2,000 in 2023.
Delays with new deliveries have helped drive demand for older narrowbodies, including Airbus A320s and Boeing 737 Next Generation models powered by CFM56s. That should help shop visits climb for several more years before settling into an annual level of about 2,000 per year.
“We continue to invest in both product and support upgrades for this fleet," said Jérôme Morhet, CFM executive vice president at Safran Aircraft Engines. "With the introduction of the new HPT blade, we are focused on building inventory to support our customers’ future shop visits.”
The blades are being produced at GE Aerospace's plant in Greenville, South Carolina.
