A Test Like No Other

1/2012 A test like no other MTU Aero Engines Holding AG Dachauer Straße 665 Customers + Partners Technology + Science Products + Services 80995 Munich • Germany Tel. +49 89 1489-0 Fax +49 89 1489-5500 New structures, new The ultimate in precision Simple principle, [email protected] www.mtu.de opportunities great action Contents Cover Story A test like no other 6 – 11 Customers + Partners New structures, new opportunities 12 – 15 Knights in red-and-white armor 16 – 19 Technology + Science Taking off with sustainable fuel 20 – 23 The ultimate in precision 24 – 27 New structures, new opportunities The ultimate in precision Germany’s Bundeswehr is to be completely revamped. REPORT inter- MTU Aero Engines has refined a manufacturing process that is vastly Products + Services viewed Michael Schreyögg, Senior Vice President, Defense Programs superior to conventional electrochemical machining: precise electro- Simple principle, great action 28 – 31 at MTU since 2008, about the implications of the reform and the chemical machining (PECM). Attention to detail that paid off 32 – 35 opportunities it might bring. Pages 24 - 27 Pages 12 - 15 Global On-site, on-wing support 36 – 39 A test like no other The PurePower® PW1524G engine is being subjected to stress testing in MTU Aero Engines’ large development test cell. These tests are required by the airworthiness authorities for engine certification. Pages 6 - 11 Report The silent giant 40 – 43 In Brief 44 Masthead 45 Simple principle, great action The silent giant They are reliable, durable and extremely effective, and advanced air- Arab airline Emirates is the largest A380 customer worldwide. The craft engines can hardly do without them: MTU’s brush seal are now giant aircraft is also a favorite amongst passengers—thanks in large being used also on the new PurePower® PW1100G-JM geared turbo- part to the quiet GP7000 engines, in which MTU has a significant share. More REPORT in digital form fan, which will power the Airbus A320neo. Pages 40 - 43 For multimedia features in the Pages 28 - 31 eMagazine and in the iPad app go to www.mtu.de/report 2 3 Editorial Dear Readers: No other engine program in MTU’s long history has met with such immediate success as the PurePower® PW1000G geared turbofan, which has amassed nearly 2,000 firm orders and options even before delivery of the first production engine. This success is not entirely surprising; together with our partner Pratt & Whitney, we have invested a great deal of money and know- how in this novel engine configuration over many years, for we had full con- fidence from the outset that it would be the ideal powerplant for the aircraft of the future. The investment phase is not yet over: To deliver the necessary quantities of high-pressure compressors, we are constructing a new shop in Munich to accommodate the center of excellence for blisk production. We are also working on an innovative manufacturing process for these high-tech mod- ules. Precise electrochemical machining (PECM) will enable us to process even the hardest materials, such as those used for the rear stages of the high-pressure compressor, to an unprecedented degree of precision using a non-contact, wear-free process. We are currently maturing our PECM process for volume production, once again demonstrating MTU’s innovative clout. The geared turbofan stands out not only by virtue of its advanced technology but also as an example of funds put to good use. Both the high- pressure compressor we designed in collaboration with Pratt & Whitney and MTU’s unique high-speed low-pressure turbine are based on technologies developed under national and European research funding programs. The GTF will form the basis of a new generation of aircraft engines capable of reducing fuel burn and the associated carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent in three successive stages by 2035. It represents a worthwhile and sustainable investment that will promote clean aviation and at the same time secure high-tech jobs. So MTU has written another memorable page in the annals of international aviation history, once again bearing witness to the excellence of German engineering. The message we wish to transmit is that MTU’s products, processes and services will continue to serve as a benchmark in the global aerospace industry. Sincerely yours, Egon Behle Chief Executive Officer 4 5 Cover Story A test like no other By Patrick Hoeveler In this extremely complex test environment, absolute precision is the name of the game. Extensively instrumented for the test runs, the PurePower® PW1524G is surrounded by a maze of cables, with sensors and instruments all over the place. Only an expert can figure out where all the wiring goes. There are almost 1,000 measurement points on the engine to power the Bombardier CSeries. The high-tech tests are being conducted in MTU Aero Engines’ large development test cell in Munich. The telemetry tests—the biggest challenge in engine testing—are required by the airworthiness authorities for engine certification. he so-called stress tests, which are among most demanding and complex engine tests, are car- T ried out only once in the life of any engine program. On Pratt & Whitney’s PW1524G geared turbofan engine, MTU conducts these tests to verify temperatures and stresses in the low-pressure turbine. From the sheer number of people in attendance in the con- trol room, you can tell that the tests are far from run- of-the-mill work. The third of the series of nine development engines is being used for telemetry testing to measure blade vibrations in the low-pressure turbine. “We’re using this engine to check the clearance con- trol system in the turbine, and to verify the thermody- namic design. This data is important for us to predict fuel consumption,” explains Dr. Christian Winkler, Director, Business Development and GTF Programs at MTU. 6 7 Cover Story The Bombardier CSeries will be powered by PW1524G engines. Entry into service is slated for late 2013. Munich is already the third place to which the engine has been sent MTU last conducted this kind of stress testing on the V2500 engine. for testing. Following first trials on Pratt & Whitney’s outdoor test But this time around, it is the very first time that the company is facility in sunny West Palm Beach, Florida, it was relocated to involved in these important engine runs as early as in the validation Manitoba, Canada, for cold weather evaluations and initial natural phase. “We’ve never carried out this type of tests at such an early icing tests. The engineers again and again inspected their test engine stage of a commercial program before. This shows just how much in every detail. Now, the experts are focusing their entire attention on faith Pratt & Whitney has in our capabilities,” says Dr. Anton Binder, the high-speed low-pressure turbine, which is developed and manu- Executive Vice President, Commercial Programs at MTU. Winkler factured by MTU. It is a key component of the geared turbofan, in adds: “These trials will allow us to expand our engineering and test- which a reduction gear decouples the fan from the turbine, allowing ing know-how and boost our reputation.” MTU’s experts in Munich both components to operate within their respective optimal speed are no strangers to engine testing, frequently conducting endurance ranges and thus reducing fuel consumption and noise emissions. and other tests. On its test beds, the company also runs the Inter- national Aero Engines V2500, and the Engine Alliance GP7200 for the Airbus A380. The German company is responsible for the low-pressure turbine and other components that go into these engines. What makes the tests on the PW1524G so challenging is the highly sensitive instrumentation required. For the vibration measurements, for example, strain gages made of extremely fine wire—thinner than a human hair—are attached to the turbine blades. Kurt Scheidt, Senior Manager, Engine and Flight Testing, explains: “When the engine is running, the stresses cause the electrical resistance to change. Having calibrated the instruments beforehand, we’re able to tell exactly which current change corresponds to which strain. Moreover, we can also determine the frequency at which the blade is moving.” The strain gages must be able to withstand the high temperatures and enormous centrifugal forces inside the engine; they are either cemented in place or embedded in ceramic material. On the blade, thin wires run from the strain gages to the center of the rotor; they too must be secured very carefully by the MTU engineers. These wires extend into the engine shaft and are connected to the rotating tele- The PW1524G engine is being prepared for test runs at MTU in metry transmission unit, which sends the data to the stationary Munich. receiver. “It takes several weeks to set up all the instrumentation. You The geared turbofan engine is undergoing last preparations before it is subjected to stress testing on MTU’s test cell. 8 9 Cover Story can barely see the rotors for all the wires and cables,” says Scheidt. engine. However, turbine overspeed is not that easy to achieve, even During the tests, electric current is passed through the sensors at a when you increase the thrust.” The MTU engineers had to delve deep A bestseller “made in Germany” sampling rate of 100 kilohertz, or 100,000 times per second. into their bag of tricks to find a solution, and installed an array of vanes weighing almost 2.5 metric tons in front of the air inlet to the While final assembly of the PW1524G is taking The trials are scheduled to last a month, during which the actual engine geared turbofan.

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