Poised for Success

1/2011

Poised for success

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 Fly over the terrain Layer by layer A tradition and a future [email protected] www.mtu.de Contents

Cover Story Poised for success 6 – 11

Customers + Partners Brazil’s top performer 12 – 15 Fly over the terrain 16 – 19

Technology + Science Layer by layer 20 – 25 Don’t touch, just look 26 – 29 Fly over the terrain Layer by layer Fast and unique, the U.S. Navy’s air cushion vehicles are used to bring Germany’s leading engine manufacturer is using additive processes Products + Services men and equipment from ship to land whenever dock facilities or har- to manufacture prototypes. The company plans to mature these pro- One face to the customer 30 – 31 bors do not exist. Now they are about to be replaced. MTU’s affiliate cesses for use also in production. The advantages: shorter process- A tradition and a future 32 – 35 Vericor intends to supply the gas turbines for the new craft. ing times, sped-up innovation cycles and lower development cost. Page 16 Page 20 Poised for success Global The A320neo will cut fuel burn by as much as 15 percent and carbon A resounding success in the Middle 36 – 39 dioxide emission by 3,600 metric tons per year. At the same time, its Kingdom payload will be increased or its range extended. The airliner owes this impressive performance boost first and foremost to its new engines. Page 6

Report Europe’s biggest flying laboratory 40 – 43

In Brief 44 – 45 Masthead 45 One face to the customer A tradition and a future Germany, China and Canada are just three of the countries in which MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg is MTU’s center of excellence MTU Maintenance operates shops. Now that the company has opti- for industrial turbines and small and medium-sized Pratt & Whitney mized its commercial repair operations each customer has one con- Canada engines. This year, the company celebrates 75 years of engine tact to take care of all its repair needs – no matter where the work is construction in Ludwigsfelde and 20 years of affiliation to the MTU carried out. group. Page 30 Page 32

2 3 Editorial

Dear Readers:

Whenever a new engine is launched, one of the most pressing questions— that is, one of the most important strategically—is how quickly that engine can establish itself in the market. In this regard, the almost instant success of the PW1000G geared turbofan is really remarkable. Bombardier has selected the engine to provide exclusive power for the CSeries, Mitsubishi for the MRJ, and Irkut for the MS-21. In all, we are talking about several thousand aircraft here. And the big breakthrough came at the beginning of the year, when Airbus decided to upgrade its best-selling A320 and give it new engines. Again, the PW1000G was chosen as one of the engine options.

The A320neo is believed by industry experts to have a market potential of 4,000 units. This estimate is borne out by the first wave of orders received, one of the customers being the renowned German flag airline Lufthansa. Assuming around half of these aircraft are ordered with PW1000Gs, that would translate into sales of up to 12 billion euros for MTU in new and MRO business, taken over the entire life of the engines. The size of this figure gives a good idea of just how important the geared turbofan is to our company. It will become our most important commercial program.

One might be tempted to infer from this success that our best-selling engine currently, IAE’s V2500, has served its time. But I don’t see things that way; the V2500 is a highly advanced engine that will continue to do extremely well in the market in coming years. After all, a very large number of aircraft are on order and have yet to be delivered. The V2500 will still be flying for decades to come, be sent to MTU for shop visits, and remain a key program in our portfolio. Our partners in the IAE consortium share MTU’s opinion, which is why we have chosen to extend our cooperation agreement until 2045. At the same time, we have decided to bring an even more fuel-efficient upgrade option to market, the V2500 SelectTwo. Both of these moves go to show that we stand four-square behind IAE and its engine.

The development and launch of the geared turbofan is a textbook example of how to transition seamlessly from one successful program to the next. This is how an engine company needs to work if it wants to be successful over the long term and play within the industry’s big league. And what’s even more: The PW1000G is not only the first in a new line of engines. It marks the beginning of a whole new generation of engines. Through its focused commitment, MTU has proved once again its keen sense of which technologies have the potential of meeting the needs of tomorrow’s markets.

Sincerely yours,

Egon Behle Chief Executive Officer

4 5 Cover Story

Poised for success

By Patrick Hoeveler

A smart move by Airbus: The aircraft manufacturer is to bring out an upgraded A320 for around a tenth of the cost of developing a new model from scratch. The A320neo will deliver fuel savings of up to 15 percent, representing up to 3,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide saved per aircraft per year; simultaneously, its payload will be increased by up to two metric tons, or its range extended by 950 kilometers. It is first and foremost the airliner’s new engines that give it such an impressive performance boost. A true marvel of economy, the A320neo is putting pressure on its competitors.

fter much deliberation, the European aircraft manufacturer finally gave the green light for A the launch of its A320neo on December 1, 2010. In view of developments in the market, Airbus had to decide whether to modify its best-selling medium-haul A320 aircraft or start from scratch with an all-new model. Said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers: “15 percent fuel burn reduction, 1,400,000 liters saved per airplane per year. If you could do it—and we can, technologically—why would not you?” But that was not the only powerful argu- ment in favor of a re-engined version. New aircraft types equipped with new engines, for example the Bombardier CSeries and the Irkut MS-21, are enter- ing the market and increase competition. What is more, Airbus is certain that the technologies needed for an entirely new model will not be ready before the second half of the next decade.

6 7 Cover Story

Airbus President and CEO Tom Enders put the concept in a nutshell: “We are leveraging a reliable, mature aircraft and are making it even more efficient and environmentally friendly.” Here are some quick facts: To date, the A320 family has accumulated more than 50 million flight hours, with a 99.7 percent reliability. According to Airbus, the A320neo family will have 95 percent airframe common- ality with the standard A320 family, which reduces the development risk. The main modifications are to the wings, strengthening them to accommodate the larger engines, and new engine pylons for each of the different models. The fuselage remains unchanged.

The A320neo family of aircraft (neo stands for new engine option) will also incorporate fuel-saving large wing tip devices called Sharklets. According to Airbus, these en- hanced winglets are expected to result in at least 3.5 percent lower fuel burn over longer sectors. They will addi- tionally be available also for standard A320 aircraft from the end of 2012 on, with Air New Zealand being the launch customer for the Sharklets. The A320neo is not intended A GTF demonstrator at Pratt & Whitney’s facility. to replace the current best-seller, which has sold almost 7,000 units in all its versions, but will rather be offered alongside it, at a list price roughly six million euros higher than that of the existing model range. Deliveries from the European manufacturer are slated to commence in 2016.

It did not take long for the first sales contracts to come through. Airbus announced the first firm order for its newest airplane in January this year: Virgin America signed a firm order for 30 A320neo and 30 regular A320 aircraft, and thus becomes the first firm customer for the re- engined version. Other airlines followed Virgin’s example.

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson says: “We’re delighted to have ordered a plane that is so environmentally friendly. It’s something we’ve been working on, may- The geared turbofan engine made its first flight on the wing of a Boeing 747SP. be even giving a little shove to the manufacturers, over the last few years, and it’s great they’ve delivered. We’ve been very outspoken about the need for the airline industry to get its act together, to become as environmentally friendly as possible. Airbus listened and delivered.” Also in January, IndiGo signed a memorandum of understand- ing for the purchase of 150 A320neos and 30 A320s.

Airbus is offering the A320neo with two engine choices— CFM International’s LEAP-X, and Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G. The competitors vying for the contracts will be the same as in the standard A320 program, albeit with some changes to the cooperative arrangements. While CFM International is proposing the LEAP-X, which is the successor to the CFM56, the rival engine is not, as previ- ously, being offered by International Aero Engines (IAE), Geared turbofan with open casing. the consortium in which Pratt & Whitney joined forces with MTU Aero Engines, Rolls-Royce and Japanese Aero Engines Corporation to supply the power packs for the A320 family, but rather by Pratt & Whitney, in collaboration with its partners. U.S. aircraft leasing company ILFC will equip the 60 A320neos it has on order with the PW1100G.

8 9 Cover Story

® Still, this choice is not the death knell for IAE’s V2500. Dr. PurePower —quieter and more economical Anton Binder, Senior Vice President, Commercial Pro- grams at MTU, is quick to point out: “Customer interest remains strong, so we will still be able to sell around Just as it did with its engines for the Bombardier CSeries and and findings into the Airbus engine, which is scheduled to 2,500 of these engines. The program is likely to continue the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Pratt & Whitney is once again make its first run in 2012. Initial results from Pratt & for at least another 20 years.” The V2500 is one of MTU’s flying the flag for geared turbofan (GTF) technology with its Whitney’s test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, are posi- biggest and most important programs. Binder goes on: PW1100G, another member of the PurePower® family. In tive. “We are more than satisfied,” reports Dr. Anton Binder, “400 engines are built each year, and this will continue to these engines, a gearbox with a reduction ratio of 3:1 decou- Senior Vice President, Commercial Programs at MTU. “Both be the case in the near future.” ples the fan from the low-pressure turbine, allowing the two noise and performance levels are meeting expectations.” components to rotate within their optimal speed ranges. The aircraft manufacturer’s decision in favor of the Compared with the V2500, this permits the bypass ratio to A comprehensive test program preceded the current trials: PW1100G is extremely important for MTU’s long-term be increased dramatically to 12:1—a critical factor in reduc- Back in 2008, a demonstrator based on a PW6000 complet- future, because the company has a significant share in ing fuel burn. The PW1100G, which has a thrust range of ed a total of 27 flights on an Airbus A340. This year, the the engine. “This program is the follow-on of the V2500 107 to 147 kilonewtons, has a fan diameter of 2.06 meters. partners are set to start detailed development work on the program and, as such, vital to assuring the future. The Because the fan rotates at a lower speed, it produces much engine that will power the A320neo. Industrial preparations narrow-body aircraft market accounts for almost half of less noise. will commence in parallel, because the intention is to ramp the business,” says Binder. And Dr. Christian Winkler, the up production rates very quickly. The estimated annual Dimensional inspection of high-pressure compressor vanes at MTU German engine manufacturer’s Director, Business Devel- MTU Aero Engines provides the high-speed low-pressure tur- requirement for 2,000 or so integrally bladed disks for the Aero Engines in Munich. opment and GTF Programs, adds: “We were successful in bine for all the geared turbofan models, as well as the first compressor is a challenge in itself. To date, these compo- securing airframe applications for the geared turbofan four stages of the high-pressure compressor. “We reckon we’ll nents—commonly referred to as blisks—have tended to be technology and defending our market share. MTU’s hold a 15 percent share in the program,” says Dr. Christian used mainly in military applications, although not in such potential related earnings are likely to run to double-digit Winkler, Director, Business Development and GTF Programs at large quantities. billions of euros.” ILFC soon decided to pick the PW1100G MTU Aero Engines, of the company’s stake in the PW1100G. to power the 60 A320neos it has committed to buy; the The new engines will be available for the A319, A320 and U.S. aircraft leasing company was the first customer to The PW1100G is based on the PW1524G, which powers the A321 models. It is predicted that as many as 4,000 units of order this airframe/engine combination. CSeries. Technical evaluation of the latter began in Septem- the new aircraft family will be sold over the next 15 years. ber 2010, so the engineers can feed the very latest insights Flight testing is projected to begin in mid-2015. How Boeing will respond to the A320neo remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Because of the 737’s already limited ground clearance, the aircraft would have to undergo significant modification to be able to carry the new engine with its larger-diameter fan. Airbus is confident that the A320neo will compete successfully even against The Munich-based company also produces the high-speed low-pressure a clean-sheet-design aircraft by Boeing. Given that it turbine. Shown here is a turbine disk during turning. would use similar engine technology, any such model would be likely to achieve only marginally lower fuel consumption—and would involve far higher development costs.

Airbus believes it has advantages over Bombardier’s CSeries too, despite the fact that the latter is expected to enter service as early as 2013. The A320neo boasts a wider fuselage and a considerably greater range—almost 2,200 kilometers more. That said, the two models are in direct competition only at the lower end of the size spec- trum, something that will, in all probability, also be reflected in the sales figures.

A high-speed low-pressure turbine is being instrumented for rig testing at MTU in Munich.

For additional information, contact Dr. Anton Binder +49 89 1489-2884 ® PurePower : The GTF was put through its paces on Pratt & Whitney’s open-air test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. Lorem ipsum dolorFor interesting sit amet, conseteturmultimedia sadipscingservices associated elitr, sed diamwith thisnon- umy eirmod temporarticle, invidunt go to ut labore et dolore magna. www.mtu.de/111PW1000G

10 11 Customers + Partners

Brazil’s top performer

By Andreas Spaeth

From humble beginnings as an air taxi service in the hin- terland of São Paulo, Brazilian airline TAM has risen to become the market leader in this vast country and its flag carrier within just a few decades. With a fascinating history behind it, TAM looks forward to a future full of promise. In 2010, the airline’s fleet of 152 aircraft carried over 34 million passengers. TAM now ranks among the global top 20 airlines in terms of passenger numbers. And MTU Maintenance has been contributing to this success since 1999.

t only took a decade from starting our first scheduled international service to joining Star Alliance in May 2010,” says TAM “ICEO Líbano Barroso. This rapid rise was essentially brought about by one man: the late Rolim Amaro—the “Comandante”, as he is still known today. In 1963, the 21-year-old Amaro joined the regional airline Táxi Aéreo Marília, named after its home city in São Paulo state, as a pilot, and in the early 1970s he acquired half the shares in the company that was to become TAM Linhas Aéreas.

Under Amaro’s charismatic leadership, the company experienced rapid growth: In 1989, the airline purchased its first jet aircraft, a couple of Fokker100s; in1998, the airline opened its first international route to Miami; and a year later, Paris became the first European destination to feature in the flight schedule. But with Amaro’s death in a helicop- ter crash on July 8, 2001, TAM plunged into a crisis that worsened with the global economic downturn in the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It was not before 2005 that the company, in which the Amaro family still has a controlling share, started to develop into an intercontinental airline.

12 13 Customers + Partners Aviation treasure chest

In June 2010, TAM’s Wings of a Dream Museum in São Carlos, some 250 kilometers north-west of São Paulo, was re-opened after extensive renovation. Annexed to the airline’s major maintenance facility, the TAM Technology Center, it makes a world-class aircraft collection accessible to the public. The museum is the creation of Rolim Amaro and his younger brother João, who completed the work years after the Comandante’s death.

“We started our aircraft collection 17 years ago with two Cessnas, a 140 and a 195,” says João Amaro. Today the collection’s official tally is 83. Of these, 60 are now on display whilst the remainder are undergoing restoration in the museum’s own hangar. “Many of our aircraft are airworthy,” says Amaro, “at least 30.” Highlights among the museum’s exhibits include Latin America’s only surviving Lockheed L-049 Constellation, built in 1946, and a Messerschmitt Me-109, the legendary German fighter plane from the 1930s and 1940s, on loan from MTU.

152 aircraft are flying in the livery of TAM. Brazil’s top airline has its V2500 engines repaired and overhauled by MTU Maintenance.

Brazil is an up-and-coming nation, and its vibrant economy barely felt aircraft, including 140 Airbus jets. TAM operates every type of Airbus the effects of the recent global economic crisis. In the booming do- except for the A318 and the A380, and it also flies Boeing airliners. mestic market, TAM has been the market leader since 2003 ahead of “In the long run, we want to operate only A350-800s and -900s as budget airline GOL. Its recipe for success: In contrast to its competi- well as 777-300ERs on our long-haul routes,” says Amparo. TAM has tors, TAM has adopted a full-service carrier business model. TAM is already ordered 27 A350s, and at the 2010 Berlin Air Show the still mainly a domestic airline and serves 51 airports in its home coun- Brazilian company placed another order for 20 jets from the A320 João Amaro continues the legacy of his late brother try spread between the Amazon and Copacabana. “Out of our 800 family to replace older models. By 2014, TAM’s fleet is expected to Rolim. daily flights, a total of 730 are domestic services,” says Ruy Amparo, grow to 165 aircraft: TAM plans to buy 32 A320 family aircraft, 22 of Vice President, Operations and MRO. In its international business the which will be A320neos. carrier serves 19 markets, 11 of which are neighboring Latin American Americas at MTU Maintenance Hannover in Langenhagen. “The rela- countries. While in 2003 the airline was selling 20 percent of its seat Also contributing to the success of this top Latin American airline tionship with MTU comes from old times and has increased year after capacity on international routes, this percentage had doubled to 40 have been MTU Maintenance’s MRO experts, who have been provid- year,” says José Zaidan Maluf, Vice President, Supply and Contracts percent by 2009. Since last year, the airline has been offering direct ing service support for the IAE V2500 engines that power TAM’s fleet at TAM. “We chose MTU for their quality and flexibility aligned with its flights from Rio de Janeiro to Frankfurt and London Heathrow, in addi- of A320s since 1999. “Our collaboration has intensified over time,” great capacity and prices matching the service offering.” TAM keeps tion to those taking off from its São Paulo hub. The airline plans to states Claus Herzog, MTU Maintenance’s representative in São Paulo, growing—and so does cooperation with MTU. The Brazilian star per- grow still further, as Barroso explains: “We want to build up our hub “and MTU is proud to have played a role in this success story.” And former’s latest coup is the proposed merger with LAN Chile, that in Rio before the FIFA’s World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games cooperation is set to continue: At the end of last year, the MRO con- country’s biggest airline. If the tie-up comes about, the new company there in 2016.” And the outlook for the company is promising thanks tract was expanded to cover substantially more engines, and its term will become one of the world’s top ten airlines. Comandante Rolim MTU Maintenance Hannover uses the innovative flowline principle for to the Brazilian market’s huge potential: Of the191 million people that was extended through to 2019. would be proud. engine teardown and re-assembly. live in the world’s fifth-largest country, to date only 13 million—some seven percent—have been able to afford a plane ticket. So far, 256 V2500 engines have been shipped from São Paulo to MTU For additional information, contact Maintenance’s Hannover location for shop visits. “This is impressive Christoph Heck The strength of TAM’s growth is reflected in its employment figures. proof of how much the customer appreciates the commitment and +49 511 7806-2621 In 2001, TAM had just 7,000 staff. Compare this with the some hard work of the entire maintenance team in Hannover,” says a For further information on this article, go to 25,000 people working for the airline today. Its fleet has grown to 152 pleased Christoph Heck, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, The www.mtu.de/111TAM

14 15 Customers + Partners

Fly over the terrain

By Tony Wilcoxson

They are fast and unique. They carry 75 tons of cargo from the hull of a ship, across the ocean, and up onto dry land. It is the LCAC (for its naval designation: Landing Craft Air Cushion). It is what the U.S. Navy uses to bring men and equipment from ships to land where dock facilities or harbors do not exist. While it is designed to deliver a main battle tank, that load could also be 75 tons of cars and trucks, medical supplies, pallets of food, building supplies, electric power generators, anything that might be needed where devastation has hit and help is needed. LCACs have been used in Indonesia, Haiti and Louisiana. Anywhere there is water and even some places where there isn’t so much. They have been doing this for over 25 years and now the U.S. Navy needs a replacement.

he replacement is called the Ship-to-Shore Connector (in short: SSC) and it is no surprise T that it looks a lot like the LCAC it replaces. MTU Aero Engines’ subsidiary Vericor Power Systems in Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S. intends to supply its new TF60B engines for the SSC program. That is no surprise either since Vericor supplies the engines for the LCAC and knows more about hovercraft gas turbines than anybody. “There is no substitute for experience in this kind of application,” says Dr. Hermann Scheu- genpflug, Vericor Chief Engineer.

The SSC, like the LCAC, is technically an air cushion vehicle or hovercraft. Hovercraft have been used for commercial service like ferry boats for many years. Their single biggest advantage is that they literally travel above the surface on a cushion of air.

16 17 Customers + Partners Air-cushion “The TF60B gas turbine is a derivative of the current landing crafts ETF40B engine with higher power output in almost the same dimensions,” says Scheugenpflug. “The goal of the TF60B is technically challenging, but achievable The U.S. Navy first put the air-cushion landing craft (Landing with our 25 years of applicable field experience com- Craft Air Cushion, in short: LCAC) in service in 1986. The bined with MTU’s vast gas turbine design experi- craft are about 26 meters long and 14 meters wide. They ence.” The TF60B will feature improved high-temper- operate from what are called well deck ships, ships that ature resistant materials in key areas of the flow path have a huge “garage” that opens to the ocean allowing the and advanced aerodynamics for some of the stages craft drive in and out. The equipment is loaded onto the while retaining the essential robust characteristics craft when it is inside the ship. Trucks drive onto the craft required by this marine application. “The TF60B is es- and are secured for their journey to land. The advantage of pecially interesting to me as we are designing a marine LCACs: They are much faster than normal landing craft and gas turbine for a highly sand- and salt-laden environ- they deliver their cargo directly to dry land. The U.S. Navy ment. Other operating characteristics of a hovercraft has about 72 of these craft operating today and most are application are just as challenging including frequent based either on the east or west coast of the U.S.A. exposure to shocks, high craft vibration levels, quick maintenance turnaround times and so forth,” says Scheugenpflug.

For many marine applications, gas turbines derived and slightly adapted from aircraft engines can be used with minimal changes. Those gas turbines live in clean enclosures, isolated deep in ship hulls, happily breath- ing well-filtered salt-free air and generally living a pampered existence. Not so for the LCAC and the SSC: engines are installed in enclosures on deck with frequent direct exposure to the elements. Engines for this unique application need to be specifically designed using an engine architecture that operates free of critical speeds throughout the complete operating range, materials that resist corrosion under hot and cold conditions, robust component clearances and heavy-duty installation features that not only sur- 25 years in service: One of the U.S. Navy’s LCACs, which are powered by Vericor gas turbines. vive constant punishment through shocks, salt and sand but also assure that the craft is properly powered mission after mission, day in and day out.

The TF60B will be the newest addition to Vericor’s product line. At the end of 2009, the TF60B prototype It doesn’t matter whether it is water or land and engine testing began. A thorough test and develop- even if a few obstacles are in the way; the craft ment program has been continuing since with a full is designed to go right over most of them. The qualification to the ABS Naval Vessel Rules scheduled cushion of compressed air is what allows the to start in 2013. LCAC to simply fly over the terrain. The Vericor marine gas turbines drive a system that consists of both lift fans to pressurize the air cushion, and propulsion propellers that actually drive the craft forward not unlike an aircraft. The power generated by the four marine gas turbines is split approximately 30 percent to the lift fans and 70 percent to the propulsion fans. In an emergency For additional information, contact a single engine on each side can provide enough Dr. Hermann Scheugenpflug power to both devices to get the craft home. Open Sesame: An LCAC is leaving the well deck ship. +1 770 569-8802

For interesting multimedia services associated with The TF60B successfully completed its first test run. Sesam öffne dich: Ein LCAC gleitet durch das offene Tor des Welldeck- this article, go to schiffes aufs Meer. www.mtu.de/111Vericor

18 19 Technology + Science Layer by layer

By Denis Dilba

When the laser beam begins to dance in the process chamber, even seasoned engineers can’t help but pause and watch every move in amazement. “Selective laser melting is always an exciting sight,” says Dr. Andreas Jakimov, project manager at MTU in Munich. Innovative additive processes such as this one are already being used by Germany’s leading engine manufacturer to produce first prototype components. Plans are to mature them for production use in the future.

herever the glistening beam moves across it for fractions of a second, the gray metal W powder glows and melts before instantly cooling and solidifying. Then the build platform is lowered a few micrometers, to be covered with another layer of powder, which is immediately smoothed over by a kind of rake. The laser beam is back in a flash, and point by point, layer by layer, a component comes into being—be it a holder, a casing part, or a stator vane, you name it.

MTU Aero Engines has been using these kinds of innovative 3D additive layer manufacturing for ten years. At the beginning, they were referred to collec- tively as rapid prototyping (RP), and almost the only material processed was plastic. Whenever a visual model or a new casting pattern was needed, its design data would simply be fed into the RP equipment, which would print it out without further ado. This took a matter of minutes or at most a few hours, making the process much quicker and cheap- er than the conventional methods of turning, milling or casting. Initially—as the name implies—only prototypes were made this way. What’s next on the experts’ agenda now is to apply these processes to manufacture functional parts in metallic materials such that they are ready for use with as little post- processing as possible.

20 21 Technology + Science

“Our goal is to mature the process for production applications,” says Dr. Andreas Jakimov, project manager, development, additive manufacturing at MTU in Munich. This is why today such processes are referred to as rapid manufacturing or, more generally still, additive processes. These have many advantages: They save time in production, speed up innovation cycles, permit lighter and more functional components to be produced, and—last but not least—they markedly bring down development costs. But whereas additive processes for plastic components have, over time, been improved to a point where some of them have already found their way into production, the changeover from plastic materials to metal, and from prototypes to production parts, is proving much harder. Jakimov and his colleagues had decided to focus on selective laser melting (SLM), which is now being successfully used, early in the game. Initially, only a handful of metals could be processed by SLM. Today the choice is much wider, according to Jakimov, but all the same, one of the major aims of MTU’s experts is to further broaden the scope of application of the SLM process to include new materials.

The trouble is that with every component to be produced by additive manufacturing, the material can be classed as “new”. This is because—in contrast to milling from the solid or casting—the structural properties resulting from local melting are often not known in suffi- cient detail. As a result, all validation and approval procedures must be repeated. The first task for Jakimov and his team of experts, therefore, was to produce lots of specimens, test them and carefully eval- uate the test data. “Once we have demonstrated that we can control the additive manufacturing process for a particular material we can go on to work with it,” says Jakimov. For stainless steel and the nickel- based alloy IN718, this proof was furnished in 2007. That was when the MTU experts went about producing metal components for use on rigs by means of additive manufacturing.

The SLM process was used, for instance, to produce the stage two and four stator vanes for Rig 253, which is built up to test the high- Already tested in the laboratory: MTU’s direct metal laser sintering pressure compressor for the EJ200 engine powering the Eurofighter. facility is used to build up components layer by layer. Stator vanes produced by additive processes can also be found on Rig 260, on which the active core engine is being investigated under the European Union’s NEWAC program. This rig also features stainless steel engine casing segments with internal flow ducts that were produced in a similar manner. “For testing and validation purposes, it is of utmost importance that components can be produced flexibly and rapidly,” says Dr. Karl-Heinz Dusel, who is responsible for MTU’s Rapid Technologies team. This is why it was decided to give SLM a try on these components. The engineer adds: “The turnaround times for the Rig 260 casing components alone are more than 80 percent shorter than they would be with conventional casting processes. The benefits are clear: The quicker a rig can be built up and converted, the quicker MTU can provide data. And it brings down costs, too.”

The positive effects would be even greater on components that go into production engines. “We are planning to move as quickly as we can from development components on to production components,” says Dusel. With the manufacture of the initial rig components, the The laser beam in action: The material is melted within fractions of Solidified and cooled: A new layer has formed. first stage of the three-stage roadmap has come to a successful con- a second.

22 23 Technology + Science Selective laser clusion. Work is now progressing on stage two: the replacement of melting conventional cast components with ones produced using additive processes. The MTU engineers expect that the cost of blanks can be Selective laser melting (SLM) counts among the lowered by as much as 30 percent and production times can be sig- additive manufacturing processes. The first step is to nificantly reduced as from 2013. But process stability and the repro- slice up a 3D CAD model of the component to be pro- ducibility of results still need optimizing before sealing segments, duced. A laser then builds up the solid equivalent of mountings and holders manufactured using SLM find their way into the model layer by layer from a powdered material. engines. “In production, the structure of all components must be The powder particles are locally melted and fused identical,” says Thomas Heß, process engineer on the Rapid Technol- together. This process allows the tool-free produc- ogies team. This is considerably more demanding than the production tion of complex components that are extremely dif- of one-off components for the rigs. ficult if not impossible to manufacture using conventional methods. The flexibility of the process makes One of the central quality issues is the surface finish of a component, it particularly suitable for low-volume production and according to Heß. The component models are automatically broken for one-off components. down into 20 to 40 micrometer thick slices by the computer prior to SLM. This process is known as slicing. “When surfaces are not parallel with the direction of the slices this leads to the so-called staircase effect,” explains Prof. Dr. Michael Zäh, who heads up the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb) at the Technical University of Munich, with which MTU is working closely in the area of additive processes. The effect can be reduced by making the slices thinner, but this generally results in longer production times. So a rea- sonable tradeoff must be found between short production times and acceptable surface quality, for example by aligning the component three-dimensionally in the process chamber in a manner that mini- mizes the number of slopes to be built up. However, the optimum alignment is not always possible, since equal attention must be given to maximizing the packing density on the build platform so that as many components as possible can be produced at the same time. SLM makes it possible: The filigree sphere bounces Otherwise the process is not cost-effective, according to Zäh. like a rubber ball.

Finished component: Both the vane segment and the highly complex honeycomb seal were manufactured using additive processes.

“When we started out we made every mistake in the book,” says mit one single component to replace two or three detail parts that Jakimov. This did not turn out to be a problem, but in fact helped the until now needed to be bolted or welded together, the expert predicts. team improve the process: “We want to learn from our mistakes.” The “These new components will have greater functionality and weigh engineers are looking to master the whole process chain and set it up less.” This reduces total engine weight, cutting fuel consumption and in-house—including the technology needed for testing. “This way the costs. Jakimov adds: “Our competitors are working on similar ideas. team draws closer together, which saves time and money,” Jakimov But the excellent cooperation with our partners, and the experience explains. Working directly with MTU’s design engineering department we have already gained, put us in a position to take an active role in and with experts the likes of Michael Zäh, who have many years of driving this technology.” experience in this field, is immensely important, particularly in the third stage of the implementation of additive technologies at MTU.

With respect to components that are due to be mature for production as from 2018, it is essential to use the main advantage of additive processes to best effect: the almost unlimited freedom of design. For additional information, contact “Our colleagues in design engineering won’t have to worry about Dr. Andreas Jakimov +49 89 1489-2594 Process radiation at the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich: It was here that extensive basic research and whether a component can be cast, machined from the solid or subse- development work on additive manufacturing was performed. The typical process radiation produced during laser solidification of the layer is clearly visible. quently drilled—they just can get started,” says Jakimov. Additive For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to processes open the door for totally new, integral designs that will per- www.mtu.de/111Laser

24 25 Technology + Science

Don’t touch, just look

By Denis Dilba

MTU Aero Engines once again lives up to its reputa- tion as a driver of innovation: In its blisk production, Germany’s leading engine manufacturer recently introduced optical 3D techniques which permit entirely non-contact measurements to be performed. These new methods are highly accurate and fast, reduce the time needed for measurements and help optimize the design of components. And this saves the company money.

t might be a slight exaggeration to say that it’s a new generation of ex- “Iperimental analysis equipment, but it’s the best way I can describe it,” says Dr. Ulrich Retze from component testing at MTU in Munich. The engineer is talking about the recently commissioned test rig for experimental investigation into the vibration behavior of integrally bladed disks, or blisks for short. He had played a major role in the development of this rig. The high-end measuring system provides important data on the dynamic response of these components to vibrations. The changeover to non-contact measuring techniques was made because contact-based measurement systems invari- ably deliver slightly distorted results as the instrument comes in touch with the test object. The new measuring system is fully automated and provides important information on the vibration behavior of the integrally bladed rotors for immediate analysis.

26 27 Technology + Science

The question that Retze and his colleagues want operation. As a result, such experimental analy- to answer using the new measuring techniques is ses help assess critical components in a timely basically the same for all parts: to what extent manner and prevent scrap. “We can now offer a does the vibration behavior of the integral com- new, highly efficient measuring method that ponent simulated on the computer match that of places us among the international leaders in the an actual blisk? Engineers refer to this process as field,” according to Retze. validation. While computer models assume that all blades of the blisk are in the ideal condition, Fringe projection, another non-contact method, i.e. have the same structure and hence absolute- operates no less precisely. “This optical 3D tech- ly identical natural frequencies, in reality they are nique is mainly used to measure component inevitably slightly different due to manufacturing dimensions or for reverse engineering purposes,” tolerances. “The occasional blade might be a little says Wilhelm Satzger, an expert in optical metrol- bit shorter, thicker or thinner,” says Retze. Con- ogy at MTU Aero Engines. The method, which has trary to the data calculated by the computer, the been refined at MTU in the past few years to meet natural frequencies exhibited by real-life compo- the exacting requirements of measuring closely nents tend to spread within a narrow range on toleranced production engine components, deliv- The optical 3D measuring process is entirely non-contact. either side of the specified value. ers highly precise measurements of the entire component surface in a minimum of time. With These effects, which result from deviations from the conventional contact-based measurement the nominal component geometry, are taken into techniques used up to now, this would have been account in the component design. The newly almost impossible. Together with Steffen Schlot- commissioned test rig permits the design param- hauer, a data expert on MTU’s Rapid Technolo- eters to be verified in detail so that any geome- gies team, Satzger has matured the technology try adjustments required can be made at a very for production use at Germany’s leading engine early stage of development. The new non-contact manufacturer. measuring technique, which has been matured for production within two years, bases on the use The fringe projection system consists of two or of a scanning laser vibrometer. This instrument more cameras arranged at a defined angle rela- contains a laser sensor that records the distribu- tive to one another, and a projector, which is nor- tion of surface vibrations on the blisk. Vibration- mally mounted in the middle. The latter projects induced displacement of the high-value rotor a precisely calculated pattern of stripes onto the components is remotely generated by acoustic component. “In very simple terms, the deforma- actuators. “Overall, the system provides a rather tion of the stripes provides information on the precise overview of the vibration conditions pre- geometry of the component undergoing dimen- Representation of the results of optical measurement on the computer screen. vailing in a blisk. Thus, we can check whether sional inspection,” explains Wilhelm Satzger. The vibrations remain within acceptable limits at crit- spatial representation of the component on the ical operating points,” explains Retze. computer screen may comprise several million 3D points. These points are used to create a The high-tech approach pays dividends, says the dimensionally extremely precise CAD image of specialist in optical metrology: “The results of the component. The CAD image can then serve our measurements help us understand in detail to generate an exact physical reproduction of the how such complex components behave in opera- component or to compare it with design specifi- tion when subjected to vibrations.” Based on cations. these results, the vibration-induced stresses can be predicted more precisely and taken into ac- The experts are convinced that the technology count in the structural-mechanical design of the has enormous potential for future applications. components, which permits the design to be optimized still further. Retze also points to another advantage of the highly precise new method: It is now possible to check by experiments if blisks that only slightly exceed manufacturing toler- For additional information, contact Non-contact measurement: A blisk is scanned from various directions using a sensor mounted ances or that have undergone repairs are capa- Dr. Ulrich Retze on a robot arm. ble of withstanding the vibrations that occur in +49 89 1489-8691

For interesting multimedia services MTU Aero Engines in Munich recently commissioned a new test rig which serves to investigate associated with this article, go to the vibration behavior of blisks. www.mtu.de/111Scanning

28 29 Products + Services One face to the customer

By Daniel Hautmann/Martina Vollmuth

MTU Maintenance has optimized its repair operations. Operating structures have been streamlined and a central organizational unit has been set up. All repair-related sales and marketing activities have been brought together in MTU’s newly created Repair Services center. Each customer now has one contact to take care of all of its repair needs—no matter where in the world the work is carried out. And Repair Services aims to win and keep customers with new repair techniques and improved turnaround times.

ermany, China and Canada are just three countries and creating a single market presence on the principle of around the globe in which MTU Maintenance, the “one face to the customer”, was first proposed at the end of G world’s largest independent provider of maintenance 2009. Until then, customers requiring component repairs services for commercial aero engines, has set up mainte- often had to deal with several contractual partners at MTU. nance shops. Blade sets are overhauled at one end of the For instance, combustion chambers were handled by world and injection nozzles at the other. Germany hosts the Hannover and compressor blades and vanes by Malaysia. MTU Maintenance group’s flagship company: MTU Mainte- Now customers only have to contact one person who will nance Hannover. This is where the coordination center for all take care of all their repair needs. Repair Services offers a Adaptive milling of the tip of a high-pressure turbine blade. global repair operations was set up at the end of 2010. Sales wide portfolio ranging from the repair of detail parts to full activities for all maintenance shops have been grouped under parts management (Total Part Care, in short: TPC®), and even the umbrella of MTU’s Repair Services, where a 25-person a teardown service for decommissioned engines. team is responsible for marketing all of the services. Carsten tech component repair center for medium-size and large air- Carsten Behrens has set himself ambitious goals. When vying Behrens, Vice President, Repair Services, says: “The struc- Repairs are carried out at MTU’s facilities in Hannover, Berlin- craft engines, and the repair shop in Zhuhai is the largest for contracts, MTU Maintenance’s Repair Services often tures are now more clearly defined, and this has substantially Brandenburg, Munich, Rzeszów (Poland), Vancouver (Canada), commercial engine maintenance center in China. The mainte- competes with the OEMs. This is precisely where Behrens improved communication and the marketing of our services.” Zhuhai (China) and in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). nance shop in Poland, the most recent addition, is responsible aims to step up efforts. He sees MTU’s advantage in that it is By designating personal account managers, he aims to pro- Use of the capacities and specialized skills available at each for the repair of engine tubing. an independent service provider: “But we still need to deliver vide an even better quality of service that takes into account location is optimized to allow customized service packages to faster and better solutions at even more affordable costs.” the specific needs and requirements of each customer. The be offered to each customer. One of the core competencies of Repair Services is the devel- local sales teams will also benefit from the restructuring: they opment of innovative repair techniques and the enhance- For additional information, contact have been beefed up to maximize their chances of winning The system of Centers of Excellence has not been changed: ment of existing processes. The technologies developed by Carsten Behrens new contracts in their respective markets. Berlin-Brandenburg continues to carry out repairs on small MTU are renowned throughout the world for the unique depths +49 511 7806-9098 and medium-sized engines and industrial gas turbines. As of restoration achieved. Each local development team is re- For interesting multimedia services associated with this The idea of bringing together all repair-related sales and mar- before, Malaysia specializes in compressor blade and vane sponsible for working on new techniques to extend the respec- article, go to keting activities performed on behalf of the various locations, repairs, and Vancouver in accessories. Hannover is the high- tive repair service portfolio. www.mtu.de/111Repair

Laser machining of a V2500 high-pressure turbine High-speed grinding of a V2500 high-pressure Water-jet stripping of a high-pressure compressor Electro-discharge machining of an LM2500 high- Low-pressure plasma spraying of a V2500 high-pres- Fully automated final contouring of a blade by vane. compressor. casing. pressure turbine blade. sure turbine vane. adaptive milling.

30 31 Products + Services A tradition and a future

By Martina Vollmuth

IGT, P&WC and CF34—three little abbreviations that sum up the tremendous success enjoyed by MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg over the years. The company is MTU’s center of excellence for industrial gas turbines (IGT); it is also the specialist service center for small and medium-sized engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), and provides service support for all members of GE Aviation’s highly successful CF34 family of engines. This year, the company is celebrating two special anniversaries: 75 years of engine construction in Ludwigsfelde and 20 years of affiliation to the MTU group.

TU Aero Engines, Germany’s leading engine manufacturer, and the MRO service providers in Ludwigsfelde have been making M history together since 1991. The former state-owned company became an integral part of the MTU group after several decades behind the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). When MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg was first established, a visiting dignitary made a discerning remark that became something of a company catchphrase: “The sky above Ludwigsfelde harbors a tradition and a future at once.” Today, his words are as true as ever. Over the last 20 years, the veteran aviation site has developed into an ultra-modern, high-performance global company with a firm place in the MTU group. “We’re on course for growth,” confirms André Sinanian, President and CEO of the MTU subsidiary since October 2010.

The MTU facility on the southern outskirts of Berlin, which employs more than 650 people, owes its exemplary development to the wide range of services it provides. The company maintains, repairs and overhauls General Electric LM2500, LM5000 and LM6000 industrial gas turbines, as well as commercial aero engines in the small- to medium-thrust and power categories.

Looking after GE Aviation’s CF34 family of engines is a real coup for the company: The CF34 is already the engine of choice for 50-seat regional jets and now boasts even further growth potential, having been selected as the exclusive powerplant for new 70- to 100-seat jets manufactured by Bombardier and Embraer.

32 33 Products + Services

The now-successful MTU subsidiary can look back over many eventful years, not all of which were easy. Its origins go all the way back to 1936, when Daimler-Benz Flugmotorenwerk Genshagen was established on the site of the present-day Ludwigsfelde industrial estate—and a particularly dark chap- ter of history began to unfold. In Genshagen, as elsewhere in Germany, the National Socialist war machine relentlessly ramped up production. Towards the end of World War II, no fewer than one in seven German aero engines were produced in Ludwigsfelde. DB600 series engines were manufactured there, in particular the DB605, which powered later versions of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. In 1944, production peaked at more than 10,500 engines a year, a record that sadly owed much to the 8,000 or so forced laborers and concentration camp inmates who toiled on site in inhuman conditions.

After World War II, the Genshagen plant remained closed for a time. But things started to look up again in the 1950s, when the East German government made the decision to set up its own aviation industry. The medium-range passenger airliner 152 was built in Dresden, and the engine that powered it— Germany’s first ever commercial jet engine—was developed in the Saxon city of Pirna. That powerplant, which would go down in history as the Pirna 014, was manufactured in Ludwigsfelde. In the early 1960s, however, East Germany’s ambitious plans were at first severely constrained by prob- lems with materials, then ultimately abandoned. In 1959, a A star in MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg’s portfolio: the CF34 engine family, which powers business and regional jets. Shown here is a CF34-10. 152 with Russian engines crashed during a test flight, and Inspection of an LM6000 industrial gas turbine. although the aircraft did take to the skies successfully the following year using Pirna engines, by spring 1961, the SED Central Committee had decided to bring down the curtain on the GDR’s aviation industry. The Ludwigsfelde shop is the first independent MRO provider was completely reorganized, a new just-in-time production tive provider of maintenance services for Russian-built heli- worldwide to look after the entire CF34 family. The facility system was introduced (MRO InTakt), the shop layout was Ludwigsfelde’s intervening history in brief: Including the pro- copter engines, alongside shops in the USSR. In 1978, it also provides service support for the PT6A, PW200, PW300 revamped and production optimized, innovative technologies totypes, a total of 28 Pirna 014 engines were manufactured branched out into maintenance of the turboshaft engines and and PW500 series of engines. Co-located on-site, the Pratt & were adopted and new machines procured. Sinanian goes on: at the traditional production facility. In 1958, the first military main gearboxes used on MI-8 and MI-24 helicopters. By the Whitney Canada Customer Service Centre Europe GmbH “This means we’re well equipped for the anticipated growth repair and overhaul contracts were concluded with the East end of the 1980s, it had made all the necessary preparations (CSC), a 50/50 joint venture of MTU Maintenance Berlin- ahead. But of course, we also want to continue improving and German air force, and the plant assumed responsibility for to look after the R-27, R-19 and R-29B engines for the MiG- Brandenburg and Pratt & Whitney Canada, is responsible for to further increase our vertical range of manufacturing wher- the 5,500 or so engines that powered its fleet of MiGs. The 23 multi-role fighter; however, these efforts ultimately came sales and marketing activities. ever it makes sound economic sense.” company also gradually made a name for itself as an alterna- to nothing, because the overall political climate had changed dramatically by then. 1989 saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, and The TP400-D6, the powerplant for the new A400M military two years later, the long-established company found itself a transport aircraft, is another showcase program for the new home and a new future within the MTU group: MTU Ludwigsfelde location. MTU Maintenance Berlin-Branden- Ludwigsfelde GmbH was founded on July 1, 1991, and was burg has the only production test facility for the western subsequently renamed MTU Maintenance Berlin-Branden- hemisphere’s most powerful turboprop engine—it is one of burg in 1999. the most powerful in existence—and is also responsible for delivery of all production engines.

Ludwigsfelde uses the high-tech repair techniques for which MTU is renowned around the globe. When others would simply reach for a new part, MTU Maintenance restores even severely worn components to serviceable condition in line with its motto “Repair beats replacement”. Sinanian says: For additional information, contact “One main point of focus for our future development will be André Sinanian targeted investment in innovative processes that will allow us +49 3378 824-301 to optimize our current offerings.” In the past year, much has For further information on this article, go to already been achieved in this regard: The four-shop operation The TP400-D6, the engine to power the A400M, is tested at MTU’s Ludwigsfelde The history of the Ludwigsfelde location is inextricably linked with the GDR’s location. Pirna 014 jet engine. www.mtu.de/111Ludwigsfelde

34 35 Global

A resounding success in the Middle Kingdom

By Silke Hansen

The Year of the Rabbit marks a milestone anniversary for MTU Mainte- nance Zhuhai: Ten years ago, MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airlines established the 50/50 joint venture partnership in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone in southern China. Ever since, the MRO shop has seen steady, strong growth, and the company is now the market leader in MRO services for IAE V2500 and for CFM56 engines in China.

decade ago, the place where this world-class maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) shop now stands—with its high-tech A machine pool, advanced test cell and superbly trained employees—was nothing but swampland. MTU Maintenance and its long- standing customer China Southern Airlines (CSA) chose this site for their joint venture, which maintains V2500 and CFM56 engines, to benefit from its proximity to the industrial and commercial centers of Hong Kong and Macau. And ever since the first concrete piles were driven into the swampy ground in May 2001, this new partnership has been a tremendous success. The shop kicked off with its first V2500 from CSA’s fleet in 2003 and delivered 21 engines that same year. Eight years later the number of shop visits had climbed to 166. “That corresponds to an average annual growth rate of 35 percent,” according to Holger Sindemann, President & CEO of MTU Mainte- nance Zhuhai.

This upward trend shows no sign of abating. With the company ex- pecting up to 190 shop visits this year—a workload that will push its capacity to the limit—the time has clearly come to expand the facility: “By adding more shop space, we will be able to accommodate as many as 300 shop visits a year by 2012,” says Sindemann. A clear strategy which is coupled with an ambitious goal: “Our aim is to be number one in the Asian market.” The plan is to achieve this objective by soliciting more business and adding new engine types, as Sinde- mann explains: “In principle, we are capable of handling any engine whatsoever.” Things certainly look promising: China Southern operates a fleet of more than 400 aircraft, a number that can well be

36 37 Global Superb training

“We started out training the employees at MTU’s locations in Germany and Canada,” recalls Martin Köster, who had helped establish the facility in the Chinese Pearl River Delta together with Walter Strakosch, then President and CEO. Shortly after- wards, MTU embarked on a cooperation project with the local vocational college to cover the need for skilled labor. Around 60 of the 550 current employees completed a three-year training program similar to the German dual system of vocational training, studying the theoretical aspects in the classroom and learning the practical skills in MTU’s shop—the only scheme of its kind in China. For his outstanding achievements and dedication to China’s development, Walter Strakosch was honored with the Friend- ship Award of China. Strakosch died three years ago.

Since 2009, some 20 employees have been taking classes after work to study for a master’s degree in aviation maintenance engineering. “MTU is a respect- ed employer in China and, at less than three percent Customer and partner in the Middle Kingdom: China Southern Airlines is one of the country’s major airlines. a year, our staff turnover rate is very low,” says the current President & CEO Holger Sindemann.

expected to grow in future. Today already virtually every second tained certification from the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. “That engine received for a shop visit is sent in by this Chinese carrier, makes us the only MRO shop in China that holds a license from the which is one of the country’s biggest. Japanese authorities,” says Sindemann happily. In 2010, the first CFM56-3C1 engine from the new Japanese customer All Nippon Air- MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s success is based on solid collaboration ways (ANA) arrived in Zhuhai for maintenance. “We completed the first between two partners who complement each other perfectly. “We shop visit even faster than scheduled, and ANA was highly satisfied bring the technology and process know-how to the table, while China with the job we did.” Word has clearly got around, and MTU has since Southern provides clearer insights into an airline customer’s specific been audited by other Japanese airlines as well. The shop has offer- needs, plus the expertise of an airline operator,” says Sindemann. ings others do not have, as for example level III capability, which And Yuan Xin’an, Vice President of China Southern and Chairman of enables it to perform repairs down to component level. Sindemann the joint venture, adds: “Efficient cooperation based on trust has adds: “We carry out more than 80 percent of the necessary repairs proven to be beneficial for both sides. Our basic concept is to com- ourselves using innovative, high-tech component repair techniques bine workload from CSA and MTU’s expertise and technology. We such as heat treatment, plasma coating and high-speed grinding.” benefit from lower cost and shorter turnaround times, which are key The shop recently introduced high-pressure water-jet stripping and criteria to help us succeed in a tough competitive environment.” V2500 rear shaft hardcoating.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai has numerous other customers in addition The company’s tenth anniversary will not be the only milestone to be to CSA. It has managed to attract 45 airlines just in the last three celebrated: MTU’s biggest location outside Germany is about to break years, as Sindemann explains: “We have customers all over the world, the 1,000 mark, meaning 1,000 successfully overhauled engines. So but our main focus is on the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.” what is the key to its success? “The cross-cultural partnership is the Its top customers include Hainan Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Air perfect combination of Chinese philosophy and German logic. Macau, and the IAE engine consortium. “We highly appreciate MTU’s Chinese and German people share the same culture of hard work and MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s premises cover a surface area of 156,000 customer-oriented service and the efficient communication between dedication,” says Yuan Xin’an from China Southern. square meters. our companies,” says Wang Qi, Deputy General Manager of the material department at Hainan Airlines, who already has an eye on the The company is the market leader in maintenance services for future: “MTU offers value-added services that go beyond MRO to For additional information, contact V2500 engines in China. Shown here is the assembly of the inlet cone. include training, engine leasing and aircraft-on-ground support.” Holger Sindemann +86 756 8687-806

Business is booming, and not only in the domestic Chinese market. In For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to 2009, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai scored a major coup when it ob- www.mtu.de/111Zhuhai

38 39 Report Europe’s biggest flying laboratory

By Achim Figgen

Among the thousands of Airbus A320 aircraft faithfully plying their routes around the globe day after day, there is one that is completely unique: The Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA) operated by the German Aero- space Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raum- fahrt, DLR). The twin-engine jet serves as a flying platform for testing technologies aimed at making air transport safer, more economical, more environmentally friendly and more comfortable. It is powered by two IAE V2500 engines.

he DLR’s flight operations department boasts 12 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft T and is thus the largest civilian operator of research aircraft in Europe. Just like all the DLR’s other facilities, these aircraft work entirely in the service of science. Since 2006, the flagship of the fleet has been an Airbus A320 stationed in Braunschweig—the Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA). In its previous life, the A320 was operated by Aero Lloyd and Niki. Its aft cabin area still contains a standard seating ar- rangement, which makes it the ideal candi- date for research into passenger comfort.

40 41 Report German Aerospace Center

The DLR is the Federal Republic of Germany’s national research center for aeronautics and space. It was given its current designation on October 1, 1997, when the German Research Institute for Aeronautics and Space amalgamated with the German Space Agency (DARA) to form a new organ- ization, the German Aerospace Center. The origins of the DLR go right back to 1907, when physicist Ludwig Prandtl founded the Model Research Institute of the Society for the Study of Powered Airships.

The low-speed wind tunnel in Braunschweig. MTU’s counter-rotating integrated shrouded propfan (CRISP) was among The DLR is headquartered in Cologne, employs around the modules tested in the wind tunnel. 6,900 people at 13 locations around Germany, and runs 33 institutes and miscellaneous test and operating facilities, including wind tunnels and rocket and engine test rigs. Local Mid last year, around 50 very special passengers were sent on a bus above passengers’ heads. However, this can very quickly dry out the offices in Brussels, Paris and Washington, D.C., to name but journey from Göttingen to the Airbus factory in Hamburg. A few weeks eyes and nose, and impinge upon physical comfort. So, in a series of a few, ensure contact with scientists and potential customers later, the remarkably homogeneous party took off from the city’s tests conducted jointly by Airbus and the DLR, the standard system all over the world. Finkenwerder airport on a series of short round trips. The identically- was turned completely upside down, and the fresh air was fed into the sized and uniformly black-clothed passengers had a clearly defined cabin through the side paneling at foot height—and at low speed. In 2009, the DLR spent around 770 million euros on re- role: Their synthetic bodies were to demonstrate the advantages and Because of the rise in temperature caused by body heat, it then rose search and development and other internal operations, disadvantages of a new cabin airflow concept. Although the thermal upwards and was sucked out of the cabin over the heads of the ther- through funding provided in roughly equal parts by the tax- dummies—for that is what they were—bear only a passing resem- mal dummies. payers and by third parties. The German government’s blance to genuine flesh and blood as far as looks are concerned, they entire space budget for that year was approximately 1,047 A new idea is being tested: an electrical nose wheel drive for the Airbus A320. are much more like humans when it comes to the distribution of radi- These experiments, which may be repeated with human test subjects million euros. ated body heat. once the initial findings have been evaluated, clearly demonstrate why the DLR opted for the A320 as its new research aircraft. To work Which brings us to the precise purpose of these flights: Normally, with a model that is still in widespread operation increases the likeli- fresh air is blown into a cabin at high speed through nozzles located hood that manufacturers, system producers and research institutes

will actually make use of the flying laboratory, because improvements sion to verify CFD results showing the movement of air from cabin confirmed on such a model can still find their way into production. It floor to ceiling in a real aircraft with dummies approximating real pas- goes without saying that, for an institution which dedicates itself pri- sengers. marily to supporting the national aviation industry, the aircraft of choice simply had to be an Airbus. And naturally, the propulsion sys- The DLR’s ATRA has already been put to use in a number of projects, tem simply had to be the V2500 engine, in which MTU Aero Engines including investigating potential ways to improve air quality in the has a significant production share. cabin, testing fuel cells as a possible energy source, and conducting taxi vibration tests to determine natural vibration patterns. It will also Conducting actual flight tests to try out a new cabin ventilation sys- provide the platform for the planned testing of navigation and com- tem is without doubt the most expensive of all options, and the munication technologies for low-noise approach and departure pro- extremely time-consuming modifications that have to be made to the cedures, and for aerodynamic testing to help optimize the A320’s per- aircraft represent a significant time investment. So why choose to go formance parameters. In the ATRA, the DLR and its contracting part- down this route, given that technologies such as computational fluid ners have a highly-versatile laboratory at their disposal—one that can dynamics (CFD) can be used to simulate many different things these justifiably claim to be without equal in Europe. days, including the movement of air masses around the cabin? “Anyone who decides to press ahead with flight tests clearly has very good reasons for doing so,” says Gerald Ernst, who heads ATRA Management at the DLR. Beforehand, they will have carefully consid- For additional information, contact ered the limits of simulation. In the case of cabin ventilation, for Torunn Siegler example, the thermal effects that are perceived as air circulating +49 89 1489-6626 around an aircraft at cruising altitude cannot be reproduced on the For further information on this article, go to ground, nor can they yet be simulated on computer. Hence the deci- www.mtu.de/111ATRA Thermal dummies are “testing” a new cabin air system on board the A320 ATRA.

42 43 In Brief

Masthead New production shop Editor MTU Aero Engines GmbH Eckhard Zanger Senior Vice President Corporate Communications Flood of orders coming in for the GTF in Munich and Public Affairs Editor in chief Torunn Siegler The geared turbofan (GTF) chalks up one success after another: Tel. +49 89 1489-6626 By April, Pratt & Whitney had received 1,200 orders, including Fax +49 89 1489-4303 [email protected] options, for PurePower® PW1000G engines. The largest contracts by far were placed by India’s airline IndiGo, which will equip 150 Final editor Martina Vollmuth A320neo aircraft with the GTF, and by U.S. aircraft leasing com- Tel. +49 89 1489-5333 pany International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which has Fax +49 89 1489-8757 selected the GTF to power 100 A320neo jets. Other customers [email protected] for the innovative propulsion system include Trans States Holdings Address in the U.S. and Germany’s flag airline Lufthansa. The GTF is one MTU Aero Engines GmbH Dachauer Straße 665 of two engine options for the A320neo and will also power 80995 Munich • Germany Bombardier’s CSeries, Mitsubishi’s MRJ, and Irkut’s MS-21. MTU www.mtu.de aims to have a stake of at least 15 percent in the engine. A new shop which will house MTU Aero Engines’ new Center of Excellence for blisk Realization production will be erected on the company’s premises in Munich. In all, MTU will Heidrun Moll invest around 20 million euros. Blisks are high-tech components where disk and Editorial staff blades are forming one single component. They are increasingly used in today’s Denis Dilba, Achim Figgen, Silke Hansen, Daniel advanced engine compressors. Presently, MTU produces around 600 blisks per year, Hautmann, Patrick Hoeveler, Odilo Mühling, but this number is expected to grow to as many as 3,000 units by 2020. Construction Andreas Spaeth, Martina Vollmuth, Tony Wilcoxson 2010 results: higher revenues and profits of the building will commence in the summer of 2011 and will be completed in 2012. Layout Manfred Deckert Sollnerstraße 73 MTU Aero Engines is pleased with fiscal 81479 Munich • Germany 2010: “The economy recovered percep- (Figures quoted in million €, calculated on a comparable MTU Aero Engines – basis. Statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. tibly in 2010, which was a welcome boost Photo credits key financial data for 2010 Figures calculated on a comparable basis apply adjust- Cover Page: Airbus for the aviation industry,” said MTU CEO ments to the IFRS consolidated results to exclude restructuring and transaction costs, capitalized develop- Pages 2–3 Airbus; U.S. Navy; MTU Aero Engines Lucrative MRO contracts Pages 4–5 Pratt & Whitney; MTU Aero Engines Egon Behle at the annual press confer- ment costs and the effects of IFRS purchase price ac- ence held in Munich in late February, counting). Pages 6–11 Airbus, Pratt & Whitney; MTU Aero MTU’s Maintenance group did extremely well in the first quarter: In the first three Engines which was attended by a great number MTU Aero Engines 2009 2010 Change months of this year, new contracts worth around 400 million euros were signed. One Pages 12–15 Andreas Spaeth; MTU Aero Engines of media representatives. And Behle Revenues 2,610.8 2,707.4 + 3.7 % Pages 16–19 U.S. Navy; Vericor of the largest contracts was awarded by Atlas Air. The U.S. carrier had started to send Pages 20–25 Institut für Werkzeugmaschinen und added: “Thanks to its excellent position of which OEM business 1,585.7 1,663.5 + 4.9 % in the market, MTU performed very suc- the CF6-50 and CF6-80 engines powering its Boeing 747 fleet to MTU Maintenance Betriebswissenschaften, TU München; of which commercial engine business 1,053.7 1,177.6 + 11.8 % MTU Aero Engines cessfully in this environment and once Hannover for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) back in 1999. Now the existing of which military engine business 532.0 485.9 - 8.7 % Pages 26–29 MTU Aero Engines again demonstrated its strong earnings contract was expanded to include additional engines and renewed to run through Pages 30–31 MTU Aero Engines power.” The company’s revenues grew of which commercial MRO business 1,057.6 1,074.0 + 1.6 % 2020. MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg’s CF34 MRO team, too, succeeded in Pages 32–35 Airbus; MTU Aero Engines EBIT (calculated on a comparable basis) 292.3 311.3 + 6.5 % Pages 36–39 China Southern Airlines; MTU Aero by four percent to over 2.7 billion euros securing some attractive deals. Overall, the company managed to add 15 new airlines Engines and its operating profit increased by of which OEM business 229.2 229.6 + 0.2 % and operators to its customer base. Pages 40–43 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und seven percent to 311.3 million euros. of which commercial MRO business 65.3 80.3 + 23.0 % Raumfahrt (DLR) Pages 44–45 Airbus; Carpus+Partner; Atlas Air; MTU’s net income amounted to 142.2 EBIT margin (calculated on a comparable basis) 11.2 % 11.5 % MTU Aero Engines million euros, and the free cash flow was for OEM business 14.5 % 13.8 % 144.8 million euros. for commercial MRO business 6.2 % 7.5 % Printed by EBERL PRINT GmbH Net income (IFRS) 141.0 142.2 + 0.9 % Kirchplatz 6 Behle is also confident about the future: Net income (calculated on a comparable basis) 170.5 182.3 + 6.9 % 87509 Immenstadt • Germany “The market will continue to grow in Earnings per share (undiluted) 2.89 € 2.91 € + 0.7 % 2011, and MTU, too, will benefit from Contributions credited to authors do not neces- Free cash flow 120.2 144.8 + 20.5 % sarily reflect the opinion of the editors. We will that development. In fact, both our OEM Research and development expenditure 230.2 238.7 + 3.7 % not be held responsible for unsolicited material. and MRO segments have already started Reprinting of contributions is subject to the the year well.” Experts are predicting a of which company-funded 123.0 148.1 + 20.4 % editors’ approval. further increase both in passenger and of which outside-funded 107.2 90.6 - 15.5 % freight traffic in 2011, mainly driven by Capital expenditure 140.3 109.4 - 22.0 % growth in the Asia-Pacific region and Dec. 31, 09 Dec. 31, 10 Change North America. MTU is a strong player in both regions, also thanks to its local Order backlog 4,150.9 4,506.7 + 8.6 % companies. The engine manufacturer of which OEM business 3,965.1 4,331.5 + 9.2 % therefore expects its revenues to rise by of which commercial MRO business 185.8 177.7 - 4.4 % seven to eight percent in 2011 and ad- Employees 7,665 7,907 + 3.2 % justed EBIT and net income to remain at this year’s level.

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