Page 66 - World Airnews Magazine January 2020 Edition

ENGINES ENGINES

ARE PASSENGER JET from day one. If you can’t do it, don’t pro- temporarily grounded its Airbus A220 (1) and profitability. As with the car industry,

duce them,” he said.
the aerospace sector is gearing up for an

fleet so the Pratt engines could be inspect-
The laws of science aren’t the only thing ed after a spate of powerplant failures (the epochal effort to curb carbon emissions.

ENGINES HITTING THEIR testing the engine makers. Airbus SE and debris from one such incident was recov- Aviation accounts for 2%-3% of greenhouse

gas emissions but the sheer volume of plane
Boeing Co. have brought several new pas-
ered from a French forest last week). Since
deliveries in coming years will counteract
senger jets to market in quick succession
then Canadian regulators ordered the same

TECHNICAL LIMITS? and their powerplant suppliers have had to aircraft not to operate at full power above engine efficiency gains. Aviation’s share

could rise to between 10% and 25% by 2050,
ramp up production rapidly. A lot of new

a specified altitude.

a Roland Berger study found.
demand is from emerging markets where
About 70% of airlines and lessors sur-
dusty or polluted air can put additional veyed by Citi Research said groundings Unlike carmakers, the airlines lack viable

By Chris Bryant strain on engines. caused by engine issues were a key con- technological alternatives. Biofuels have

Airbus production was thrown into chaos cern. Some are looking to operate mixed potential but fully electric large commercial
last year by engine glitches involving Pratt fleets to lessen the risk of one engine type aircraft are probably decades away

& Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) for the being grounded. While that’s prudent, it’s Engine manufacturers are working on still

A320neo, Airbus’s top-selling jet. more expensive than using a single type of more efficient jet engine designs. Rolls-

More recently the launch of Boeing’s equipment. Royce claims its Ultrafan technology will

777x wide-body aircraft was pushed to The risk for engine manufacturers is that deliver a 25% improvement in fuel burn

next year after the premature wearing out reliability issues cost them market share. compared to the first generation of Trents.

of a General Electric engine component. Earlier this year Air New Zealand switched Bringing these innovations to market quick-

Its one thing for an engine to miss tough an order for 787 jet engines to GE after ly is essential from a planetary perspective

production targets, but quite another for problems with its Rolls-Royce kit. Indigo but rushing development could prove

engines to fail once they’re in service. placed a $20 billion order with the GE/ counterproductive. “My sense is that public
“Engine manufacturers have always had Safran engine joint venture rather buy opinion in Europe at least is moving quicker

teething problems but in four decades I’ve from Pratt (Pratt claimed the decision was than the technology,” said Rob Stallard at

never seen anything like the list of technical price-related). Vertical Research Partners.
issues they’re been having lately,” said John The problems haven’t affected all new Cunningham is even less optimistic. “Gas

Strickland, director of JLS Consulting. technologies. Rolls-Royce’s XWB pow- turbines are running out of road at just the

This month India threatened to ground erplant for the Airbus A350 has proven point where the political impetus is toward

scores of Airbus A320neo jets operated by reliable so far. The core gearing innovation greater decarbonisation,” he said.

domestic carrier Indigo unless the Pratt en- underpinning Pratt’s GTF also appears to “Jet engines are unlikely to get a lot
gines were replaced by the end of January. work as planned; a relief because it cost better from here.”Q

The warning followed several incidents of about (US) $10 billion to develop. (1) The plane was developed by Bombardier

engines shutting down in-flight. There’s more at stake, though, than airline Inc and was known as the C-Series before Air-

In October Lufthansa AG subsidiary Swiss flight schedules and manufacturers’ pride bus acquired a majority stake.

the type of problem that’s becoming com- Yet these innovations have taken the

mon in the industry as the demands placed technology closer to its technical limits and
he high-pressure turbine blades on engines become ever greater. reliability issues have crept in.
Tin a Trent 1000 passenger jet The expense of dealing with these “By pushing the envelope on thrust and
engine have to withstand temperatures far things is rising too. Last week, Rolls-Royce efficiency, things have started to go wrong

above the melting point of the nickel alloy quantified the cost of fixing various Trent elsewhere in the system,” said Nick Cun-

from which they’re made. It’s a fiendish 1000 issues at 2.4 billion pounds (US) $3.1 ningham at Agency Partners. This is worry-

technical challenge for the engine’s British billion), a cash outflow the debt-laden man- ing because companies are under pressure

manufacturer, Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc - ufacturer can ill afford. to build even more efficient propulsion

comparable to trying to stop an ice cube Few inventions have done more to trans- systems to curb carbon emissions.

melting inside a kitchen oven on full blast. form our life over the past century than jet Rolls-Royce’s problems appear the most
The solution found by the company’s engines. serious - some 40 787s powered by its

engineers was to blow cool air through They’ve let people travel faster and engines are parked - but this is an indus-

tiny holes in the blades. Unfortunately this further, and they’re remarkably safe. try-wide issue. Forced to ground planes

clever approach has encountered some Passengers fatalities like the one caused and adjust flight schedules, airlines have

unexpected problems. by a turbine failure on a Southwest Airlines resorted to leasing replacement aircraft

Boeing 787 aircraft operated by British flight last year are rare. and have told engine manufacturers to pay

Airways, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Virgin Developed at enormous expense and compensation.

Atlantic and others have been grounded in using innovative new materials, the most In September Tim Clark, the boss of

recent months for inspections and repairs recent “powerplants” (to use engines’ Emirates, said manufacturers are delivering

because the Trent 1000 engine blades have industry name) are comparatively quiet and aircraft that don’t do what was promised.

been degrading faster than anticipated. It’s fuel efficient. “Give us airframes and engines that work

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