June 2007

Transcription

June 2007

safran
magazine
June 2007 – No.1
THE SAFRAN GROUP MAGAZINE
Aviation,
telecom and security
shift into high gear
SPECIAL REPORT
CHINA
TAKES OFF
p. 10 TOMORROW RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS / p. 36 MARKETS ELECTRIC BRAKES / p. 42 MARKETS SaM146 JET ENGINE
contents
02-03
essentials
4
insight
8
A quick look at Safran Group news
t omor r o w 10
special report 14
Partnerships drive progress in
aerospace research
editorial
Working with French charity organization
Secours Populaire Français
Jean-paul bÉchat
Chief executive officer, SAFRAN GROUP
W
China takes off. Aviation, telecom and security are just three growth sectors in the booming
Chinese economy. We take an in-depth look at
Safran’s presence in this market.
panorama
26
markets 30
ith the Paris Air Show just opening its doors, this
is an ideal time to talk about the aerospace industry in general, and about Safran in particular.
Developments during the first half of the year
show that aerospace markets are in very good
health indeed. Following our record engine
deliveries last year, we have
already logged a large number of orders during the first
half of 2007. Whether for
propulsion, equipment or
the aerospace operations in
our Defense Security branch,
Safran plants are running at
full capacity.
In addition to our robust aerospace business, the Group’s other sectors are also chalking up a number of successes, especially in the security
market. This dynamic performance is built on a shared passion for high
technology throughout Safran. Our strengths and talents are above all
anchored in the skills and expertise of the men and women working for
Safran around the world.
The Safran Group was established two years ago. We span two different, yet highly complementary spheres of technology – mechanics and
electronics – giving us a unique corporate DNA.
Day after day, we build foundations for the future. By this I mean developing new technologies and products, filing for numerous patents, modernizing our production facilities and improving productivity, and of course
developing our service business. Working with partners from around the
world, in France, Europe, America, Russia, India, China and elsewhere,
we will continue to move forward and deliver solutions that satisfy our
customers and shareholders.
TP400-D6, the A400M turboprop engine,
under test at Snecma’s Istres facility
" D
ay
after
day, we build
foundations for
the future. "
30 Turbomeca powers the U.S. Army
33 Dedicated to Boeing 787 landings
35 Lighter, quieter engines
36 Braking: the electrical revolution
38 Mobile phones reveal hidden talents
with NFC
40 Any radio station you want
41 A ASM soon to enter service on Rafale
42
44
New fuels for tomorrow’s airplanes?
Interview with Xavier Montagne, head of the fuelslubricants-emissions department of the Institut
Français du Pétrole (IFP).
Check out the latest Safran news on
www.le-webmag.com
June 2007 _ safran magazine
markets
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 will be the
first aircraft powered by the SaM146 jet
engine, developed by Snecma
and NPO Saturn
SaM146
ENGINE
©PowerJet
42 SaM146 on track for certification
face-to-face A passion
for high
technology
safran magazine _ June 2007
essentials
04-05
Messier-Bugatti is expanding its
American plant in Walton, Kentucky.
Specialized in the production and
refurbishment of carbon disks since
1998, Messier-Bugatti USA will now add
wheel and carbon brake production as
well. Startup is slated for early 2008.
This new capability will expand MessierBugatti’s production capacity, and
improve the service provided to
American customers. Combined with a
2,000 square meter extension of the
French production facility in Molsheim
(near Strasbourg), it will also help
Messier-Bugatti consolidate its position
as the world’s leading supplier of carbon
brakes on mainline commercial jets
(over 100 seats).
Messier
Services
Americas
Two Boeing airplanes, the new 787
Dreamliner and the 737 Next-Generation,
will be fitted with Messier-Bugatti wheels
and carbon brakes starting in 2008.
Messier-Bugatti was originally selected
by the American giant for the 767200/300 in October 1997, followed by the
777LR. Safran’s braking specialist is also
the exclusive supplier of wheels and
carbon brakes on two U.S. Air Force
aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster III
transport, and the KC-135 Stratotanker.
Messier-Bugatti set a new sales record in
2006, signing wheel & brake contracts for
544 new aircraft.
Messier Services’ new
plant in Queretaro,
Mexico will provide
complete maintenance
services for the landing
gear on US Airways’ 100
A320 and nine A330 jets.
The contract was signed
on April 18 during the
MRO 2007 Conference &
Exhibition in Atlanta.
K MORE
K MORE
www.parisairshow-2007.com
The Safran Group magazine
2, boulevard du Général Martial-Valin
75724 Paris Cedex 15 – France
Fax: 33 (0)1 40 60 84 87
email: safran.magazine@safran.fr
Publication Director
Françoise Descheemaeker
Editorial Director
Olivier Lapy
Executive Editor in Chief
Florent Vilbert
Editor in Chief
Aurélien Coustillac
Translation
Don Siegel, ID Communications
Production
www.parisairshow-2007.com
© DR
SAFRAN BUSINESS GROWTH IN
AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND
POWER THE 52 AIRBUS A319 TWINJETS IT
ORDERED IN MARCH. THE ORDER IS WORTH
© Thierry Mamberti/SAFRAN
$700 MILLION AT LIST PRICE. ONE OF THE
CFM-POWERED A319 TWINJETS BY 2010.
www.le-webmag.com
safran
EASYJET HAS CHOSEN THE CFM56-5B TO
EASYJET PLANS TO DEPLOY A FLEET OF 192
K more
magazine
104 CFM56-5B for EasyJet
LEADING LOW-COST CARRIERS IN EUROPE,
Lockheed Martin has given
Turbomeca its Star Supplier
Award, for the on-time delivery
of the 225 engines in the
Deepwater program. Safran’s
helicopter engine specialist
rose to this daunting challenge
by delivering the first engine
covered by this contract in just
109 days. The $88 million
contract was completed in
March.
Turbomeca USA has delivered
the 225th Arriel 2C2 CG
engine, assembled in the
company’s plant in Grand
Prairie, Texas, to Lockheed
Martin, American
Eurocopter’s partner.
This delivery marks the
completion of the reengining
of the United States Coast
Guard’s HH-65B Dolphin
helicopters, launched in
May 2004 as part of the
Deepwater program.
© Dan Megna
© Messier-Bugatti
US Airways
chooses
MESSIER-BUGATTI TO
START WHEEL AND BRAKE
PRODUCTION IN U.S.
… wins lockheed
martin supplier
award
Turbomeca's
contribution to
deepwater...
CFM56 engines power 106 airplanes in
Australia. A total of 231 engines have
now logged 4.7 million flight-hours in
this region. They are deployed by the
air force (2 Boeing Business Jets) and
two airlines: Qantas (22 737CL and
33 737NG) and Virgin Blue (49 737NG).
Other Safran companies are active in
the important Australia-New Zealand
market: Turbomeca, Microturbo,
Sagem Communication and Sagem
Défense Sécurité.
Printed by
Imprimerie Vincent,
imprim'vert "green" printing label
ISSN: pending
The articles and illustrations published
in this magazine may not be reproduced
without prior authorization.
Cover photo
View of a Shanghai business
district at dusk.
© Stéphane Lavoué/M.Y.O.P
K MORE
www.le-webmag.com
essentials
06-07
TURBOMECA TO OPEN NEW SITE IN 2009
Turbomeca will move to a new plant in Bordes in 2009.
While the cornerstone was laid on January 26, construction
will only start this summer. Dubbed “Eole”, the new building
measures 175 x 330 meters. It is designed to meet three
challenges: optimize flows while reducing design and
K more
www.le-webmag.com
SAGEM
COMMUNICATION
signs agreements
REFLECTing ODM
STRATEGY
Sagem Communication has signed two recent
agreements reflecting its ODM (Original Design
Manufacturer) strategy. In March, Sagem
Communication signed an agreement with
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications to
provide technologies under license and
develop mobile phones for Sony Ericsson.
The following month it signed an
agreement with Vodafone, providing for
the production of a mobile phone to be
sold under the operator’s brand.
Available in June 2007, this phone
features a very flat, elegant design,
and a screen with 65,000 colors.
Defense Security branch
Safran is reorganizing its Defense Security
branch, in particular splitting Sagem
Défense Sécurité into two companies,
effective July 1, 2007. The company Sagem
Défense Sécurité will retain its current
name and be dedicated to avionics,
optronics and defense. It will comprise two
divisions, Sagem Avionics and Sagem
Optronics & Defense.
All security activities (biometrics,
ID systems, smartcards, etc.) will be
grouped in a new subsidiary, Sagem
Sécurité. The reorganization is designed to
create entities more tightly focused on their
respective markets, with stronger
technological foundations, to improve
management efficiency and foster
international partnerships.
em
ag
©S
organized in two companies
production cycles; bring design teams closer to production
teams; and meet the most exacting Health-SafetyEnvironment (HSE) and High Environmental Quality
(HQE) standards.
CENCO TO MAKE TEST
STAND FOR MTU
©Messier Bugatti
There were two main highlights at
Messier Services during the first half of
the year. First, the inauguration of its
new landing gear maintenance, repair
and overhaul (MRO) installation in
Molsheim also marked the
reorganization of its commercial
landing gear and equipment workshops.
With this new organization the
company’s services are an even better
fit with customer requirements.
Secondly, Messier Services is now on
Boeing’s approved suppliers list. This
means that Messier Services France can
now take charge of MRO services for
landing gear and hydraulic components
on Boeing planes. Messier Services
France is the second of Messier
Services’ four facilities, after Singapore
in January 2006, to receive Boeing MRO
approval.
Alan Doherty
MESSIER SERVICES VICE PRESIDENT, SALES
©Turbomeca
BOEING
CERTIFIES
MESSIER
SERVICES'
MOLSHEIM
PLANT
©Messier Services
"We passed the audit
in April, and Boeing
especially appreciated
the quality of our
customer services"
Cenco Inc., a Techspace
Aero brand, will design and
manufacture a 13-meter aircraft
engine test stand for MTU
Maintenance Hanover in Germany.
This new contract with one of the
world’s leading aero-engine MRO
providers consolidates Safran’s
leadership position. MTU will
use this state-of-the-art test
rig to carry out tests on all
current and planned commercial
aircraft engines.
SAGEM DEFENSE
SECURITE PROTECTS
FREMM FRIGATES
The first eight FREMM European
multimission frigates to be
deployed by the French navy will
feature the NGDS new-generation
decoy launching self-protection
system developed by Sagem
Défense Sécurité on behalf of
Armaris. The Safran defense
specialist has already supplied
these systems for 130 naval vessels
in 20 countries.
Insight
08-09
The teenagers who traveled to
Florida last October with Safran
and Secours Populaire Français.
Illustrating the Group’s
commitment to corporate citizenship, Safran
has twice teamed up with Secours Populaire
Français, one of France’s largest charity
organizations, to take a group of youngsters to
two of the world’s leading space centers.
PARTNERSHIP.
MAKING
DREAMS
COME TRUE
S
“
afran is not and does not
intend to isolate itself in a
kind of high-tech ivory tower,
cut off from the rest of society,” says Dominique-Jean Chertier,
a member of the Safran Executive
Board and Executive Vice President,
Social and Institutional Affairs. “We
firmly believe that no matter how
much hardship people face, every-
one has the right to dream. We were
impressed with the efforts by Secours
Populaire Français to enhance the
opportunities of children and teenagers who were not fortunate enough to
be born into a wealthy family. So if
our activities and high-tech products
fire the imagination, then we should
help children’s dreams come true
whenever possible.”
Safran’s first initiative with Secours
Populaire was launched in summer
2004, when a group of twelve kids
who’d never before been on vacation were flown to French Guiana
to visit the Ariane rocket base in
Kourou. Two years later, the Group
renewed its efforts with the operation
“Head in the Stars”. This time, 23
teenagers from all over France, aged
14 to 17, most of whom had never
gone on vacation, were taken on
a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Florida
from October 26 to November 5.
Accompanied by four team leaders,
six specially trained youth counselors
BENCHMARKS
SECOURS POPULAIRE
FRANÇAIS AT A GLANCE
› One million aid recipients
› One million donors
› 72, 000 volunteers
› 98 federations
› 659 local committees
› 1, 232 advisory centers
› 50 corporate partners
In France, one in every three
children and 40% of adults
never go on vacation.
©Rémy Guillaumot/Safran
©Véronique Faivre/Safran
To help brighten up the lives
of a broader group of people,
last year Safran also
initiated visits to its
Aerospace Museum in
Villaroche, near Paris.
Spread over three days, the
first series of visits allowed
300 people who receive aid
from Secours Populaire to
enjoy a great day out with
their families at the
museum, which celebrates
the history of air and space
flight. Following a guided
tour by Friends of the
Museum (retired Safran
employees who volunteer their time), the afternoon was spent in a variety of
activities, catering to all ages and interests: quizzes, an introduction to live
video recording techniques by professionals, souvenir snapshots inside the
cockpit of a Mirage jet fighter and on an ejection seat simulator. By far one of
the most popular activities with both young and old was a model rocket
workshop. Led by staff from a company approved by French space agency
CNES, participants worked in groups of four to make the rocket fuselages out
of cardboard and wood. Special miniature rocket motors were then attached to
launch the models over 200 meters into the air, providing a thrilling end to a
memorable day. Organized for the second time this year, the initiative will
welcome another 250 guests to the Villaroche museum. Along with this
operation, Safran also handed out one hundred invitations to the Paris Air Show
to Secours Populaire branches in the Paris region.
and a nurse, the teenagFor example, some people
Secours
ers explored Sea World in
criticize Americans for not
Populaire
Orlando, the world’s largest
always considering environFrançais
helps…
aquatic theme park, Disney
mental issues. Well, let me
World, the city of Miami,
you that they make a
MILLION tell
Everglades National Park ONE
great
job of looking after the
people across
and, last but not least, the
Everglades, which is an amazFrance
Kennedy Space Center (hising place! We also tend to
torically known as Cape Canaveral). think that they don’t care about what
The group was welcomed to the leg- goes on outside of the USA, but our conendary “Mecca” of space travel by tacts there show that this just isn’t true.”
French astronaut Léopold Eyharts, Over half of the teenagers involved now
who had spent 19 days onboard the correspond regularly with each other. In
Mir space station.
addition, the youngest member of the
group, a girl from the Ardèche region,
Broadening horizons
signed up as a volunteer with the local
Léo Audemar, now 15, is a high-school Secours Populaire as soon as she returned
student from the Languedoc-Roussillon from Florida – and recently received the
region of southern France who took part Departmental Award for Civic Action in
in the trip. He shared his impressions a honor of her efforts! ■
few months later: “The trip helped me
shake off some very European prejudices.
a. dohy
Interview
Supporting
the arts
©P.Lecomte
A DAY AT THE SAFRAN AEROSPACE MUSEUM
IN VILLAROCHE
Denis Verdier-Magneau
NATIONAL SECRETARY OF SECOURS
POPULAIRE FRANÇAIS, SPECIAL ADVISOR
FOR THE ARTS
O
“
ver the past decade,
Secours Populaire Français
has actively worked to
extend its reach beyond
the fundamental mission of
providing food and clothing aid, the
principle on which the charity was
founded back in 1946. Our aim
today is to safeguard the dignity of
the people we assist by making a
more long-term commitment and
developing cultural missions, such
as theater groups and workshops
on writing, nutrition and even the
Internet. Our partnership with
Safran enables us to add a fresh
dimension and more visibility to
our actions. We’re delighted to
have been able to give these
23 teenagers a first-hand glimpse
of what life is really like in the
United States, offering them a very
different vision from the one they
perceive back home in France.
They saw, of course, a
technologically advanced society,
illustrated by the Kennedy Space
Center, but much more besides:
they also witnessed an incredibly
multiracial, multicultural society,
offering a vast pool of artistic,
technological and social
creativeness.”
Tomorrow
10-11
PARTNERSHIPS
DRIVE PROGRESS
IN RESEARCH
W
ith France now setting up “centers of
competitiveness”
to stimulate the
national economy
by bringing together innovative public and private players,
Safran has already established its pioneering role. “We were one of the first,
if not the first major French company to
carry out part of our research in partnership with public labs,” explains Alain
Coutrot, Safran vice president, research
& technology.
Safran’s proactive approach to R&T is
reflected in three flagship programs carried out in conjunction with the French
national scientific research agency
CNRS, and the aerospace research center Onera. To express a unified approach,
all three programs have names referring to Native American tribes: Inca
(the French acronym for advanced
combustion initiative), Maia (advanced
mechanical engineering methods) and
Iroqua (research initiative for optimized
aeronautical acoustics).
While the first program was launched
in 2002, they are actually the culmination of a long tradition of teaming up
Synergies to bolster
partnerships
A network type organization offers
a number of advantages, starting with
multidisciplinary expertise, as Coutrot
explains: “Designing a combustion chamber involves many different challenges,
including the homogeneity of the air-fuel
mix, combustion stability, wall cooling,
infrared radiation and much more. To
come up with an overall solution, we have
to bring together the different areas of
expertise.” Furthermore, a network gives
research teams “critical mass”. Taken individually, French labs are very small in relation to their American counterparts. But
by working together under a single banner,
for instance on projects such as large eddy
simulation (LES, see opposite) of turbulent
fluid flows, they generated results that led
even the prestigious Stanford University in
California to benchmark their aeronautical research in relation to France. At the
same time, this critical mass allows the
partners to submit higher quality proposals for European programs, and pool their
The Inca program, launched in 2002, comprises research into three types of propulsion:
• Aircraft and helicopter engines, to achieve clean combustion at competitive cost. • Ariane liquid rocket engines, to improve performance and better understand combustion under extreme conditions.
• Solid propulsion, mainly used in various types of missiles.
ONE AREA OF RESEARCH: COMBUSTION IN TOMORROW’S ENGINES
fuel
LES1
LES (large eddy simulation)
modeling is used to understand
and predict turbulent
combustion fronts, by
studying and locating different
combustion intensities
(temperatures).
Inca also comprises research into the
injection sprays and mixes needed to
support new multipoint injectors.
©Antoine Dagan
The Safran Group has initiated
the research programs Inca, Maia and Iroqua,
based on innovative partnerships with public
research organizations. This original approach
has already borne fruit, and other major
manufacturers have joined the fray.
AERONAUTICS.
inca
Inca at a glance
• 70 active researchers
• 40 doctoral theses
completed or under way
• 10 laboratories at CNRS,
Onera and Cerfacs
(Toulouse research center)
• 40 million euro research
budget
air
Cutaway view of an aircraft engine combustor.
CONCRETE RESULTS: PLASMA FLAME STABILIZATION
To reduce the fuel consumption and
polluting emissions of aircraft
engines, researchers are now looking
into “lean” combustion, which means
reducing the proportion of fuel in the
air/fuel mix sent into the combustion
chamber. A lean mixture helps avoid
the high-temp zones where
pollutants such as nitrogen oxides
are formed. This approach could be
applied to a broad range of areas,
from industrial furnaces to aircraft
and automobile engines. However,
lean fuel mixtures considerably
reduce flame stability, leading to
problems of safety, efficiency and
pollution. To stabilize the flames
during combustion, researchers are
investigating the use of cold plasma.
A very short high-voltage pulse
between two electrodes, lasting a
few nanoseconds, produces a
plasma, which in turn generates very
reactive molecules which “feed” the
flame under conditions where it
would normally be extinguished.
Initial results have shown this to be a
very promising technique.
©CNRS/CORIA, France
©DR
Military aircraft engine
combustor
with public research organizations. For
example, in 1967, the prestigious Ecole
des Mines de Paris engineering school
set up a materials research center at
Safran’s Evry-Corbeil plant. In the late
1980s, another agreement created the
thermostructural composites laboratory,
a joint research effort of CNRS, Snecma
Propulsion Solide (Safran Group), French
atomic energy commission CEA and the
University of Bordeaux. It was originally
established to work on Europe’s Hermes
spaceplane project, but expanded its
scope of application when the Hermes
program was cancelled in 1992.
Another highlight in Safran’s partnership policy is the framework cooperation
agreement signed in early 1999 with
CNRS to develop a research hub for
aircraft and rocket propulsion. “All of
these agreements explain why we already
had bilateral relations with a number of
public labs in 2002,” remarks Coutrot.
“In fact, we wanted to federate these different partnerships in specific programs,
enabling our research teams to work in
networks.” That led to the first flagship
program, Inca, allying Safran, CNRS
and Onera on combustion research (see
opposite).
Illustration of the plasma effect on
a flame stabilization problem.
Left: no plasma is applied and the
flame is near the lean blow out limit.
Right: only plasma is applied and
the flame become perfectly stable.
tomorrow
The advantages of this networked
approach quickly proved obvious, and
in 2003 Safran launched a second program with the same partners, CNRS and
Onera. Dubbed Maia, this program aims
to improve the design of engine parts and
structures, as well as other aircraft equipment made by Group companies (landing
gear, nacelles, wheels and brakes, etc.),
and better predict their behavior over time
(see box on page 13). Maia is organized
like Inca, with a management committee
including representatives of Safran, CNRS
and Onera that defines the general policy.
A steering committee organizes the work
and defines specific projects, while thematic committees led by tandem Safran
researcher/engineer teams propose innovative concepts and conduct the research
work on a practical level.
The third “Amerindian” program, Iroqua,
was launched in 2005 and applies the
same principle, this time in an initiative
dedicated to noise reduction (see page 11).
Reflecting the success of the public-private
research approach, other manufacturers
joined Safran this time, namely Airbus,
Dassault Aviation and Eurocopter, along
with old faithfuls CNRS and Onera. Since
several private-sector corporations are
participating, this time the state-owned
Onera is program manager. In the two earlier projects, Safran is “prime contractor”.
Concrete results
Several key figures clearly indicate the
initial results achieved by these three programs: more than 120 doctoral theses,
several dozen patents, more than 300
researchers actively involved. “Of course,
for disruptive technologies we’re talking
about a timeframe of at least ten years,”
points out Alain Coutrot. “For example,
we filed a patent on a plasma device to stabilize flames [see page 11]. This is a major
puter-aided design and numerical simulation. “Improvements in modeling allow
us to decrease the number of tests needed
to develop a part or a structure,” notes
Coutrot with satisfaction, “and in the field,
this translates into real cost savings.” ■
iroqua
REDUCING NOISE AROUND AIRPORTS
The Iroqua research program is designed to meet the
recommendations of Acare (Advisory Council for Aeronautics
Research in Europe), a committee of European experts who
have set an objective of reducing noise around airports
by 10 decibels – a ten-fold cut – by 2020. “We have made
considerable progress in the last 20 years, especially in the
reduction of aircraft engine noise,” says program manager
Jean-Louis Gobert. “If we are to achieve further significant
improvement, we have to work on other root causes, and
allow for technological breakthroughs. In particular, we’ll
be looking at sound-absorbent materials and structures,
and active control techniques.” Today, for example, during
approach, the aircraft itself makes as much noise as the
engines, because of so-called aerodynamic noise generated
by fuselage, wings, landing gear, slats and flaps, etc. Iroqua
is also addressing this type of noise. “We’re exploring
all of these areas,” adds Gobert, “as well as the impact
of installation; in other words, the actual noise made by
engines once they’re mounted on the plane, not just in the
lab.” Another area under study to meet Acare objectives is to
determine flightpaths that generate less noise.
f. bergue
VIEWPOINT
Jean-louis gobert
DIRECTOR OF THE IROQUA
PROGRAM AT ONERA,
THE FRENCH AEROSPACE
RESEARCH CENTER
©Graphicobsession
New research
innovation, but we’re still far from applying
it on an engine. In the end, it could well
prove to be a decisive advantage on futuregeneration powerplants.”
In addition to the expected advances
in the development of new-generation
engines, these three research programs
have already spurred progress in com-
©G.Rivière
experience to meet extremely complex
European criteria.
Alain Coutrot also spotlights the advantages of a program like Inca in terms of fostering synergies within the Safran Group.
“We’re not a monolith, but a constellation
of about twenty companies. Without these
federated programs, each unit could have
given up on certain research aspects. But
today, we’re moving forward together!”
12-13
Innovation driven by
an efficient organization
“Several Iroqua
projects have
been selected
by the French
Aerospace
Research
Foundation.”
What are the advantages
of a research program
like Iroqua?
subject, while at the same time
bolstering our multidisciplinary
expertise. In fact, that was
Iroqua brings together
the idea behind the choice of
researchers across the
Onera to coordinate Iroqua,
country to work on noise
and my appointment as
reduction and meet the needs
program director. I’m part
of industry, in this case Safran,
of Onera’s long-term design
Airbus, Dassault Aviation and
and systems integration
Eurocopter.
department, involving highly
Through this organization
multidisciplinary activities,
we can target our research
and not an entity focusing
to different areas*. It is in fact
on a single basic discipline
crucial to have this centralized
such as aeroacoustics. This
structure to identify the “shadow allows me to take an overall
zones” where improvements
view and coordinate the many
are expected (see box on page
competencies involved.
13). Bringing together all these
research teams also allows us
And for Onera
to enhance synergies between
in particular?
teams working on the same
Iroqua has also fostered new
synergies within Onera. Ten
of our 17 departments are
contributing to this program,
which actually provides a
platform for cross-functional
interactions. Today, our
network spans more than 25
laboratories and 11 small and
medium-sized enterprises.
The first two “Iroqua Days”,
in 2005 and 2006, were
extremely successful,
attracting the participation
of some 80 researchers and
industry representatives.
How is the program
conducted?
In addition to each partner’s
operating budget, each one
must find funding for its
research project, and working
in a network facilitates this
approach. Through Iroqua, we
can organize CNRS and Onera
labs to submit joint program
proposals, and not compete
with each other. Several Iroqua
projects have already been
selected by the French
Aerospace Research
Foundation. Other projects
have also been submitted,
mainly for European programs.
But for a program as vast as
Iroqua, two years is barely
enough to get up to cruise
speed. The next steps, this
year, are to define a practical
scientific and technological
strategy, expressed through
an array of concrete projects.
(*) Iroqua is organized in five working
groups: physical modeling and digital
tools; absorbent materials and
structures; active technologies;
experimental and digital benchmarks;
technology integration.
K more
maia
UNDERSTANDING IMPACTS
Maia (the French acronym for advanced mechanical
engineering methods) focuses on the modeling of
complex vibrations and transient dynamics.
For example, what happens when a foreign body
(a bird or chunk of ice, for instance) is swallowed
by a jet engine? The program is also studying the
mechanical aspects of surfaces in contact, for
example to predict the consequences of an aircraft
rolling on a bare wheel following a tire burst.
Other objectives include predicting the lifespan of
structures, which will help optimize maintenance
planning.
Maia at a glance
› Launched in 2003
› 100 active researchers
› 86 doctoral theses completed or under way
› 25 laboratories, including in Belgium and Canada
› 42 million euro research budget
www.iroqua.net
special report
14-15
FACTS &
FIGURES
9.8 % 1.314 9.5 %
of the world’s
exports in 2006
came from China
billion
inhabitants
The world’s most
populous country
annual average
growth in GDP
from 1980-2005
With China taking off in a number of sectors,
including aviation, telecom and security, we take a
close look at Safran’s presence in this booming market.
Breakneck
modernization
P. 16
SAFRAN
IN CHINA
P. 18
CFM56 IN
POLE POSITION
P. 20
©Ricky wong/Sinpix-Rea
CHINA TAKES OFF
Beijing AIRPORT
In 2006 Chinese airlines carried
more than 160 million passengers,
8% of total world traffic.
A PROMISING MARKET
FOR HELICOPTERS
P. 23
THE MOBILE PHONE
AND FAX EMPIRE
P. 24
special report
16-17
VIEWPOINT
Erik Izraelewicz*,
©Stephen Shavez / UPI / Hachette photopresse
©DR
AUTHOR OF “WHEN CHINA
CHANGES THE WORLD”
Beijing
The new business district
The new “hyperpower” of the 21st
century, China today ranks as the world’s
third largest economy after the United
States and Germany.
CONTEXT.
Breakneck
modernization
F
or the fourth consecutive year,
China – dubbed “the world’s
factory” – posted double-digit
growth in 2006, 10.7% over the
previous year. Direct foreign investments
reached 63 billion dollars, up from 60
billion in 2005 and 2004. These figures
ECONOMIC MILESTONES
have fired the imagination of Western
economists. After all, in a country with a
population of 1.3 billion, “winning just one
percent of the market can be highly lucrative,” points out Muriel Duthon, regional
director at Sagem Défense Sécurité.
But what lies behind this new two-
headed creature, seen by some as the new
Eldorado and by others as the home of
too much Western outsourcing? Muriel
Duthon was a student at Beijing University
in the late 1970s and began her career in
China. She still goes back there at least
six times a year. In her opinion, China
has experienced a remarkable opening in
the past twenty-five years. “When I was
a student, any contact between foreigners
and locals was forbidden. Chinese students
were both workers and soldiers: they spent
their ‘vacation’ working in the rice paddies.
Now, if I want to show Westerners around
China, we can go into any nightclub and
see youngsters dancing to rock music.”
Determined to catch up with the rest
of the world, “China launched an all-out
drive to educate its people in the 1990s”,
explains Jérôme Périgne. Head of strategic
analysis at Snecma’s business development
department, Jérôme discovered China as
› 1949 Communist Party of China takes power › 1979 Beijing Spring: decollectivization of
agriculture and creation of “special economic zones” (in Shenzhen, Shantou, Zhuhai and
Xiamen) › 1989 Freezing of certain reforms launched following the Beijing Spring › 1990
part of a Snecma delegation to Southeast
Asia. “All-out drive” is no exaggeration:
in just five years, the number of university graduates has doubled from two to
four million, and thousands of Chinese
students are today enrolled at Western
universities.
Major urban centers
First in line for modernization were the
“special economic zones” created in 1979
along China’s coastal region, followed
by all of the major urban centers. “An
estimated 120 million Chinese people
now enjoy the same purchasing power as
Westerners and an additional 300 million
people live in large cities,” notes Jérôme
Périgne. “In contrast, some 800 million
Chinese still live in poverty, mainly in
rural areas. Lastly, there are an estimated
100 million ‘mingong’, or migrant peasant workers.” Disparities are worsening
In your book “When
China Changes the
World”, you talk
about China’s “hypercapitalism”. How would
you describe this
phenomenon?
China is currently
operating between two
economic systems. It
moved away from the
collectivist approach about
25 years ago, but certain
aspects still remain.
Alongside this extremely
powerful State, extremely
powerful billionaires are
also emerging. The coexistence of these two
trends reminds me of the
situation in the United
States at the end of the
19th Century. Today, China
is more like the “Far West”
than an environment of
regulated markets. And
this is obviously a very
effective configuration in
terms of raw growth.
What impact will China
have on the global
economy?
China’s geography
and demographics
are unique. Changes
in China will impact
Western economies
far more violently than
those of other emerging
countries. For example,
there will eventually be a
growing number of fights
about standards. China’s
technological choices will
clearly have an impact on
the rest of the world.
What risks does this
fast-paced development
entail?
There are several types
of risks: a social risk,
because of increasing
inequalities; an ecological
risk; a financial risk,
since the current
financial system is rather
convoluted to say the
least; and a political
risk: will China be able to
just as certain public services such as
education and healthcare have undergone de facto privatization. “The poorest families have to go into debt to send
their child to school or they may wind
up owing money for a generation or two
to pay for surgery,” says Muriel Duthon.
The upshot is growing social unrest. “The
Chinese government allows some news
about labor disputes to seep through – a
sign that it is a very real problem – but the
authorities do not intend to run the risk
of social instability,” emphasizes Jérôme
Périgne.
The government is now seeking to
restore a balance by encouraging investments in the western part of the country.
Beijing is also worried about the risk of
remain frozen in its rigid
political framework, while
its economy opens out to
the world, and thousands
of young Chinese are
attending Western
universities? There is also
a geopolitical risk, with
tensions between China
and Japan or Taiwan
reoccurring regularly.
But China will stay on the
path to modernization,
for several reasons.
First, the Chinese want
to make up for lost time,
since their recent past
had left them on the
sidelines of economic
development. Next, they
have an excellent current
crop of leaders, mainly
pragmatic engineers. Last
but not least, the entire
population believes in
this development and has
embraced it totally.
*Eric Izraelewicz is the deputy
editor of a major French business
daily, Les Echos. He is also
the author of several books,
including “Quand la Chine change
le monde”, published by
Grasset in 2005.
growth, driven mainly by domestic investments and exports, running wild.
The government is stepping up measures
to spur household spending, but savings
remain high, mainly to offset the low
level of social benefits.
Despite any jolts that may occur along
the way, China’s economic growth will
persist – the upcoming 2008 Olympic
Games and the 2010 Universal Exposition in Shanghai are a clear confirmation
of this trend. “All too often the Chinese
lay their cards on the table, but we tend
to remain blind,” remarks Muriel Duthon.
“They always said that they would give
themselves until 2030 to catch up with
the West – and they’re on their way!” ■
f. magnan
Opening of the Shanghai Stock Exchange › 1992 Deng Xiaoping declares a new national objective: the socialist market
economy › 1994 New banking system launched › 1997 Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty › 2001 China joins
World Trade Organization (WTO) › 2008 Beijing hosts the Olympic Games › 2010 Universal Exposition in Shanghai
special report
18-19
Sagem has sold flight control equipment to Chinese customers, while CFM
International supplies CFM56 engines
to China Southwest Airlines, the first
Chinese airline to acquire these engines.
“Twenty years later and more than 1,200
CFM56 engines are now in service. In
fact, more than half of the aircraft in
China rely on the CFM56 [see article
p. 21],” adds Patrick Borel, also Asia zone
manager at Safran’s international affairs
department. With air traffic set to increase about ten percent annually in the
near future, CFM International hopes to
sell over 100 engines a year.
BEIJING
Tianjin
Xi ’an
Baoji
Xian Yang
Nanjing
Chengdu
Guiyang
Wuhan
Zhuzhou
Safran
©Antoine Dagan
Industrial partnership
Suzhou
Shanghai
Ningbo
Helicopters
Mobile phones
Heyan
Broadband, fax, etc.
Hong Kong
Security
(smartcards, etc.)
Training partnership
With an extensive network of
manufacturing plants, sales teams,
R&D facilities and training centers,
Safran has built up a solid presence in
China. The Group also has customers
in a wide range of sectors, from aviation
to telecom and security.
group.
SAFRAN AND
CHINA: 30
YEARS OF
COOPERATION
Civil aviation
S
“
afran has more than 4,000 employees in China today,” says
Kening Liu, the Safran National
Executive in China. “We have
eight manufacturing plants, two R&D
centers, two technical support centers
and a training facility.” Safran first gained
a foothold in Asia’s largest country in the
1970s, when Turbomeca supplied Turmo
III turboshaft engines for the Super Frelon helicopters acquired by China (see
article p. 23). “Actually, our relationship
with China goes back much further. It
seems that a Chinese delegation visited
the Gnome workshop in France in 1910
to see a demonstration of a rotary engine,” adds Michel Ah Fa, a member of
the Asian team at the Safran international affairs department. “Many years
later, Turbomeca sold an Arriel engine
production license for Chinese military
helicopters. The French company has
forged an excellent brand image and is
a leader in its market since one in every
two Chinese helicopters is equipped with
Turbomeca engines or products manufactured under license.”
Growth in China’s security/defense
market is impeded by continued embargos in the military and space sectors
– deemed by the authorities as a “sensitive” subject matter. As a result, the
Group has not yet pursued any collaborative ventures in this field. “China’s
CFM56 breakthrough
homegrown Long March launchers
Chinese customers have spent some
are direct rivals to Ariane, since they
€350 million on commerlaunch both commercial and
cial aircraft engines, and
military satellites,” remarks
over half of this amount is
Patrick Borel. “However,
generated by CFM Internathe Group has succeeded in
tional. In addition, Safran is
making a breakthrough in
the security market thanks
engaged in several industrial
to Sagem Défense Sécurité
cooperation ventures, as Patbiometrics solutions. We
rick Borel explains: “Our opsupplied automated fingererations in China comprise
print identification systems
a Snecma Services mainteto the Tianjin police and
nance facility in Chengdu, Kening Liu :
the Guangzhou municipal
a Messier-Dowty production “Safran’s key
authorities, for example.
plant in Suzhou, specialized strengths in China
diversity,
The 2008 Olympic Games
in landing gear components, are
thanks to a broad
and an Aero Engine Main- range of activities, a represents another major
market as China intends to
tenance Training Center deep understanding
the local
implement biometric tech(AEMTC). This training of
market and
nology for access control to
center, which works in part- responsiveness.”
the events.”
nership with the Chinese
Safran has also established
Civil Aviation Authority’s
Flying College, has already trained more
a presence in the mobile phone and
than 5,000 mechanics in ten years.”
fax markets via its subsidiary Sagem
Snecma also subcontracts machining
Communication. In 2002 the French
work to local companies for CFM56
company set up a joint venture with
engine parts. “A foundry is about to
Ningbo Bird (see article p. 24), which
come on-stream in Guyang, specialtoday ranks as one of China’s leading
izing in turbine blades for commercial
suppliers of mobile phones. Meanwhile,
engines,” adds Michel Ah Fa. Turboanother joint venture, Photar Sagem
meca is pursuing a similar approach
Electronics Co. Ltd., created by Sagem
with Beijing Turbomeca Changkong
and Photar, is already China’s second
Aero-engine Control Equipment Comlargest fax manufacturer after barely one
pany, a joint venture which assembles
year of business. “Safran’s key strengths
and tests hydromechanical components
in China are diversity, thanks to a broad
(see p. 23). Although China counts just
range of activities, a deep understand500 helicopters – two-thirds of which
ing of the local market and responsiveare military machines – the market is
ness,” concludes Kening Liu. ■
also expected to grow in the short to
medium term. “According to ATMB
FOCUS
Advanced biometrics
and communications
©Safran
Shenyang
(China’s air traffic management bureau), China’s currently underutilized
lower airspace could open up in 2010,
which would spur rapid growth in the
number of civil helicopters in operation,” says Kening Liu.
a. angrand
©Studio Pons
SAFRAN IN CHINA
SEVEN JOINT
VENTURES
Safran is present in China
through three representative
offices and seven joint ventures.
In alphabetical order, these
companies are:
› Beijing Turbomeca Changkong
Aero-engine Control Equipment
Co. Ltd., founded in 2006.
Assembly and testing of jet
engine hydromechanical
assemblies.
› NBBSE (Ningbo Bird Sagem
Electronics Co. Ltd.,) launched
in 2002. Manufactures mobile
phones.
› NSBRD (Ningbo Sagem Bird
R&D) created in 2005. Mobile
phone R&D.
› Photar Sagem Electronics
Co. Ltd., established in 2006.
Develops and manufactures fax
machines.
› Snecma Xinyi Airfoil Casting
Co. Ltd., launched in 2006.
Manufactures turbine blades
for commercial aircraft
engines.
› SSAMC (Snecma Sichuan
Aero-engine Maintenance
Company), launched in 1999.
Maintenance and repair of
CFM56 jet engines.
› Wuhan Sagem Tianyu
Electronics Co. Ltd., established
in 2004. Manufactures
smartcards jointly developed
and marketed with Wuhan
Tianyu Information
Industry Co. Ltd.
special report
20-21
CFM56 IN
POLE POSITION
C
ommercial aviation is booming in China. Supported by
the central government, air
transport is a focus of development. Airlines have placed
a large number of orders and more
carriers are entering the market.
“We’re in a market with a regular stream of orders and a strong
growth outlook,” says Olivier Laroche, head of China operations
at the Commercial Engines division of Snecma (Safran Group).
“In addition to the national carriers, there are a dozen regional
and municipal airlines with fleets
of about 50 planes, and more recent entries planning to acquire a
dozen planes or so. In 2006, Chinese airlines carried more than
160 million passengers, equal to
8% of world traffic.”
Half the Chinese fleet
powered by CFM
As of early 2007, there were 1,288
CFM56 engines in service with Chinese airlines deploying the Boeing 737
and Airbus A320 and A340 jetliners,
out of a total of 2,086 engines powering mainline jets (over 100 seats)
in China. “The CFM56 accounts for
more than 60% of all engines now
operating in China,” notes Laroche.
“CFM International’s main competitor, International Aero Engines, or
IAE, has about 12% of the market.
Two major factors help explain these
figures. First, jetliners with 100 to 200
seats form a large majority of Chinese
fleets, including the three major carriers [see below]. Furthermore, there are
a large number of Boeing 737 twinjets,
for which the CFM56 is the exclusive
powerplant.”
The A320, which began to be sold in
China after the 737, can be powered
by the CFM56 or the IAE V2500. But
the CFM56 is the preferred engine,
since Chinese airlines have chosen it
more than 60% of the time. This reflects the global situation, since overall the CFM56 has won a larger share
of the Airbus A320 market than the
V2500. Another factor in CFM International’s success is the specific nature
of the Chinese market, as Laroche explains: “Decisions are often made on
a centralized basis. Earning the trust
of one airline can influence the others’ choice, while commercial aspects
and even political considerations also
have an influence. Above all, Chinese
customers clearly trust the product, its
in-service reliability, and the professionalism of the two partners in CFM
International, Snecma and General
Electric.”
General Electric and Snecma, the
two founding partners of CFM International, split CFM56 sales and sup-
BENCHMARKS
FLEETS OF THE THREE
MAJOR CHINESE AIRLINE
GROUPS
©Airbus
› air china, the national flag
Juneyao Airlines A320, with twin
CFM56 engines and systems by
ten Safran Group companies.
carrier, based in Beijing: 200
aircraft
› China Southern Airlines,
based in Guangzhou: 277 aircraft
› China Eastern Airlines,
based in Shanghai: 195 aircraft
SSAMC, specialized in MRO
services for CFM56 jet
engines.
©Studio Pons
With passenger traffic
growing more than 10% per year
and the advent of new airlines, the
People’s Republic of China is a highly
promising market for civil aviation.
The CFM56 engine is a clear market
leader, since it powers the majority
of commercial jets with 100 to
200 seats operating in China.
CIVIL AVIATION.
port roles across the world. China is a
“GE Zone”, so the Chinese are more
familiar with General Electric than
with Snecma. “Snecma is building its
own credibility through the Snecma
Services MRO shop in Chengdu,
as well as new products such as the
SaM146 engine designed for regional
jets,” adds Laroche. China is keenly
interested in the SaM146-powered
Superjet 100, built by Russian manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Corporation. “The Superjet 100 is in direct
competition with China’s own ARJ21
regional jet. But that hasn’t prevented
a new regional carrier, a subsidiary of
Shenzhen Airlines, from allowing
Sukhoi to bid on a contract for 100
airplanes. The new airline, called
Kunpeng, plans to start regional service, and the Superjet 100 could well
meet its requirements, while allowing
it to stand out from other operators.”
TRAINING CENTER IN CHINA
“As part of the training center’s
management team, I have seen
that this school provides excellent
instruction for CFM56 operators in
China, and everybody is extremely
satisfied with their courses.”
yang shengjun,
deputy managing director of the human
resources and training department, CAAC (Civil
Aviation Administration of China).
“Creating a training center is in fact
a commercial initiative, since it’s a
way of publicizing one’s products
and laying groundwork for future
sales and development,” notes Jean
Massot, vice president, strategy and
development at Snecma Services.
“The staff who have been trained
naturally want to see further fleet
growth in their airline call on
products that they know and like.”
The CFM International training center was set up ten years ago in
Guanghan, near Chengdu. “The center celebrated its tenth anniversary
on October 26, 2006. It trains mechanics and technicians on the CFM563, -5 and -7 models for all airlines in Asia,” adds Massot. Over the last
ten years, the center has provided training for more than 5,000 CFM56
maintenance staff in partnership with the Chinese civil aviation
authority, CAAC. The CAAC, which has its own training center as part of
the Flying College in this city, first recommended Chengdu, since that
was part of their national development plan.”
special report
a. angrand
helicopters in China is powered by
Turbomeca, which has agreed to create a joint
venture with a subsidiary of AVIC II to make
hydromechanical assemblies for engines.
SILVERCREST,
SNECMA’S
LATEST
A PROMISING
MARKET FOR
HELICOPTERS
The Silvercrest is a
new jet engine
designed for business
aircraft. Of course, this
sector is still very
underdeveloped in
China, and the national
airspace remains
relatively closed.
According to Olivier
Laroche of Snecma’s
Commercial Engines
division, “Certain
responsibilities have
been transferred from
the army to a civil
aviation authority.
Otherwise, the
airspace continues to
be tightly controlled, in
terms of both assigned
altitudes and point-topoint service. The
scheduled lines are
already packed, and
there seems to be
some reticence in
opening new routes for
both structural and
historic reasons. Today,
we tend to forget that
only 20 years ago, for
example, nearly the
entire country was
closed off, with access
by foreigners
prohibited. Little by
little the country has
opened up since then,
including for the
Chinese themselves.
And some areas under
public authority have
even passed to the
private sector.”
In short, that’s why it’s
still difficult for civil
helicopters and
business aircraft to fly
in China. They require a
large degree of
autonomy to operate at
the best altitudes and
over the most efficient
routes. So these
markets will only
develop if the sky is
more open. “But we are
beginning to see a
political shift to
openness, and that will
develop as
requirements become
clearer,” adds Laroche.
Furthermore, private
aviation will not
automatically be the
plaything of a few rich
businessmen either, as
he explains: “For the
moment, privately
owned aircraft are
unusual in China. But
for instance, the AngloChinese oil company
Sonagol, based in Hong
Kong, purchased
several Corporate Jets
from Airbus because it
needed large capacity
for trips to Africa to
support joint ventures.”
More specific needs
are emerging as well.
The Silvercrest could
meet some of these,
but we have to see how
the market develops.
Certain public services
could opt for this
solution, which would
accelerate the trend.
©DR
A new engine that could
support the development
of private aviation in
China.
Teaming with Air China
CFM International launched an initiative in 2006, based on joint maintenance packages for contracts exceeding three years. The first major success
came early this year, as Air China and
CFM International signed a partnership
agreement covering both the acquisition
of new engines and fleet maintenance,
including OEM (original equipment
manufacturer) parts and repairs for a
period of 15 years.
“China is a very attractive market,
but a difficult one, all the more so because the excellent growth prospects
draw many competitors,” says Massot.
“For example, there are already nearly
30 MRO shops worldwide that can
propose their services. Of course, the
smaller MRO providers generally offer
contracts on a case-by-case basis, while
the larger providers offer long-term
contracts. Under these conditions, our
strength is in-depth product knowledge
as the OEM, plus access to fleet-wide
operating data.” These business wins
and a local service offering should confirm and expand the role of both CFM
International and Safran in China, a
market that will be flying high for many
years to come. ■
HELICOPTERS. One out of every two
Business Aviation
©Snecma
Snecma Services, the Group’s aeroengine maintenance specialist, and
China Southwest Airlines, subsequently taken over by Air China,
created a joint venture in 1999 called
SSAMC (Sichuan Snecma Aero-engine Maintenance Company), based in
Chengdu. “Our strategy of operating as
close to customers as possible gives us a
real competitive edge,” claims Jean Massot, vice president strategy and development at Snecma Services. “We opened
a facility in Chengdu to provide local
support and help our customers manage
their fleets more efficiently and reduce
costs.” Snecma Services’ strategy also
counts on a training center created in
1996 by CFM International with a local
university, Cafuc, in Guanghan, about
40 kilometers from Chengdu (see box,
page 21).
22-23
W
ith some 250 engines
deployed in both the
civil and military sectors, Turbomeca is the
leading helicopter engine supplier
in China. Fully half of all the helicopters operating in China are powered by engines built by Turbomeca
or under Turbomeca license. At the
end of June 2007, the newly created Beijing Turbomeca Changkong
Aero-engine Control Equipment Co.
was registered in China. This new
company is a joint venture created by
Turbomeca and Beijing Changkong
Machinery, the leading domestic supplier of aero-engine control systems,
and a wholly-owned subsidiary of one
of the pillars of the Chinese aviation
industry, AVIC II.
The new company will provide as-
sembly and testing services for the
hydromechanical assemblies made
by the two companies. “This is our
first joint venture in China,” notes
Franck Jeanvoine, head of Turbomeca’s Chinese project. “We’re keeping
it manageable for the moment, with
about 20 employees, but it’s a very
important step in terms of our global
strategy and the message we want to
convey to AVIC II and the Chinese
market. It is designed to showcase our
company, based on world-class production and quality standards. Our
target is to receive EASA Part 21G
certification.”
Predominant
military market
Turbomeca’s presence in China reaches
back to the 1970s, when the Chinese army
ordered Super Frelon helicopters from
Aerospatiale*. Turbomeca provided the
Turmo III engines. “These were military
orders. The Chinese army air arm, whose
commander in chief had received some
training in France, primarily deployed Z-9
helicopters,” explains Jeanvoine. The Z-9,
built by Harbin Aviation Industry, another
subsidiary of AVIC II, is a version of the
AS 365 N Dauphin II, produced under
Aerospatiale license. “At the same time,
Turbomeca negotiated the licensing agreement for the Arriel 1 turboshaft engine
with South Aero-engine Corporation.
China was thus able to build both the
helicopter and the engine. The license
subsequently expired.” AVIC II then
decided to upgrade the Z-9 to the modernized H425: H for Harbin Aviation
Industry, and 425 for 4.25 metric tons, the
machine’s maximum takeoff weight.
Negotiations followed to provide a more
powerful engine. According to Jeanvoine,
“Turbomeca signed a licensing agreement
allowing the partial transfer to China of
Arriel 2C production for the H425. At the
same time, Turbomeca is stepping up the
marketing of our turbine engine family,
and we’re looking at various collaboration
channels to spur sales in other markets,
including police forces, search & rescue
(SAR), offshore transport, etc.”
Civil aviation development in China is
held back by the total lack of deregulated
airspace, which is under military control.
But deregulation is a strategic necessity for
helicopter manufacturers, and would considerably boost the growth outlook. “In two
or three years, any civil sector development
will certainly be focused on the Shanghai
area, as shown by current acquisitions by
the Shanghai police and the many other
prospects we have contacted,” says Michel
Brouquet, managing director of Turbomeca
Asia Pacific. In the meantime, China does
not offer adequate infrastructures or pilots.
The sales forecast for commercial and public sector helicopters is about 300 units over
the next ten years – but airspace deregulation could well spur faster growth in this
market. ■
a. angrand
* In 1992, the helicopter division of the French group
Aerospatiale Matra merged with its German counterpart at Deutsche Aerospace AG, giving birth to
Eurocopter.
special report
24-25
gem Electronics (NBBSE). Located in
Ningbo, south of Shanghai, the joint
venture manufactures mobile phones
for the two partners. Today, Ningbo
Bird is China’s second largest mobile
phone manufacturer. “Our joint venture is anchored in a strategy which
encompasses manufacturing, production processes and quality control. The
plant employs mainly Chinese workers,
along with a few French staff working in
collaboration with our Fougères site in
France. In fact, the Ningbo plant applies
the same winning principles learned
at Fougères,” explains Gabriel Matter,
director of strategic partnerships at Sagem Communication’s Mobile business
group.
Communication’s long-established presence. In January 2006, a joint venture
with Chinese fax-maker Photar started
business. Photar Sagem Electronics Co.
Ltd. is headquartered in He Yuan, 300
km north of Shenzen. “The first year
went smoothly. We had been warned
that startup would be slow and that we’d
have to wait several years before making a profit. We’ve attained our objective of reaching break-even right from
the first year by optimizing retail prices
and production costs,” explains Gérard
Wolff, head of Sagem Communication’s
Printing business unit.
Unlike Europe, where fax machines
are marketed through mass retail outlets, in China products are sold primarily through a dedicated network
of distributor-reseller channels. Gérard
Wolff adds: “Photar deploys a powerful
sales force capable of reaching 10,000
points of sale in all small (in Chinese
terms, that is) cities with hundreds of
The Chinese economy is
very healthy, and the telecom market is no
exception. Sagem Communication has been
able to capitalize on this opportunity, by winning
over the Chinese market through two key joint
ventures: one with Bird, now China’s second
largest mobile phone supplier, and the other
with Photar, already number two in the Chinese
fax market just one year after being founded.
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE MOBILE
PHONE AND
FAX EMPIRE
A
“
llo”, “hello”, “pronto”, “moshi
moshi”, “wei”*… The number of mobile phones worldwide reached 2.5 billion in
2006 — and the Chinese have not
been left by the wayside. In China too,
cellphones have become indispensable.
In 2002, Sagem Communication therefore teamed up with Chinese company
Ningbo Bird to create Ningbo Bird Sa-
At the end of 2005, Sagem further
expanded its presence in China with
the creation of a second joint venture:
Ningbo Sagem Bird R&D (NSBRD),
focusing this time on developing mobile phones based on common platforms
in order to reduce development costs.
Leveraging its experience of the Chinese market, the new R&D facility
immediately set about developing clamshell and slider models. As a result,
Sagem Communication was soon ready
to launch innovative new designs,
reflecting the latest consumer trends.
“To strengthen the market competitiveness of the two partners, they also
unified their component purchasing
policies,” notes Gabriel Matter. Closer
cooperation earlier in the design process
translated into several highly successful models launched under the Sagem
brand, including myC5-2 and my501C.
This successful strategy was further endorsed by the launch of two practical,
extra-slim concept phones, featuring
an easy-to-read screen: the my150X
and the my220X. The joint FrenchChinese venture now aims to build on
this momentum to develop increasingly
innovative designs for the ever-changing cellphone market.
The Ningbo Sagem Bird R&D
center (NSBRD).
* Chinese for “Hello”
THE BIRTH OF
NINGBO BIRD SAGEM
ELECTRONICS
“Our partnership with Bird began
in the late 1990s. At the time, we
sold mobiles to Bird, which were
then marketed under its brand
name,” explains Gabriel Matter,
director of strategic partnerships
at Sagem Communication’s
Mobile business group. Sagem
Communication was looking
for a Chinese partner capable
of applying and marketing its
technologies. With a powerful
distribution network in nearly
all the major regions of China,
Bird emerged as the partner
of choice. Bird, which was also
China’s leading manufacturer of
pagers, started by assembling
and selling Sagem products
under its own brand name. “Our
cooperation gradually stepped up.
Rather than supplying mobiles, we
started supplying subassemblies,
which Bird assembled and
customized,” adds Matter. As
the two companies strengthened
their ties, Bird wanted to start
developing cellphones using
Sagem technology. Bird then
acquired Sagem platform licenses
to develop mobile phones tailored
precisely to the needs of its
domestic market. The result: the
Ningbo Bird Sagem Electronics
mobile phones joint venture,
created in 2002.
› Bird sold 7.1 million mobile
Fax market in full swing
Safran is also firmly positioned in the
Chinese fax market, thanks to Sagem
a. angrand
Focus
FACTS & FIGURES
©DR
©Sagem
Another mobile
joint venture
thousands of inhabitants throughout
the country. For Sagem Communication, the joint venture gave us access
to an extensive sales network, while we
brought our product and industrial expertise to the partnership.”
The Chinese mainly use thermal
fax machines (with heat-sensitive paper) and the more recent generation
of thermal transfer machines are only
gradually beginning to sell. “When
we set up the joint venture, we began
by improving our industrial organization and product quality and then
started producing thermal transfer
machines,” notes Wolff. By the end
of 2006, Photar Sagem was already
ranked number two in the Chinese
phonefax segment. ■
phones in China in 2006. With a
5.5% market share, the brand
ranks fifth behind Nokia, Motorola,
Samsung and Lenovo.
› Ningbo Bird Sagem Electronics
manufactured 14 million
cellphones in 2006, part for Ningbo
Bird and part for Sagem.
› Photar Sagem Electronics Co.
Ltd., sold 350,000 fax machines in
2006 and currently ranks second
with a 20% market share just one
year after starting business.
panorama
26-27
April 17, 2007: The TP400-D6
turboprop during testing at Snecma’s
Istres facility in southwest France.
p.26-29 ©J.-F. Damois/ J.-C. Moreau/SAFRAN
TP400-D6:
11,000 SHP
UNDER TEST
panorama
28-29
1
1. READY TO RUN
The TP400-D6 with propeller ready for
its first series of tests.
TP400-D6, A EUROPEAN ENGINE
3
Europrop International GmbH (EPI) was created in
2002 by the four leading European engine
manufacturers: Snecma (28%), Rolls-Royce (28%),
MTU Aero Engines (28%) and Industria de Turbo
Propulsores (16%). EPI is in charge of the
development, production and sale of the TP400-D6
turboprop engine, which will power the Airbus
Military A400M transport aircraft. More than 750
TP400-D6 engines will be produced to power the
180 A400M aircraft ordered by the countries
participating in this program.
2. END OF ASSEMBLY
Withdrawal of the service tower used
to assemble the different engine
components, prior to withdrawal of the
walkways.
3. TP400-D6 IN FLIGHT
Synthesized image of the A400M
military transport.
4. BEFORE TESTING
The nacelle being assembled prior to
the start of tests.
4
5
5. TEST CONTROL CENTER
Fifteen people man the TP400-D6 test
control center.
6. FINAL INSPECTION
Final engine preparations and
inspection.
2
6
markets
30-31
UH-72A LAKOTA: 644 ARRIEL 1E2 ENGINES
The U.S. Army chose the
Eurocopter UH-72A “Lakota” as its
new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH),
with power by Turbomeca’s Arriel 1E2
turboshaft engine.
PROPULSION.
U.S. ARMY,
POWERED BY
TURBOMECA
O
n June 30, 2006, the U.S.
Army announced its choice
in the LUH program: the
Eurocopter UH-145 (military
version of the EC145). This new-generation light utility helicopter will
eventually replace the older OH-58A/
C Kiowa and UH-1H Huey, and free
the UH-60 Blackhawk for missions
more adapted to its heavier-lift capability. The Army’s new helicopter will
carry out a range of missions, including logistic support, light transport,
rescue and medical evacuation.
The U.S. Army’s selection of Eurocopter, part of the European group
EADS, against American and ItaloBritish competitors marks a major
milestone. First of all, the order is
©Bower SHANNON
©EADS
Ramping up
production
For Arriel 1E2 engine manufacturer Turbomeca, part of the Safran
Group, the contract requirements
were similar. “Eurocopter and Turbomeca kicked off the manufacturing
process prior to the U.S. Army’s official choice,” recalls Hervé Pasbecq,
Arriel 1E2/UH-72A program manager
at Turbomeca. “Eurocopter quickly
ordered a first series of engines from
us, and the program got off to a running start.” Turbomeca delivered 28
Arriel 1E2 engines in 2006 and will
deliver 60 more in 2007, then 130 in
2008 and 150 in 2009. The UH-72A
engines will be strictly identical to
those powering the EC145 range of
civil helicopters.
“This ramp up in production is a
challenge of course,” acknowledges
Pasbecq. “But our production facilities in France and the United States
are up to the job. In fact, the U.S.
Army ordered an audit to make sure
that this big a contract wouldn’t entail
any industrial risks. We clearly demonstrated that we could meet demand
using our current production organization.”
This very successful audit was just
one of the keys to Turbomeca’s selection, which is exceptional from a
number of standpoints, starting with
the “Americanization” of the Europebased partners. To win the contract,
Eurocopter emphasized its installation
of an assembly line in Columbus, Mississippi, under the management of its
subsidiary American Eurocopter. Turbomeca could make the same argument, since its subsidiary Turbomeca
USA in Grand Prairie, Texas offered
facilities already capable of assembling
and testing the engines
Assembled in Texas
“Initially, Grand Prairie will handle
part of the module assembly tasks,
using parts from France,” says Hervé
Pasbecq. “But Turbomeca USA will
quickly transition to complete assembly and testing of the engines prior to
delivery.”
Furthermore, Turbomeca just officially announced a new parts production facility in the United States, in
Monroe, North Carolina. This facility, a subsidiary of Safran USA Inc.,
will employ about 180 people. It is
being set up to expand Turbomeca’s
overall production capacity, while
also making parts specifically for the
Arriel 1E2.
While the sale of the first group
of engines has now been completed,
negotiations are continuing for
in-service support. The partners
tend to favor a support by the hour
Focus
SAGEM
DÉFENSE
SÉCURITÉ’S ROLE
The U.S. Army’s latest
helicopter features a 3-axis
autopilot by Sagem Défense
Sécurité, including heading
and vertical reference units,
electronic control units, flight
control actuators and fiberoptic gyros for backup
functions. In fact, this is the
standard EC145 autopilot,
adapted to handle all missions
assigned to this twin-engine
military machine, especially in
terms of outstanding hovering
performance (necessary for
winching operations). With the
LUH program, the production of
actuators will be partially
transferred to the United
States, at Sagem Avionics,
Inc.’s workshops in Grand
Prairie, Texas*. While this
original equipment is sold to
American Eurocopter, the bythe-hour support contract is a
separate one with Helicopter
Support Inc. (HIS), a subsidiary
of Sikorsky.
*These actuators are also fitted on the Bell
429 and ARH helicopters made by Bell
Helicopter of the U.S.
©EADS
©Turbomeca
huge: the U.S. Army has an initial
requirement for 322 helicopters, to
be delivered over the next ten years.
And for the European helicopter company, it’s a critical breakthrough in
the American military market, previously considered the exclusive reserve
of domestic suppliers.
To limit its technical risks, the U.S.
Army had announced that it wanted
a fully mature commercial model,
available “off the shelf”. The winning
manufacturer would have to be able
to handle the fast-paced production
of hundreds of units, with proven facilities. All of these factors contributed to the success of the twin-engine
UH-145, which the U.S. Army has
now renamed the UH-72A Lakota (the
name of a Native American tribe).
(SBH®) type contract, but the exact
terms are still to be defined. According to Hervé Pasbecq, “The UH-72A
helicopters will be operating all over the
United States, which will require special arrangements to ensure spare parts
availability and operational support.”
Complex organization
“The support contract involves a fairly
complex organization,”continues Pasbecq, “because several entities are involved: EADS (responsible for the contract), Sikorsky (in charge of logistic
support at U.S. bases), and American
©Boeing
Assembly of an Arriel turboshaft engine.
Eurocopter (in charge of the supply
chain). Turbomeca is in charge of operational support for the engines, and
we will also call on our two partners,
which will influence the exact type of
support services we deliver, in terms of
both human and technical resources.”
Reflecting the importance of this program, Hervé Pasbecq is now based in
Grand Prairie, at Turbomeca USA. His
five-person program team is dedicated
to the UH-72A, and may be expanded
in 2008. He will be able to call on the
resources from other company divisions
as well. In addition, Pasbecq’s team will
have a technical representative in Columbus, at the UH-72A assembly line,
and a network of tech reps at U.S. Army
bases. “This contract is a logical phase in
the internationalization of Turbomeca,”
adds Pasbecq. “We just finished the reengining program for the U.S. Coast
Guard’s HH-65 Dolphin helicopters and
the Department of State congratulated
us on how smoothly it went. Turbomeca
USA was also recently recognized by
Lockheed Martin as its top supplier, because of the quality of our products and
100% on-time delivery performance.
The UH-72A contract is a very natural next step in Turbomeca’s successful
development in the United States.” ■
f. lert
Messier-Dowty has begun
deliveries of the first landing gear
sets for the innovative Boeing 787
Dreamliner. The contract, won in 2004,
marked Messier-Dowty’s first selection
on a Boeing commercial airplane.
EQUIPMENT.
DEDICATED TO
BOEING 787
LANDINGS
W
©Bower SHANNON
©Turbomeca
markets
32-33
ith the recent deliveries
of the first nose and main
production gears, MessierDowty’s involvement in the
787 program is entering into full swing,
and marks a significant milestone for the
company’s first commercial contract with
Boeing. Prior to the 787, Boeing had design responsibility on all of the landing
gear on its planes and outsourced the
manufacturing activities. Messier-Dowty’s
selection on the 787 is the first time that
Boeing has delegated design responsibility to a partner. In other words, MessierDowty is the first company to design,
develop, manufacture and install the
nose and main landing gear on a Boeing
Commercial aircraft.
Messier-Dowty was selected back in
March 2004, based on a very innovative
proposal. “We offered major technological advances, such as titanium inner cylinders on the main gear and composite
struts, which will be introduced on the
final version of the landing gear,” explains Jean-Pierre Serey, Vice President
Engineering at Messier-Dowty. The
strut is the part that transmits the lateral loads from the landing gear to the
airframe. “By using composite materials,
we save weight and increase corrosion
resistance,” adds Serey.
Reducing weight
This quest for weight savings reflects
one of Boeing’s main goals on the 787.
“Boeing is seeking to maximize performance on the 787, which means we have
to help to reduce the aircraft’s overall
weight as much as possible,” notes
Grant Skinner, vice president and head
of the Boeing & Military business unit
at Messier-Dowty. The airframe makes
extensive use of composites, which account for fully half of the total weight of
the 787. For Boeing, the goal is to build
the most economical aircraft possible,
©Boeing
32-33
Messier-Dowty has begun
deliveries of the first landing gear
sets for the innovative Boeing 787
Dreamliner. The contract, won in 2004,
marked Messier-Dowty’s first selection
on a Boeing commercial airplane.
EQUIPMENT.
DEDICATED TO
BOEING 787
LANDINGS
W
ith the recent deliveries
of the first nose and main
production gears, MessierDowty’s involvement in the
787 program is entering into full swing,
and marks a significant milestone for the
company’s first commercial contract with
Boeing. Prior to the 787, Boeing had design responsibility on all of the landing
gear on its planes and outsourced the
manufacturing activities. Messier-Dowty’s
selection on the 787 is the first time that
Boeing has delegated design responsibility to a partner. In other words, MessierDowty is the first company to design,
develop, manufacture and install the
nose and main landing gear on a Boeing
Commercial aircraft.
Messier-Dowty was selected back in
March 2004, based on a very innovative
proposal. “We offered major technological advances, such as titanium inner cylinders on the main gear and composite
struts, which will be introduced on the
final version of the landing gear,” explains Jean-Pierre Serey, Vice President
Engineering at Messier-Dowty. The
strut is the part that transmits the lateral loads from the landing gear to the
airframe. “By using composite materials,
we save weight and increase corrosion
resistance,” adds Serey.
Reducing weight
This quest for weight savings reflects
one of Boeing’s main goals on the 787.
“Boeing is seeking to maximize performance on the 787, which means we have
to help to reduce the aircraft’s overall
weight as much as possible,” notes
Grant Skinner, vice president and head
of the Boeing & Military business unit
at Messier-Dowty. The airframe makes
extensive use of composites, which account for fully half of the total weight of
the 787. For Boeing, the goal is to build
the most economical aircraft possible,
and therefore the most competitive.
The use of struts machined out of a
composite material is brand new, as
Jean-Pierre Serey explains: “It’s a world
first for such a highly-loaded structural
part.” This technology breakthrough
harbors even greater potential, since
composite materials also reduce maintenance costs: they are corrosion free, and
don’t have to be protected by anti-corrosive coatings. At the same time, they
boast excellent mechanical strength and
are highly insensitive to shocks (birds,
tire debris, etc.). Furthermore, titanium
and composites are friendlier to the
environment, since, as Grant Skinner
notes: “They allow us to reduce the use
of anti-corrosion materials such as chromium and cadmium.”
However, the use of composite materials demands a high level of specific
skills and expertise. “The introduction
of this part is the result of several years
of work,” says Jean-Pierre Serey. We
©Messier-Dowty
markets
The first landing gear produced by
Messier-Dowty for the 787.
leveraged synergies throughout Safran,
in particular calling on the expertise
of Snecma and Aircelle. “In the final
analysis,” adds Skinner, “it really demonstrates the Group’s technological
skills base.”
The lessons learned and technologies
developed through this major Boeing
program show promising potential for
future applications. Because these composites offer good fatigue resistance and
other qualities, they can be used on many
different parts of the aircraft, including
engines, nacelles, and airframes.
Throughout the development process,
Boeing backed Messier-Dowty all the
way. “We benefited from extensive support from Boeing, and it has been truly
a team effort ,” Serey notes. “Now we
hope that our achievements on the 787
will provide the Safran group with new
opportunities to support future programs.” ■
a. papeguay
VIEWPOINT
Grant Skinner
VICE PRESIDENT, BOEING &
MILITARY BUSINESS UNIT,
MESSIER-DOWTY
©Messier-Dowty
This marks Messier-Dowty’s
first selection by Boeing as
landing gear supplier on a
commercial airplane. What
does Messier-Dowty bring to
the table in this market?
Messier-Dowty is the world
leader in landing gear design, production and support. Our
systems are used on some 19,500 aircraft, which make 35,000
landings per day. We supply 33 different aircraft
manufacturers, and support some 2,000 operators, both
military and civil. We have worked for many years with major
airframers, including Airbus, Bombardier and Dassault
Aviation.
How about your experience with Boeing?
We go back a long way with Boeing as well. For instance, we
worked with McDonnell Douglas (which merged with Boeing
in 1997) on their military aircraft for some 30 years.
In particular, we provide the landing gear for the F/A-18 and
AV-8B fighter-bombers, the T-45 trainer and the V-22
tiltrotor. We also worked with Boeing on their proposal for
the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program.
But the 787 is the first time we’ve been involved in one of
Boeing’s commercial programs. Our work throughout the
1990s on military aircraft clearly helped us demonstrate our
broad expertise and made us a credible contender for the 787
program. We submitted our proposal to Boeing in November
2003, and were selected in March 2004.
This contract for the Boeing 787 also bolsters the Safran
Group’s market position. What are the prospects for the
Group from this point of view?
You just don’t get that many opportunities on a program as
vast as the 787, so it was critical for Messier-Dowty to win the
contract, which secures maybe 20 years of work for us. We’re
already an established partner with most of the world’s major
aircraft constructors. It was very important to be chosen by
Boeing as well, in order to provide a balanced business
portfolio and maintain our leadership.
The Boeing 787 is today’s fastest selling commercial
airplane. Messier-Dowty will provide product support in
conjunction with Boeing – also the first time that Boeing has
shared this responsibility with a landing gear partner. Our inservice support experience on many other programs is
obviously an advantage here. The Boeing 787 contract places
us in an excellent position going forward, with the aim of
being Boeing’s preferred landing gear partner.
34-35
Snecma Propulsion Solide
offers leading-edge expertise in ceramic
matrix composite (CMC) afterbodies
on jet engines.
COMPOSITES.
©Snecma Propulsion Solide
LIGHTER, QUIETER
ENGINES
Mixer for a CFM56-5C,
which powers
the A340-200/300 quadjets.
T
he French Ministry of Industry
has selected Snecma Propulsion
Solide’s Arcoce R&D project,
which aims to develop ceramic
composite jet engine afterbody structures
that will decrease commercial airplane
engine weight and noise. Safran subsidiary
Snecma Propulsion Solide, a specialist in
solid propulsion and composite materials,
is particularly well-known for its work on
“high-temp” composites, namely carboncarbon and ceramic matrix composites
(CMC). In July 2007 it will test a CMC
afterbody (exhaust nozzle assembly) demonstrator during engine ground tests.
With this exciting new development, the
company hopes to break into the civil
aviation market.
Ceramic matrix composites are lighter
than the metals or alloys usually used
on jet engine nozzles, and offer better
resistance to high temperatures. The first
application of these composites reaches
back to the late 1980s, when they were
used for the secondary flaps on the nozzle
of the M88 jet fighter engine. More than
2,300 CMC flaps have been produced to
date (in series production since 1996) for
this engine, powerplant of the new-generation Rafale.
“CMCs are very appropriate for civil
aviation,” explains Alain Allaria, head
of civil aviation programs at Snecma
Propulsion Solide. “They provide significant weight savings and excellent
mechanical strength at high temperatures. Also, we can apply an acoustic
treatment to use these materials on hot
sections, and replace the metallic alloys
used today. The exhaust temperature of
modern jet engines continues to climb,
and starting at 600°C metallic alloys
begin to lose their mechanical properties,
which is not the case of CMCs – in fact,
these composites can easily stand up to
temperatures exceeding 1,000°C!”
Testing a prototype
on a CFM56
Building on this successful military application, in late 2002 the company targeted the civil aviation market by starting
the development of a primary, mixer type
nozzle prototype (see photo). Shaped like a
daisy, this prototype was successfully tested
in 2005 on a CFM56-5C engine, the model
that powers the Airbus A340-200/300.
Snecma Propulsion Solide then designed
a CMC mixer demonstrator using ceramic
fibers. It will be ready by the end of June
2007, and bench tests will start in July.
“Along with CFM International, we’re
considering an in-flight evaluation on an
Airbus A340 testbed in 2008, in conjunction with the ground tests,” adds Allaria.
“Through this development we’re capitalizing on our extensive experience to break
through in the civil aviation market, as a
supplier to Airbus and Boeing for instance.
The nozzle market is a large one. By
about 2015 or so, Boeing’s new-generation
single-aisle (NGSA) aircraft will replace
older 737 models. We will also see the
post-CFM56 generation of engines. They
will have to burn less fuel and be lighter,
but also deliver higher performance. If we
could win half of the market, that would
mean selling more than 10,000 parts over
a 20-year period.”
Work on ceramic matrix composites is
included in CFM’s LEAP56 research &
technology program, designed to develop
and test the technologies needed for the
post-CFM56 generation. A CMC nozzle
could offer weight savings of 30% to 40%
compared with a conventional metal version.
In addition to signaling a diversification of the company’s business portfolio, CMCs could lead to another major
change for Snecma Propulsion Solide.
Space and defense are high-tech markets
par excellence, involving relatively limited
production runs. “The volume production
of CMC parts would force us to rethink
our organization and set up a specific
industrial structure,” admits Allaria. “It’s
both a technological transformation and
a major challenge – and we can’t afford to
miss the boat.” ■
a. angrand
markets
36-37
BRAKING: THE
ELECTRICAL
REVOLUTION
or carbon, commercial airliners have
always used a hydraulic system to “step
on the brakes”. The breakthrough on
the 787 is that these carbon brakes are
now actuated electrically.
The electric brake on the 787 reflects the gradual transition to electrical systems on aircraft, designed to
eliminate all other forms of energy,
especially hydraulic (except for the
chemical energy of the jet engines, of
course, which also generate the electricity needed by the aircraft’s systems). There are a host of advantages
in using electricity. For the aircraft
as a whole, eliminating the hydraulic
systems means considerable weight
savings. Electrical systems also mean
simplified assembly for the manufacturers. Operators will enjoy significant advantages, starting with better
dispatch reliability. Electrical control
also means that certain components
can be controlled independently, and
can take over for other components to
provide higher overall performance.
Eliminating hydraulics also eliminates
the risk of leaks, and the associated
risk of fires. Maintenance of electric
brakes is easier and less costly, since
servicing can be performed on the
aircraft, without having to remove
assemblies. Brake wear can be monitored directly in the cockpit, through
an electronic system.
©Messier-Bugatti
MRO
SUPPORT
NETWORK
FOR AIRLINES
B
ecause of obvious safety concerns, the aviation industry
tends to favor proven solutions. So it’s only natural
that innovations are only introduced
when they’re sure, and reserved to major technology breakthroughs – which
will be the case this summer with the
initial flight tests of the Boeing 787
Dreamliner, featuring electricallyactuated brakes. This breakthrough
technology was developed by MessierBugatti, already a pioneer in innovative braking solutions. For instance,
back in 1985 Messier-Bugatti introduced carbon brakes on production
jetliners, the Airbus A300-600 and the
A310-300. But whether made of steel
The first airlines to have
ordered the Messier-Bugatti
electric brake for their 787s
are Air China, China Eastern,
Hainan Airlines, Ethiopian
Airlines and Royal Air Maroc.
To ensure optimum product
support, Messier-Bugatti
is bolstering its global
organization, with EBAC repair
centers in Singapore, Seattle
and of course in France, which
will be headquarters for the
network.
focus
VIEWPOINT
Yves Galland
PRESIDENT OF BOEING FRANCE
Boeing France
Both aircraft manufacturers
and their partners are hard at work on
“more electric” aircraft. Messier-Bugatti
is a pioneer in this trend, especially as
supplier of the electric brakes for Boeing’s
new 787 Dreamliner.
BRAKES.
How would you characterize the industrial challenge
offered by the Boeing 787, a program on which several
Safran companies are working?
The 787 was created in partnership with the airlines to
meet the requirements of a changing global market:
point-to-point passenger transportation, offering greater
comfort, with an aircraft providing substantial operating savings and lower
environmental impact. The 787 meets this industrial challenge by using
composites for reduced weight, lower maintenance costs, more electrical
systems, and a brand-new interior design.
Why did Boeing choose electric brakes?
The 787 is the “most electric” aircraft on the market. In particular, it’s
the first commercial plane to use electric brakes, which offer advantages
in terms of weight, robustness and economy – all features that meet the
specific requirements of the 787.
Is working with a partner like Messier-Bugatti so early in the process
something new for Boeing?
What’s really new is our audacious strategy of choosing the “best of
industry”. Meeting this industrial challenge means that we have to work
with the best partners in the world, in this case Messier-Dowty, MessierBugatti and Labinal from the Safran Group. Only a partnership formed
well upstream, with highly demanding specifications for our partners,
enables us to design an aircraft that represents a true technological
revolution.
Chosen by
Boeing in 2004
“We started work on the electric brake
around 2000, on our own initiative,”
notes François Tarel, head of the wheels
and brakes business at Messier-Bugatti.
Four years after first being chosen by
Boeing as a carbon brake supplier and
earning their trust, in November 2004
Messier-Bugatti was selected by Boeing to design, develop and manufacture the 787’s wheels and brakes: two
nose wheels, eight wheels and brakes
for the main landing gear. “From that
moment, we focused our work in two
directions,” continues Tarel. “First, to
develop the electric brake for the 787,
and second to continue improving the
technology, for applications on other
aircraft.”
The contract with Boeing covered the design and manufacture of
the brakes, as well as the design and
construction of the associated control units (electrical braking actuator
controller, or EBAC), making MessierBugatti a veritable systems integrator.
According to Tarel, “Messier-Bugatti
applied its systems engineering expertise by participating in the initial
aircraft design phase.”
Early design
involvement
The design of wheels and brakes in
conjunction with the aircraft design
is a first for Messier-Bugatti, which
worked closely with Boeing as well
as its fellow suppliers. Each brake is
controlled by an EBAC, the electronic
unit which is installed in the plane’s
avionics bay and is highly integrated
to interface with the other systems on
the aircraft. Messier-Bugatti’s role is to
optimize the EBAC-brake system and
integrate it with the other systems.
For the EBAC Messier-Bugatti
teamed up with fellow Safran company
Sagem Défense Sécurité, a specialist
in electronics. They faced a three-
THE ADVANTAGES OF
ELECTRIC BRAKES
For Boeing
› Weight savings
› Faster aircraft assembly
For airlines
› Reduced maintenance costs
(no line purges required for
servicing, modular design,
etc.).
› Monitoring brake wear
from the cockpit.
› Operational availability
(an electric brake failure
does not automatically
require grounding the plane,
unlike a hydraulic failure).
A compensation mechanism
links the actuators and
the self-diagnostics
system to maintain system
efficiency.
› No more hydraulic leaks,
thus no fire risk.
pronged technical challenge: optimize
the use of electrical energy; design a
system capable of meeting electromagnetic compatibility requirements; and
make the motors for the electric brake
as compact as possible. “We set up an
engineering team in Seattle to facilitate our work and oversee program
management,” adds Tarel.
Today, the 787 electric brake is
nearing the end of development. The
wheels have now been qualified. The
brakes and EBAC are being delivered
in June, the end of the qualification
phase. The first certification test
flight is slated for the end of August,
kicking off the fight testing program
that will continue until the middle of
2008, when the 787 is scheduled to
enter service. The start of revenue
service will confirm the application
of this technology breakthrough,
signaling a new standard in aircraft
braking. ■
p. françois
markets
38-39
The first application of NFC technology
is making payments at merchants.
Mobile phones replace bank cards, and
offer equivalent transaction security.
M
©Europ Flash
MOBILE
PHONES REVEAL
HIDDEN TALENT
WITH NFC
obile phones have experienced
explosive growth around the
world in recent years. And yet,
the full potential of these devices has yet to be tapped. Now, with Near
Field Communication (NFC) technology
(see opposite), mobile phones are poised
to become an even more useful part of our
everyday lives.
Japan introduced the first NFC-enabled
phones back in July 2004 as part of a program uniting about 30 service providers (mobile phone companies, airlines,
railways, banks, food vending machine
operators, department stores, etc.). The
two showcase applications for NFC technology were payment using an electronic
purse and transportation. Since then,
applications of this new technology have
expanded quickly, and have proven a
tremendous success. In just three years
over a third of mobile phone owners in
Japan have snapped up NFC handsets.
France also enjoys fast-paced mobile
phone penetration: 77% of the over-15
crowd own a mobile. With the Sagem
my700C ContactLess, Sagem Communication is expanding the range of services
available via the handset, which is fully
compatible with NFC technology.
“There are three main types of applications,” explains Olivier Charlanes, head
of Sagem Communication’s Convergence
business unit (part of the Mobile Communication business group). “The first is
payment, where an NFC mobile phone
simply replaces a credit card, offering
equivalent levels of security. All retailers need is a payment terminal that’s also
NFC compatible. The second application
is transportation. Mirroring the electronic
Navigo pass used in the Paris mass transit
system, it will soon be possible to simply
wave your cell phone over a terminal and
slide through the turnstile. Thirdly, NFC
technology allows mobile phones to pick
up information such as bus times or city
maps, and even keep track of changing
information in real time.
At this rate, it’s easy to imagine that mobile phones will soon replace the panoply
of cards that stuff our wallets and pocketbooks. Soon all you’ll need when you
leave for work in the morning are your
keys and mobile phone!
Fruitful partnerships
For the past six months, several hundred
pilot users in Strasbourg have been using their Sagem my700C ContactLess
phones to make everyday purchases (see
opposite). Similar trials began in April
on the Grenoble mass transit
pany that runs the mass transsystem. French mobile phone
port system for the greater
“NFC-ready
company Bouygues Telecom
Grenoble area. “Sagem Commobile phones are
and transport provider Transmunication is one of the first
all about freedom
and simplicity”
dev are both running mobile
manufacturers to offer mobile
services in partnership with
phones equipped with NFC
Sagem Communication,
contactless technology,” notes
including such applications
Olivier Charlanes. “We intend
as transport tickets integrated in the
to run a significant number of trial serphones, real-time traveler information
vices throughout France and in Europe,
and even local neighborhood maps disworking with mobile phone operators as
played instantly on cell phone screens.
well as banks, transport companies and
Sagem Communication is technical coSIM card vendors, for example.” These
ordinator for this vast program.
trials are expected to culminate with
In Grenoble, the tests are being run on
full-scale commercial rollout starting in
the network of the public-private com2008. ■
VIEWPOINT
Crédit Mutuel bank and Sagem
Communication conduct trial in Strasbourg
bernard sadoun
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER, CRÉDIT MUTUEL,
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
“I
nnovation is part
of our DNA,” says
Bernard Sadoun,
head of public relations
for French cooperative
bank Crédit Mutuel’s
Central and Eastern
Europe unit. “Making
new technologies
available to our
customers allows us
to expand our range of
services.” The thinking
behind this initiative by
Crédit Mutuel-CIC is
quite straightforward:
today, more people
use mobile phones
than bank cards. The
logical conclusion was
to find a way to put the
bank card right in the
phone. Working with
Sagem Communication,
the bank began
testing the new
payment service with
selected customers in
Strasbourg.
The service is
extremely simple: an
NFC mobile phone is
equipped with a SIM
card programmed
to function as a
bank card. To pay
for a purchase, the
customer simply
waves their phone in
front of the payment
terminal. The amount
is displayed on the
screen and customers
enter their password
directly from the
phone keypad. Nearly
500 Crédit MutuelCIC customers began
testing the service in
mid-November 2006.
They can pay for goods
from their mobile
phone at a hundred
retailers equipped
with an NFC reader,
developed by Sagem
Défense Sécurité.
The pilot service spans
a wide variety
of outlets, from
bakeries and
restaurants to
hairdressers and
garages.
“Technically,
everything is working
exactly like it’s
supposed to,” smiles
Sadoun. “Even better,
our customers are
very happy with the
simplicity, speed and
security delivered
by this new payment
channel. In fact, what
they want most is
for more and more
retailers to quickly get
contactless payment
terminals installed.”
Buoyed by this
success, Crédit
Mutuel-CIC plans to
broaden the trials
next October, working
with other banks and
new operators in
Strasbourg and Caen.
The goal is to distribute
more than a thousand
phones equipped
with NFC contactless
technology in each city.
focus
NFC CONTACTLESS
TECHNOLOGY
Near Field Communication
(NFC) technology is part of the
large family of applications
that enables short-range radio
communications between
two electronic devices. NFC
is a contactless technology,
meaning that the devices
just need to be within a few
centimeters of one another. NFC
technology has been developed
to ensure compatibility with
other contactless technologies
such as Radio-Frequency
Identification, or RFID. This
allows an NFC-enabled device
to be used in either passive
mode—functioning like an RFID
tag, for example—of in active
mode. In the latter instance
it functions like a data reader
and can read the content of a
RFID tag. Contactless payment
transactions are another
example of an active mode
application. NFC applications
can be split into four basic
categories: Touch and Go, where
the user only needs to bring
the device close to the reader;
Touch and Confirm, where the
interaction must be confirmed
by entering a password; Touch
and Connect, when an NFC
session is initiated for transfer
of data; and Touch and Explore,
for NFC devices that offer a
choice of functions. As with
RFID, the power required is
transmitted in the form of
radio waves. This means that
only a single battery is needed
to establish communications
between two NFC devices.
Below, the electronic Navigo
transit pass now used in the
greater Paris area.
©DR
Imagine paying for lunch
or a train ticket with your mobile
phone. Now you can, thanks to a
contactless technology called Near Field
Communication, or NFC.
Mobile.
markets
Sagem Communication recently
unveiled a world first, the My Du@lRadio,
which accesses radio stations from around
the world via Internet, plus local FM radio
and MP3 playback. A market is born!
BROADBAND.
©Sagem
ANY RADIO
STATION YOU
WANT
W
ake up to your favorite
song captured wirelessly
from your home computer, listen to a Spanish radio station as you breakfast to
recreate the atmosphere of a recent
business trip to Latin America, or
BENCHMARKS
FAST TIME-TO-MARKET
› APRIL 2006 Launch of the WiFi
Radio project.
› June 2006 Finalization of the
product design.
› AUGUST-DECEMBER 2006
Electronic and mechanical design
phase.
› JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2007
Software development.
› MARCH-APRIL 2007
Finalization and compatibility
testing with all off-the-shelf
residential gateways.
› MaY 2007 market launch
of My Du@lRadio in France.
catch up with Tokyo share prices as
you brush your teeth. All this and
more is now possible using a single
device: My Du@lRadio, the latest
“media center” unveiled by Sagem
Communication at CeBIT, the information and telecommunications
industry’s leading annual gathering,
held recently in Germany.
“Today, more and more homes have
broadband internet access. Sagem
Communication is Europe’s leading
manufacturer of residential gateways.
It was only logical to start developing devices to interact directly with
these boxes without the need for a
PC,” explains Jean-Paul Auffray,
head of Residential Terminals at Sagem Communication.
Forward-looking
solutions
This was a critical development strategy
in the fast-expanding high-speed Internet
terminal market. Sagem Communication’s
Broadband business group believes that
residential gateways are poised to become
the backbone of modern communications
both in the home and in the corporate
world. This is because data rates continue
to rise: from 20 megabytes per second
(MB/s) today to 100 MB or even 1 GB
with fiber to the home (FTTH) technology. To capitalize on the high-speed boom,
manufacturers must design increasingly ingenious terminals ready to accommodate
Multifunction
radio
My Du@lRadio is the first WiFi
radio to pack such a rich array
of features. It delivers FM RDS,
meaning that the name of the radio
channel is displayed on the LCD
screen (a common feature of most
car radios but still rare on home
products), as well as all the usual
features of a radio alarm clock. The
radio also features WiFi to allow
users to tune in directly to some
10,000 Internet radio channels,
as well as connect the terminal
to their home box via Ethernet.
WiFi capability enables the radio
to “hook up” directly with a PC to
listen to music stored there. Finally,
the USB port can be used to connect
the terminal to an MP3 player or
USB key. “This is the first device to
give consumers such freedom. Our
goal is to position My Du@lRadio
as the ideal music center for the
entire home,” says Bruno Estève,
residential terminals marketing
manager at Sagem Communication.
next-generation applications. WiFi radio is
a relatively recent development.
“Most products in this nascent segment
retail for between 200 and 250 euros and
tend to deliver only one service, such as Internet radio,” says Bruno Estève, residential
terminals marketing manager and IP radio
product manager at Sagem Communication. “We wanted to go one step further
and integrate many more features into a
product with a cool design and an attractive price.” It is estimated that almost 30%
of internet users listen to the radio over the
web. “The potential market is huge,” adds
Estève. “Many users are expats, who find
comfort in listening to radio channels from
their home countries, or fans of specialized
music genres. We believe that in the first
year we should sell 100,000 WiFi radios
in France, where more than ten million
homes now have broadband access. My
Du@lRadio is compatible with all WiFi
routers, which means it can operate in any
country. Consumers can now sit back and
enjoy the radio when, where and how they
like it!” ■
e. gillet
40-41
BENCHMARKS
SIX YEARS TO
QUALIFICATION
› SEPTEMBER 13, 2000
Launch of AASM program.
› OCTOBER 9, 2002
First in-flight carriage.
› DECEMBER 1, 2002
©Sagem Défense Sécurité
Catapult launch and desk landing
tests under a Rafale M on the
Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier.
› JULY 26, 2006
First test launch from a Rafale
under operational conditions.
› DECEMBER 18, 2006
First qualification firing of the
weapon, following manufacturer
validation tests.
The AASM weapon system,
primarily intended for the Rafale fighter, will
enter service in 2007, filling a new slot in
the panoply of precision guided weapons.
propulsion.
T
AASM MISSILE
SOON TO ENTER
SERVICE ON
RAFALE
he AASM (armement air-sol modulaire) modular air-to-ground weapon
system was launched in 2000 to
meet a requirement of the French
Ministry of Defense. Now completing
qualification, the AASM was designed by
Sagem Défense Sécurité, a Safran subsidiary. According to Jean-Christophe Mügler,
director of the systems department at Sagem
Défense Sécurité, the AASM is a “guidance
kit and a propulsion kit mounted on a warhead, giving us a medium-range precision
air-to-ground weapon.”
This new guided missile falls into a new
market segment, since it is midway between
short-range laser-guided weapons and cruise
missiles. In addition to the guidance kit, the
AASM is fitted with a rocket motor that
gives it an extended standoff range of more
than 50 kilometers, as well as a large firing
envelope.
Fire and forget
“The AASM is an all-weather, fire & forget type precision weapon,” notes Christian
Dedieu, head of systems and modernization
programs at Sagem Défense Sécurité. “In
other words, the pilot can disengage right
after firing his weapon and concentrate on
defending himself, with the added advan-
tage that the AASM is fired from beyond
the range of enemy air defense systems.”
The AASM is currently offered with two
different versions of the guidance kit: INS/
GPS (Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System), and INS/GPS/IR (adding
an infrared sensor). Both systems offer accuracy to within a meter and optimize impact
conditions; i.e., they control the trajectory to
strike the target from above. “The IR terminal guidance model compensates for target
positioning uncertainty and/or GPS jamming,” says Jean-Christophe Mügler. This
version of the AASM can be used day or
night, and only requires the target’s approximate coordinates since it compares an image
stored in its memory with the real-time image provided by the infrared sensor.
Adaptable guidance kit
The modular guidance kit is now configured
for 250 kilogram warheads. But as Christian
Dedieu explains, “It’s designed for use with
warheads of 125, 500 or even 1,000 kilos!
And other types of seekers could be added
in the future.”
Already authorized for use on the Rafale,
where it will be one of the primary weapons, the AASM may shortly be qualified
on the Mirage 2000D as well. “Up to 3,000
AASMs could be delivered in the French
market, in several batches,” according to
Mügler. The first examples of the INS/GPS
version will be delivered this year, concurrently with its qualification, for a complete
technical-operational assessment. Production will then ramp up to about fifteen kits
a month, including both the INS/GPS and
INS/GPS/IR models.
“The AASM is a compact weapon,” notes
Mügler. “It uses the conventional weapon
hard points, so there are no particular problems for integration on the aircraft.” This
also means excellent prospects in export
markets, with a sales target of several thousand units. “In December 2005 we signed
a contract with Morocco to provide these
weapons for their Mirage F1s,” says Christian Dedieu. “A number of other countries
could well be interested in the AASM to
modernize their aircraft or their defense
capabilities.” Furthermore, the AASM
uses controlled-effect warheads, which are
perfectly suited to modern combat requirements: they offer enhanced strike effectiveness with higher precision, and reduced
exposure for the aircraft and pilot. ■
markets
©DR
42-43
Russian aircraft
manufacturer Sukhoi is offering the
Superjet 100 family of 75 and 95 seat
regional jets. This is also the launch
customer for the new SaM146 engine, a
joint effort of Snecma and NPO Saturn.
REGIONAL AVIATION.
SAM146 JET
ENGINE ON
TRACK FOR
QUALIFICATION
©Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company
Synthesized image of the Superjet 100.
W
ith the SaM146 propulsion
system for regional aircraft,
Snecma is diversifying its
product range. This is not a
new strategic move for the engine-maker,
part of the Safran Group of France: back
in the mid-1990s Snecma was already
trying to convince partner General Electric to launch a smaller version of their
industry-standard CFM56, dubbed the
“CFM56 Lite”. Snecma took another
shot at the market in 1997-98, this time
with Pratt & Whitney, through two new
engine projects, the SPW14 and SPW16.
The high growth rate in regional
aviation – one of the highest of all air
transport segments over the next 20
years – is a solid reason for manufacturers to focus their attention on aircraft
in the 70 to 120-passenger segment,
and the engines needed to power them.
The SaM146 story reaches back to 1999,
when Snecma decided to launch a demonstration program dubbed DEM21. This
was an engine core (high-pressure section) sized for the regional jet market, to
help sway manufacturers likely to develop
such an aircraft. But while designing a
small jet is almost as expensive as designing a large jet, it still has to be sold at a
price appropriate for its size, so Snecma
sought the support of a manufacturer
from a country with lower costs. “Based
on trends around the world, the success
of a milestone project such as the SaM146
BENCHMARKS
SaM146 milestones
› 2001
Creation of Sukhoi
Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC);
start of design work on the
SaM146.
› 2002 First ground test
of Snecma’s DEM21 core
demonstrator.
› 2003 First indications of
interest from airlines for the
SaM146; Sukhoi selects the
SaM146 to power its RRJ
(later renamed the Superjet
100).
› 2005 Collaboration
Agreement between Snecma
and NPO Saturn.
› 2006 Framework Purchase
Agreement between Snecma
and NPO Saturn; First Engine to
Test (FETT).
› 2007 First ground tests at
beginning of year; test flights
planned for end of year.
› 2008 Service entry and initial
deliveries at end of year.
› 2023 Delivery of 800th
Superjet 100 (estimation).
VIEWPOINT
Leonid Mozheiko
CFO, NPO SATURN
What does the SaM146 project represent
for NPO Saturn?
The SaM146 development project is unprecedented in
Russia in terms of investments and forecast revenues
throughout the product life cycle. But NPO Saturn
management is convinced that the future of our company
depends on the success of this project. In other words, we’re not only
trying to create a competitive product, but in a larger sense creating a
brand-new enterprise with a new mindset and management approach.
How are these changes expressed in practical terms?
NPO Saturn has deployed the resources needed to meet our goals, with a
vast modernization program for our production facilities and production
lines, and staff training in international management methods. The
design work, split between NPO Saturn and Snecma, has proven very
effective. This program is extremely important for both of our companies,
and for Russia and France as well.
©DR
demands a collaborative, integrated approach,” emphasizes Leonid Mozheiko,
chief financial officer of NPO Saturn.
In 2001 came a timely announcement
by Russian plane-maker Sukhoi that it
planned to diversify into commercial aviation with a 60 to 95-seat plane designed
with the assistance of Boeing, known at
the time as the Russian Regional Jet. “Boeing was a consultant on this project, and
was able to give us good advice early in the
process,” notes Jean-Pierre Cojan, head of
Snecma’s Commercial Engines division.
The aircraft was well designed, and quickly
awakened the interest of non-Russian airlines, attracted by a new aircraft in a market dominated by Embraer of Brazil, which
faced few competitors. In 2003 a group of
airlines – Air France, SAS, Aeroflot and
Sibir – were asked to provide initial input
for the design of the new Sukhoi aircraft.
The Superjet 100 featured a modern
design tailored for its market segment:
5-across seating, and above all the same
landing categories (weather, visibility) as
the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, meaning that it could be used to complement or
replace these widely-used twinjets. “The
Superjet 100 should be the best plane
in its class,” says Cojan. “Three models
were originally planned, including a 60seat model that was later abandoned because it was considered too small. Today,
we’re working on 75 and 95-seat models,
which will soon be joined by a larger
one, from 115 to 125 seats. This will plug
the gap with the smallest models in the
Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families.”
Best-in-class
technologies
To meet project requirements, Snecma offered the SaM146 propulsion system (engine + nacelle), developed in conjunction
with Russian engine-maker NPO Saturn,
and designed for several types of twinjets
in the 70 to 100 seat category. Chosen by
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company for the
Superjet 100, the SaM146 is based on
proven CFM56 technologies, but in the
13,500 to 17,500 lb thrust class. It has a
six-stage compressor and a single-stage
high-pressure turbine, benefiting from
technologies developed for the M88 engine that powers Dassault’s Rafale fighter.
The propulsion system is designed to
meet the most stringent environmental
standards, both current and the upcoming CAEP VI. In production terms, NPO
Saturn manufactures the low-pressure turbine and handles final assembly, ground
tests and acceptance tests. Snecma is
in charge of the core, the full authority
digital engine control (Fadec) and power
transmission, as well as development integration and flight testing. Other Safran
group companies are involved as well:
Aircelle for the nacelle, Microturbo for
the starter, and Hispano-Suiza for the
control system.
Work kicked off in 2001, and four engines were ready for testing in 2006. The
No. 2 engine, undergoing ground tests at
NPO Saturn in early 2007, reached and
even exceeded its maximum thrust rating, developing 18,000 lb of thrust. “We
will shortly start tests of the No. 3 engine
with its nacelle on the open-air test cell,
making this a certifiable configuration,”
explains Snecma SaM146 program manager Robert Vivier. “The engine will then
be shipped to the Joukovski air base for
tests on a flying testbed, an Ilyushin 96,
and then to Istres in France for other
flight tests.”
Certification is scheduled for 2008.
A total of 12 preproduction engines will
be built, for the certification of four Superjet 100 regional jets, expected by the
end of 2008. Service entry is also slated
for the end of 2008, and the Superjet
100 has already garnered 61 firm orders
in Russia. ■
p. françois
interview
44-45
New fuels
for tomorrow’s
airplanes?
The world’s oil consumption is growing. With airlines
feeling the impact of spiraling prices and environmental
requirements, the burning issue is to find a replacement
for jet fuel.
©Patricia Lecomte
T
Face to face with Xavier Montagne
Head of the fuels-lubricants-emissions department of Institut Français du Pétrole.
biography
1983
1986
1998
2002
CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
DEGREE.
Ph.D IN
PETROLEUM
SCIENCES.
NAMED HEAD
OF THE FUELSLUBRICANTSEMISSIONS
DEPARTMENT.
NAMED TO THE
SCIENTIFIC
MANAGEMENT
BOARD OF IFP.
e steep rise in fuel
prices throughout
2005 caused tremors in the aviation
industry. The price
of jet fuel, which accounts for 20% of airline operating
costs, shot skyward, and doesn’t
look ready to come back to earth
any time soon. In fact, the main
question isn’t so much the price
of fuel, but rather the quantity of
reserves still to be tapped – estimated at only 40 years of oil, versus 70 years of gas and 230 years
of coal.
In short, reserves are being depleted, while consumption continues to climb. From 1992 to 2002
the consumption of jet fuel grew
21%, as passenger traffic jumped
53%. While jet aircraft have reduced their fuel burn by nearly
70% since the 1960s, current conditions more than ever demand
the invention of a fuel to replace
the trusty old Jet A-1, derived
from crude oil. Another key ques-
tion is environmental protection.
In fact, the European Parliament
has passed a very clear resolution
concerning the reduction of aviation’s impact on climate change
(INI/2005/2249): “The Parliament
(…) strongly encourages (…) efforts to introduce biofuels in aviation, as a contribution to reducing
impact on climate change.”
A complex problem
There is a clear acknowledgement of
the need to replace jet fuel, but the
problem is not that easy to resolve. In
fact, it’s a very effective fuel, combining excellent chemical and physical
properties (viscosity, freezing point)
with good energy density1 and thermal stability. Furthermore, there are
a number of barriers to the replacement of jet fuel. Civil aviation is obviously an international industry, which
means that any basic product must
be available anywhere in the world
– which leaves little room for special
fuels. If a replacement synthetic fuel
is indeed developed, it will have to offer the same characteristics as jet fuel,
and be mixable with it. Given the
“Civil aviation is an
international industry, which
means that any basic product must be
available anywhere in the world, leaving little
room for special fuels.” Xavier Montagne
interview
46-47
Fuels made from biomass
offer very convincing
advantages, and a good CO2
budget, but they’re still
expensive to produce.
THE LONG HAUL TOWARD “BIO-JET FUEL”
Snecma is taking an active role in research aimed at the production
of jet fuel from biomass
michel desaulty
©DR
Jet fuel is of course used
to propel the aircraft
itself, but it also fulfills
several other functions,
including cooling the
engine oil and being used
as a hydraulic fluid in
certain systems. In other
words, in addition to its
energy capacity, a jet fuel
has to have other
properties, such as
stability at high
temperature (150°C) and
fluidity down to -50°C. It
also has to be compatible
with the materials used in
aircraft construction.
So-called first-generation
biofuels are already been
used, but they offer
certain drawbacks.
“Ethanol’s caloric power is
far less than jet fuel,
about 40% less; and while
EMHV* is roughly
equivalent, it’s a thermally
unstable product: in other
words it decomposes as
soon as it’s heated, leaving
deposits in lines and
injectors,” explains Michel
Desaulty, Silvercrest
brand manager and
formerly head of the
combustor and afterbody
department at Snecma
(Safran Group). “So we’re
turning to new products
made using biochemical or
thermal processes.”
Snecma is already
participating in a joint
research program called
Calin with both industry
and research
organizations, including
INRA, Onera, Cerfacs,
CNRS, IFP, MMP and
Airbus. Their work should
culminate in the
laboratory fabrication of a
biofuel, followed by tests
designed to check its
physical and chemical
properties, including
during combustion. Once
this phase is completed,
tests will be performed at
an industrial scale to
ensure that the fuel is
compatible with aircraft
and engine systems.
lifespan of aircraft in service, jet fuel
will obviously be the primary solution
for the next 30 years.
The next issue, and far from the
least, is one of safety. Because of the
complicated certification process, it
takes a lot of time – at least 15 to 20
years – to develop a new fuel and have
it approved by international aviation
authorities.
Lastly, performance will
be checked, first on the
ground then in flight tests.
Other, complementary
projects are now being
developed in Europe,
within the scope of the 7th
PCRD framework R&D
program: Alfa-bird
(Airbus, Snecma, RollsRoyce, MTU, Avio, IFP,
etc.), also focuses on
second-generation fuels,
and a project dubbed
“Dream”, which will
include testing on a
turbomachine.
So when can we expect
to take an airplane using
bio-jet fuel? “The
production process is the
main question,” responds
Desaulty. “Just meeting the
specifications for jet fuel is
not enough to demonstrate
the fuel’s compatibility. We
will have to validate the
entire system, including the
product and its entire
production process, to
make sure that the
properties and
performance measured in
research programs such as
Calin are in fact
reproducible.”
In the meantime, there is
For a closer look at this subject, we
spoke with Xavier Montagne, head
of the fuels-lubricants-emissions department of IFP (Institut Français du
Pétrole).
Safran Magazine: How does an
expert like yourself tackle the
question of replacement fuels?
Xavier Montagne: Replacement
one major argument in
favor of biofuels:
environmental protection.
Unlike cars, aircraft
cannot treat exhaust
gases. Controlling the
efficiency of combustion,
by improving fuel
properties and developing
new combustion
chambers, is the only
means of reducing
polluting emissions, such
as nitrogen oxides,
unburned hydrocarbons
and particles. For
instance, aircraft are
accused of producing
high-altitude cirrus clouds
because of the particles
emitted by jet engines,
and these clouds increase
air transport’s impact on
the greenhouse effect.
Biofuels may help resolve
this problem, since they
contain no sulfur, and very
few aromatic polycyclic
chemical species (soot
precursor). But biomass
production is limited, and
will not be able to satisfy
all requirements. Various
energy scenarios are
therefore being studied to
come up with a solution.
* see Glossary opposite
fuels already exist, despite the obstacles along the road. These are not
traditional products, but rather made
from raw materials other than petroleum, primarily coal and natural gas.
The manufacturing processes for these
fuels involve an intermediate stage
that produces a synthesis gas (mixture
of carbon monoxide and hydrogen).
From this point, two different methods
©DR
SILVERCREST BRAND MANAGER AT SNECMA (SAFRAN GROUP)
GLOSSARY
can be used: direct production of hydrocarbons using the Fischer-Tropsch
technique [a process invented in the
1920s, later widely used in South Africa due to embargos against the country]; or a process based on methanol,
which will subsequently be converted
into gas.
Why haven’t these processes been
developed more widely?
Because in most cases they require
technologies still under development.
However the Fischer-Tropsch process
can be used to produce synthetic jet
fuel from natural gas, biomass or coal.
Global coal reserves are estimated
at more than two centuries, but this
technology goes hand in hand with
significant emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore, the industrial
production of this type of fuel must
be implemented in conjunction with
the deployment of CO2 recovery systems at the production site. On the
contrary, with biomass as the raw material, the overall CO2 budget becomes
much better.
And yet, these replacement fuels
have already taken a major step
forward…
Yes, an equal mixture of jet fuel and
synthetic fuels has already been approved. Use of a “pure” synthetic fuel
is even highly likely. At the same time,
aircraft and engine manufacturers,
plus the IFP, are thinking about other
solutions that would reduce emissions.
For example, through collaborative
programs such as Calin, Alfa-bird and
Dream, Institut Français du Pétrole is
working closely with Snecma and the
Safran Group. We provide the knowledge needed for chemical formulations and the choice of appropriate
molecules, and Snecma contributes its
expertise as engine manufacturer.
What areas are you currently
studying?
Raw materials are extremely important. Depending on the products, the
different processes are positioned very
differently. When we have to make our
final decisions, it is the total CO2 budget2 “from well to wing” that will prove
decisive. Biomass already offers decisive
advantages. Its budget is much more
satisfactory than that offered by GTL
(gas to liquids) or CTL (coal to liquids).
As a raw material, coal is saddled with
a poor CO2 budget.
No matter what happens, Safran and
IFP are playing pivotal roles in solving
this problem. Joint programs allow us
to study the impact of these new fuels,
and design the industrial systems that
will subsequently be deployed. ■
p. françois
(1) Quantity of energy in relation to the volume
of fuel.
(2) CO2 budget: the sum of CO2 emissions, from
production of the fuel (including extraction, refining and transport of fossil fuels), to consumption. For vegetal-based fuels, the CO2 absorbed
by the plant during growth is subtracted from the
CO2 emitted during production, transportation
and utilization.
Alternate jet fuels
› ctl (coal to liquids)
Jet fuel made from coal, using
the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
process. Enables producing jet
fuel from a source other than
oil, but would not improve CO2
emissions, and even less so
the CO 2 budget.
› GTL (gas to liquids)
Fuel produced by converting
natural gas into a liquid fuel
(jet fuel, as well as diesel).
No sulfur emissions.
› BTL (biomass to liquids)
There are two types of
biofuels: first generation
fuels, including bio-ethanol,
ETBE (ethyl-tertio-butylether) and EMHV and EHV
(made from vegetable oils
or fatty acids). These fuels
do not offer the properties
enabling them to replace
jet fuel. Second-generation
biofuels, called BTL (biomass
to liquids), are produced from
vegetable matter such as
wood and straw. These bio-jet
fuels provide better thermal
stability and include very
few aromatics (reduced soot
emissions). They offer greater
supply capacity and reduced
CO 2 , along with the total
absence of sulfur in emissions.
But BTL production costs are
very high, and the availability
of biomass remains uncertain.
Huge investments will be
needed to produce the vast
volumes needed.
PEMA2b - Photo : Frédéric Lert - DR
CFM International is a joint company of Snecma (SAFRAN group), France and General Electric Co., USA.
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June 2007

Transcription

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