MTU Report (Page 2 - 3)

Transcription

2/2011
Top-notch service and
support for the giant
MTU Aero Engines Holding AG
Dachauer Straße 665
80995 Munich • Germany
Tel. +49 89 1489-0
Fax +49 89 1489-5500
info@mtu.de
www.mtu.de
Customers + Partners
Mission possible
Products + Services
Big ambitions
Gobal
MTU sets its eyes
on China
Contents
Cover Story
Top-notch service and support for the giant
Japan’s high-flying airline
Mission possible
A power pack for heavy loads
10 – 13
14 – 17
18 – 21
Technology + Science
Ways to make a great product even better
A huge leap forward on the materials front
22 – 25
26 – 29
Products + Services
Big ambitions
Soft on the outside, hard on the inside
Service in the desert
30 – 33
34 – 37
38 – 41
Global
MTU sets its eyes on China
42 – 45
Report
The “elegant” way to fly
In Brief
Masthead
2
6–9
46 – 51
Mission possible
Big ambitions
Two Eurofighter Typhoons of the Italian Air Force pulled off an amazing
performance at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore that wowed thousands
of air show visitors, including government officials. India has now put
the jet on the final shortlist for the contract for 126 fighter aircraft, the
world’s biggest defense deal at present.
Pages 14 - 17
The GEnx engine powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the new
Boeing 747-8. As from January 1, 2012 every GEnx will come with a
turbine center frame made by MTU. The necessary production lines
in MTU’s Munich shops are currently being ramped up—in record time.
Pages 30 - 33
The “elegant” way to fly
China is determined to push forward with its sky-high ambitions.
Plans are now to build a new engine for the first short- and mediumrange airliner to be made in China, the C919. MTU is looking for ways
of contributing its technologies.
Pages 42 - 45
Taken aback by the noise and vibrations he experienced on his first
flight in an early 1930s passenger plane, Hans von Ohain developed
a novel engine to power the world’s first all-jet aircraft. This year, the
pioneer would have been 100 years old.
Pages 46 - 51
Top-notch service and support
for the giant
MTU Maintenance has been successful in signing up three customers
for the new giant in its product portfolio, the GE90: Air New Zealand,
V Australia, and U.S. freight carrier Southern Air.
Pages 6 - 9
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Editorial
Dear Readers:
To stand still is to move back. That is as true in the fiercely competitive global
market for commercial engine maintenance as it is anywhere. We know we
cannot afford to stand still; this is why the MTU Maintenance Group is looking to expand its activities in many ways over the coming years, for instance,
by adding new engines to our maintenance portfolio.
We have succeeded in taking the first, momentous step in this direction:
Last year, we obtained the necessary licenses to repair and overhaul the
GE90 Growth, thus laying the foundations for our entry into this market.
And, less than one year on, we landed a coup by winning contracts with three
customers for the maintenance of the world’s most powerful engine. With
the addition of this heavyweight to our portfolio, we now provide support for
propulsion systems across all thrust categories—from small Pratt & Whitney
Canada and GE Aviation business-jet engines and extremely popular medium-thrust engines, such as the V2500 and the CFM56, to the giants, the
GE90 and GP7000. MTU Maintenance is the only company in the world to
offer MRO services for such a wide range of engines, and that’s something
we can rightly be proud of.
Besides broadening our product portfolio and expanding into new market
territory, we are pursuing yet another avenue: We want to be in a position to
always come up with fresh innovative solutions to make our offerings flexible
enough to provide customers with exactly the service they need to keep
their fleets in the best operating condition. In this regard, too, the new contracts we have won for the GE90 Growth break new ground: We are working closely with our customers to ensure the contract terms are tailored to
suit the individual requirement. That’s an approach that benefits the fleet
operators, and ultimately ourselves. For, amid all the change in our industry,
one thing will stay the same: To remain successful in the long term, you have
to keep your focus on the greatest possible customer benefit. Excelling in
meeting customers’ needs is our mantra. Of course, we will only achieve
this by maintaining the highest quality standards and with the full support
of extremely innovative and highly motivated employees. They are our asset.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Stefan Weingartner
Member of the Board of Management,
President Commercial Maintenance
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Cover Story
Top-notch service and
support for the giant
By Silke Hansen
MTU Maintenance has been successful in signing up three customers for the new giant in its product portfolio, the GE90: Air New Zealand, V Australia in the southern hemisphere and U.S. freight carrier Southern
Air have opted to have their GE90-110B/-115B engines maintained by MTU Maintenance Hannover under
exclusive contracts. The German company will be offering them top-notch service and support.
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“M
TU is fully prepared to start work on the
huge engine that powers the Boeing
777 family of aircraft, and has been
licensed to perform the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work of the two Growth versions—the
GE90-110B and the GE90-115B—since 2010,” notes
Dr. Stefan Weingartner, MTU Aero Engines’ President,
Commercial Maintenance.
The maintenance agreements now signed mean much
more than a welcome vote of confidence; after all, by
adding the GE90, Air New Zealand and Southern Air
are both expanding their existing partnerships with
MTU Maintenance. New Zealand’s flag carrier concluded an exclusive MRO agreement with MTU Maintenance Hannover for its entire fleet of CF6-80C2
engines in 2007. By entrusting MTU with the maintenance of the 12 GE90-115B engines that power its
new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the airline knows
that it will place them in the best hands. Andrew
Hewitt, Power Plant Manager at Air New Zealand:
“Based on our existing MRO contract with MTU, we
are confident they will continue to perform and deliver
us an excellent service. The GE90-115B MRO agreement represents a significant 12-year investment for
Air New Zealand.”
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Cover Story
GE90: Gigantic in
every respect
General Electric’s successful GE90 is one of the
engine options for various models of Boeing’s twinjet long-haul 777 aircraft (commonly referred to as
the “Triple Seven”) and the exclusive engine for the
777-200LR (Long Range), the -300ER (Extended
Range) and the -200 Freighter. The engine family
covers a thrust range from 76,000 to 115,000
pounds. The first variant, a GE90-77B, entered into
service in 1995 aboard a 777-200. The two Growth
versions, for which MTU Maintenance provides MRO
services, are the latest additions to the family.
Air New Zealand was the first airline to entrust MTU Maintenance with the support of its GE90-115B engines.
Frank Haberkamp, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Asia at
MTU Maintenance, says: “Air New Zealand is very satisfied
with the job we do on their CF6s. The high quality of our services helps keep engines on wing longer. The airline benefits
from our customized service packages and the flexible solutions that we have developed in close cooperation.” So why
settle for something less than what MTU has to offer? Especially given that the Hannover shop offers the same level of
all-round support also for the GE90, which spans the whole
gamut from on-site maintenance to AOG (aircraft-on-ground)
service, innovative high-tech repair techniques, temporary
replacement engines from the lease pool to engine condition
monitoring. Haberkamp adds: “Insights we’ve gained from
talking with Air New Zealand led us to explore innovative
approaches to find a solution that best fits the customer’s
needs. The resulting contract contains a flexible mix of powerby-the-hour and time-and-material elements.” These arrangements allow the customer to benefit from lower costs and tailor-made MRO service.
As the national airline, Air New Zealand operates domestic
flights to 27 destinations and offers international flights to
airports in Australia, North America, Asia, Europe and the
South Pacific. From its hub in Auckland, the airline flies two
different routes to London Heathrow—via Los Angeles (daily)
and via Hong Kong (five times a week), which makes the
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The GE90 Growth is the world’s largest and most
powerful engine. Its fan diameter, at 3.25 meters, is
approximately equal to the diameter of the fuselage
of a Boeing 737 (3.76 meters). During tests on GE’s
outdoor test facility near Peebles, Ohio, a GE90-115B
reached a sustained record of 569 kN, or 127,900 lbs,
of thrust. In terms of technology, too, the turbofan,
which has a bypass ratio of 9:1, is a true heavyweight—a term not to be taken literally, because in
fact its aerodynamically optimized fan blades are
manufactured from composite materials and reinforced with titanium leading edges, which makes
them lighter and more efficient and extends their
service life.
Debut in MTU Maintenance Hannover’s shop: The first GE90 undergoes inspection.
South Pacific island nation’s carrier an airline that offers a
round-the-world service. Given that Boeing’s 777-300ER longhaul jet only entered service with Air New Zealand’s fleet in
December 2010, the first major overhaul of a GE90-115B in
Hannover is not expected before early 2015.
by British entrepreneur Richard Branson. It has signed a longterm maintenance agreement with MTU for its GE90-115B
engines. The airline flies its fleet of five Boeing 777-300ERs
on long-haul flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to
Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi.
U.S.-based cargo airline Southern Air has been relying on
MTU’s support since 2002, and regularly sends CF6-50s to
the engine shops in Hannover and Vancouver. Says Christoph
Heck, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, The Americas:
“Now the carrier adds eight GE90-110Bs, and this number
could increase to 12 if existing purchase options are exercised.” Southern Air, an air cargo company that was founded
in 1947, currently operates a fleet of 11 Boeing 747 freighters and two new Boeing 777s, and has another two 777s
scheduled for delivery next year. The airline also plans to
acquire additional 747s: initially two, but the number could
be increased. Talks with MTU’s maintenance specialists on
future MRO arrangements are already underway, reports
Heck. Southern Air serves customers throughout the world
and, last year alone, flew to 267 unique destinations.
The prospects for future growth of MTU’s GE90 customer base
are excellent. Demand for maintenance services, especially
for the latest models, the GE90-110B and -115B, will increase steadily over the coming years. According to Boeing,
the manufacturer has logged orders from 46 customers
around the world for a total of 665 GE90-115B-powered aircraft, with 279 of these still to be delivered. The 826 engines
that have entered revenue service since 2004 have meanwhile accumulated a total of 9.6 million flight hours, during
which they have established a departure reliability rate of
99.95 percent: a proven track record that motivates MTU
Maintenance all the more to deliver top-notch quality and
service.
The successful GE90 engine offers MTU great potential also
for the acquisition of new customers, a textbook example
being V Australia. Based in Sydney, the airline is a subsidiary
of Virgin Australia, part of the Virgin Group of Airlines owned
The engines powering the Boeing 777s of U.S. freight carrier Southern
Air are also maintained in Hannover.
For additional information, contact
Leo Koppers
+49 511 7806-9105
For interesting multimedia services associated with this
article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
9
Japan’s highflying airline
By Andreas Spaeth
All Nippon Airways (ANA) carries over 43 million passengers
each year, which makes it Japan’s largest airline and the
tenth-largest in the world. Having started out as a purely
domestic carrier, ANA this year celebrates the 25th anniversary of its international debut. ANA’s Tokyo-Mumbai route is
the most extraordinary one for the airline’s Boeing 737s,
which make up almost a quarter of its fleet. If you are lucky,
you’ll experience a bird’s eye view of Mount Fuji, at 3,776
meters Japan’s highest mountain, on your flight.
M
ore than 6,700 kilometers separate these two cities,
and ANA has operated the route since September
2007. The connection is flown by two Boeing 737700ER aircraft in special livery—they are emblazoned with
the words “ANA Business Jet” in large blue lettering on a
white background. Boeing built this variant of the 737 especially for the Japanese airline; it has a higher maximum takeoff weight, auxiliary fuel tanks, and hence a considerably
extended range. With these business jets, which seat only 38
to 44 passengers, ANA serves an important niche market.
Founded in 1952, ANA has a fleet of 228 aircraft in total, of
which 55 are Boeing 737s. The 737-500s, -700s and -800s
are primarily used for domestic flights and operated by its
subsidiaries Air Nippon and ANA Wings. Since last year, MTU
Maintenance Zhuhai in China has been providing support for
the CFM56-3C1 engines powering ANA’s Boeing 737-500s.
For MTU’s maintenance experts the Japanese airline is a key
partner: “ANA did us a great service by assisting us in the
process of obtaining approval from JCAB, the Japan Civil
Aviation Bureau,” says Holger Sindemann, President and
CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. “It was a tangible sign of
the confidence they have in our abilities. Japan is very important for our location on account of its geographical proximity.”
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Engine maintenance, Japanese style
The outsourcing of engine maintenance is quite a novelty in Japan, where airlines in the past used to do this
work themselves. “MTU Maintenance had compelling
arguments to convince ANA of the advantages of buying
MRO services ‘made in China’. The airline’s decision to
go with MTU Maintenance was without doubt influenced
by the fact that we are an independent provider with
strong ties to engine manufacturers,” explains Holger
Sindemann, President and CEO of MTU Maintenance
Zhuhai. “The Japanese are seeking long-term cooperation and have high demands in terms of quality,” says
Tim Fu, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s Director, Sales, Asia.
“We want to establish a strong customer base in the
Japanese market, initially for MTU Zhuhai and in the long
term also for the MTU Group.” MTU Maintenance sees
business opportunities mainly with older engine types:
As total demand for maintenance services for them is
going down, it becomes uneconomic for airlines to have
their own facilities. But there is also potential for business with newer engine types for which airlines do not
yet have any capacities of their own.
“ANA is currently supporting MTU Maintenance Hannover in gaining approval as an MRO organization from
the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau,” says Jan Steenbock,
Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Far East Asia in
Langenhagen. “Impressed by the variety of MTU Maintenance’s repair capabilities and technologies, ANA is convinced that we can help them cut costs over the long
term and increase the cost-effectiveness of their engines.”
ANA has the CFM56-3 engines powering its Boeing 737s maintained by MTU
Maintenance Zhuhai.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is Japan’s biggest airline. Among the aircraft it operates also are Boeing 747s.
The feeling is mutual: “We appreciate MTU Maintenance Zhuhai’s
efforts to support ANA’s operations by cutting turnaround times as
much as possible, so that ANA can avoid a zero spare situation for our
Boeing 737 classic fleet,” explains Toshifumi Takeuchi, Manager, Power
Plant, Material Management & Spares at ANA. “We also appreciate
very much the joint effort of MTU Maintenance and ANA on cost reduction for engine overhaul. And we believe that, given MTU’s unique
position in the engine MRO market, we can expect even more benefit
from our long-term cooperation.”
The Mumbai route could soon be served by a new aircraft type, as
ANA will be the first operator of Boeing’s new long-haul airliner, the
787 Dreamliner. This jet is considered to be the ideal aircraft for
point-to-point flying on medium-density routes. It will enter revenue
service with Japan’s flag carrier before the end of this year. ANA has
ordered a total of 55 of the aircraft and hopes the 787 will drive its
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international expansion. Using the Dreamliner, ANA will kick off a new
regular service between Tokyo Haneda and Frankfurt that will start up
in January 2012. Up to now, the majority of the ANA Group’s revenue
has been generated in its domestic market, where the carrier serves
49 cities with 101 routes. This equates to a market share of around
50 percent and makes ANA the market leader. The international network comprises 28 destinations and 61 routes. From Tokyo Narita
ANA currently flies non-stop to four destinations in Europe: London
Heathrow, Paris CDG, Frankfurt and Munich.
ANA is the launch customer for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet.
Despite the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March
of this year, ANA is still on course for growth and expects to again
turn in a profit for the year as a whole. The addition of international
services at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which is located conveniently
close to the city, is driving business forward, as are new joint ventures with Star Alliance partners such as Lufthansa; the cooperation
between these two airlines was the first Asian-European partnership
to gain antitrust clearance. ANA will also be launching two low-cost
airlines in Japan, both of which will commence operations next year.
The dynamic airline has always been an industry trendsetter: It not only
is the launch customer for the 787, but also the first airline to have
placed an order for the new MRJ regional jet with Japan’s Mitsubishi.
This aircraft will be powered by the new Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engine, to which MTU contributes half of the high-pressure
compressor and the high-speed low-pressure turbine. Delivery of the
15 MRJ90s ordered by ANA is slated to start in early 2014.
Holger Sindemann
+86 756 8687-806
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Mission
possible
By Martina Vollmuth
Within just a month, the Italian Air Force managed
to get two Eurofighter Typhoons geared up and
ready to take part in a spectacular display at Aero
India 2011 in Bangalore. The fighter jets pulled off
an amazing performance that wowed 100,000 air
show visitors, including key defense ministry officials. India has now put the Eurofighter Typhoon
on its final shortlist along with the Rafale for the
world’s biggest defense deal—the Indian Air
Force’s acquisition of 126 combat jets.
H
eld once every two years, Aero India is the biggest air
show in South Asia. In early February this year, 675
exhibitors from 29 different countries spent five days
showcasing their latest products and technologies. This figure
included a sizeable national contingent—almost 300 of the
exhibitors were from India. “The 8th Aero India was another
great opportunity for the Eurofighter Typhoon and its engines
to demonstrate their world-class capability,” says Michael
Schreyögg, Senior Vice President, Defense Programs at MTU
Aero Engines in Munich. The German engine manufacturer has
a 30-percent stake in the EJ200 engine powering the Eurofighter Typhoon and has put huge efforts into supporting its
export activities. The two Italian fighter jets took to the skies
above the Bangalore showground twice a day and flew in
spectacular formations. All the flights went as planned, and
not a single spare part was required by the seven specialists
from the Experimental Test Flight Unit team who were responsible for the two aircraft during the air show.
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The two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons were a sight to behold from the
moment they left for Bangalore: Accompanied by two Hercules C-130s,
they covered a total of some 4,300 kilometers, flying in several stages
from their Italian base, the Gioia del Colle Air Base in Apulia, to the
Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore. The route included stopovers in Greece, Jordan, Qatar and India. Mechanics were on hand to
work on the fighter jets during the trip, with the two Hercules aircraft
transporting all their technical gear. Everyone involved in the journey
there and back confirmed that the Eurofighter Typhoons gave an
impressive demonstration of how easy they are to handle. They were
immediately compatible with all the civil and military infrastructure
facilities and ground support equipment in the stopover countries.
Two reserve aircraft were kept on standby at the Italian homebase,
but this backup resource was never actually needed.
This outstanding demonstration of operational readiness and flexibility also appears to have impressed the Indian Ministry of Defense
(MoD): The Indian Air Force (IAF) has since announced its decision to
down-select the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale for the
billion-dollar defense contract which will see India reinforce its security and defense capabilities with 126 new Medium Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MMRCAs). Based on requirements calculated by the
IAF, the Indian MoD issued a request for proposals in 2007 with an
order volume of some ten billion U.S. dollars and a scheduled date for
the start of deliveries of 2015.
“The selection procedure in India is about as challenging as it gets,”
says Klaus Günther, EJ200 and RB199 Program Director at MTU Aero
Engines in Munich. The aircraft and engines must demonstrate consistently stable and reliable performance in extreme geographical
locations ranging from desert regions to tropical forests to mountainous terrain—basically encompassing the subcontinent’s entire range
of topographical features and climate zones. The flight and weapon
tests in the preliminary round focused on 643 parameters, and the
aircraft that came out on top were the Eurofighter Typhoon and its
French competitor, the Rafale. The aircraft that are no longer in the
running are the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Lockheed
In top shape: At Aero India 2011, the Italian Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoon jets gave an impressive demonstration of their capabilities.
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Martin F-16 IN, the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and the Rosoboronexport
MiG-35.
In addition to the MMRCA, an aircraft carrier version of the Eurofighter
Typhoon is also a conceivable option for the Indian Navy. This navalized version would require minor adjustments to be made to the aircraft, including localized strengthening in the fuselage for the landing
gear and arrestor hook. “We could equip the engine with thrust vectoring control nozzles for this version, which is something we have already successfully tested,” says Günther. “That’s how we would reduce
the aircraft’s approach speed and angle of attack for deck landings.”
As well as insisting on top-notch technical specifications, the IAF will
also require the eventual winner of the bidding process to set up a
final assembly line in India so that the majority of the fighters can be
built in the country under license. Only the first 18 aircraft will be
acquired directly from a foreign manufacturer, while the remaining
108 fighters will be built under license by the Indian company
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). In addition, the MMRCA tender
includes an economic offset of 50 percent of the order value. If the
Indian Air Force does eventually choose the Eurofighter Typhoon, this
could potentially lead to the creation of 20,000 new jobs.
The final decision on which manufacturer will win the contract is
expected to be taken this year. The fact that the Eurofighter Typhoon
was chosen as one of the finalists represents a huge success for the
Eurofighter Typhoon partners, and Schreyögg notes that it sends a
powerful signal to countries that are currently considering acquiring
new fighter jets, such as Switzerland, Malaysia, Japan, Bulgaria, Croatia
and Turkey. These countries will no doubt be following the latest developments in the Indian tender just as closely as all the companies
involved.
Klaus Günther
+49 89 1489-3308
For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
The European fighter jets’ amazing performance wowed 100,000 air show visitors, including key defense ministry officials.
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A power pack for
heavy loads
A
n important milestone was reached in the GE38
program at MTU in Munich in late May this year
when the first power turbine intended for flight
testing of the CH-53K was delivered to the customer,
General Electric Aviation. “This is a remarkable achievement, given that we completed the first development
module barely 15 months ago,” stresses Dr. Robert Bader,
GE38 Chief Engineer. “Since then, we’ve put together
another four modules and optimized the design of our
components to ensure flight operations are safe.”
By Bernd Bundschu
The GE38 significantly advances the state-of-the-art in large turboshaft engine technology: Compared to its
predecessor, the tried and trusted T64, it generates one and a half times the power, burns 18 percent less
fuel, and uses fewer than half the number of parts. This power pack has been selected for the U.S. Marine
Corps’ new CH-53K heavy-lift cargo helicopter. MTU Aero Engines will be supplying the power turbine for the
engine, and managed to assemble the first module for use in flight testing within just a few weeks.
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It only took a few short weeks to assemble the first power
turbine to go into a flight test engine. “Assembly of the
module began in end-March, after a period of intense
preparations,” explains Program Director Rainer Becker.
“It’s also thanks to the tremendous flexibility of our development assembly operators and their many years of
experience in building prototypes that we were able to
meet the delivery date,” says Martin Schäffner, who is in
charge of engine maintenance, assembly and test stands.
GE delivered the first complete GE38 engine to Sikorsky
Aircraft in the middle of the year. The airframe manufacturer has an order from the U.S. Marine Corps for 200
CH-53K heavy-lift cargo helicopters, which will be delivered along with 800 GE38-1B engines. MTU is responsible
for designing, developing and manufacturing the engine’s
three-stage power turbine, which delivers 7,500 horsepower (5,595 kW), and its exhaust casing and output
shaft. The company’s total workshare in the program is
18 percent.
Since February 2011, an MTU power turbine has been
demonstrating its outstanding capabilities at GE’s test
facility in Lynn, Massachusetts, where the engine is being
subjected to 300 hours of cyclic durability testing. “This
test yields valuable information on how robust the design
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Ultra-modern test facility
A GE38 on General Electric’s test stand.
of the turbine really is and perhaps also exposes some weaknesses,
which will then be remedied by the time certification is obtained,”
explains Bader. During cyclic durability testing, the turbine will be
subjected to the maximum acceptable gas and oil temperatures, to
evaluate life consumption, as for instance as a result of thermomechanical fatigue processes. Continues Bader: “If strip inspection
after the test does not give rise to any concerns, we’ve done a pretty
good job.” Becker expects that initial results will soon be available.
The test facility in Lynn is not the only place where GE38 modules can
be put through their paces: the U.S. manufacturer operates three
engine test cells, and a fourth has been set up at MTU Aero Engines
in Munich (see box). MTU’s new test stand forms part of wider-ranging plans: “The GE38 is also a potential candidate for the planned
European FTH (Future Transport Helicopter), and we want to be able
to offer our services as a GE38 system partner to the German Armed
Forces, should the customer select it,” explains Becker. “Moreover,
with the new test cell, we can offer the German Armed Forces a backup test rig for the T64.” This is the engine that powers the German
Armed Forces’ CH-53G helicopters.
MTU has set up a dedicated test facility in Munich, equipped
with the latest instrumentation, so it can carry out testing
on General Electric’s GE38 and T64 turboshaft engines.
“The essential feature of a test cell for turboshaft engines is
its water brake,” explains Wolfgang Duling, who heads testing of military engines at Germany’s leading engine manufacturer. This is how it works: The engine shaft drives a bladed wheel mounted in an enclosure filled with water. The
desired engine speed is reached by raising or lowering the
water level.
The new test cell has been undergoing thorough testing and
calibrating since September of last year with a T64. “This is
a unique opportunity to run over the test rig with a fine tooth
comb before we start development testing with the GE38,”
says Duling. “We’ll be fully prepared when the first GE38s
arrive for tests.” These are set to start before the year is out,
when the GE38 has completed a series of tests to judge its
resistance against sand, hailstone, ice and water ingestion
and bird strike. “The sand tests are particularly important to
the customer,” says Dr. Robert Bader, MTU’s GE38 Chief
Engineer. They will establish whether the engine is able to
operate safely and for long enough even in extreme conditions. One of the new features of the GE38 is a special
design to make it more resistant to sand erosion.
New test cell: The GE38 can be put through its paces also at MTU Aero
Engines in Munich.
In all engine testing activities, depending on the test objectives, test
bed personnel will have GE and MTU program staff working alongside
them. According to Bader, in terms of test duration, roughly one third
of the GE38’s total testing will be conducted in Munich: “That’s really
a significant contribution we are making.” Initial ground testing of the
engine is planned at Sikorsky for 2012, and the CH-53K powered by
GE38 engines is slated to make its maiden flight in February 2013.
MTU will be delivering 20 turbines for flight test engines to GE by the
end of next year, with production assembly scheduled to commence
in 2013. “We’re already laying the groundwork for launching assembly
operations,” says Schäffner. “It hasn’t yet been decided whether MTU
will be responsible for the maintenance of GE38 components later
on,” says Becker, “but it’s something we’re working on.”
Rainer Becker
+49 89 1489-6986
The power turbine of the GE38 is made by MTU.
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A power turbine is being carefully prepared for shipment at MTU in Munich.
Before the power turbine is packed in the shipping
container an MTU employee gives it the final touches.
www.mtu.de/report
21
Ways to make
a great product
even better
By Denis Dilba
The tests required for the planned approval of the geared
turbofan (GTF) in 2013 may still be underway, but work on
its successor is already in top gear. Researchers hope that
the engine technology demonstrator currently being set up
as part of the European Clean Sky research program under
the leadership of MTU Aero Engines will provide the basis for
the second generation of the engine of the future—and show
how fuel burn and emissions can be reduced even further.
C
urrent figures suggest the GTF design will reduce fuel
burn by some 15 percent and improve external noise
by 50 percent as compared to conventional aircraft
engines in the same thrust range: “We are all quite proud of
the GTF indeed, and rightly so,” says Klaus Stegmaier, Chief
Engineer Clean Sky Program at MTU in Munich. And there is
certainly no shortage of interested customers: Bombardier
has already signed up and will be debuting the GTF in its new
CSeries as of 2013, and Mitsubishi and Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut have selected the engine for the new aircraft
they are building. The GTF has also proved to be a popular
choice among Airbus A320neo customers, albeit in an enhanced version.
“We are obviously delighted with the positive response to the
GTF, but we can’t afford to be complacent. We have to keep
raising the bar,” say Stegmaier and Clean Sky Program
Manager Peter Taferner. “Ever since we got involved in the
EU’s Clean Sky research program we have been looking for
ways to make a great product even better.” The program was
initiated to meet the targets defined by the Advisory Council
for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) in 2002, which
include halving carbon dioxide and perceived noise emissions by 2020 as compared to the year 2000, as well as cutting nitrogen oxide (Nox) emissions by 80 percent.
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23
Clean Sky
Enhanced engine efficiency is a key factor in achieving cleaner skies because engines burn fuel. That is why the Clean Sky
research program also includes the development of five
engine technology demonstrators within the Sustainable and
Green Engines (SAGE) project. SAGE is one of Clean Sky’s six
Integrated Technology Demonstrators (ITDs) intended to develop game-changing technological innovations across all
areas of aviation. MTU is the leader of the SAGE 4 sub-project:
Work on the “second-generation geared turbofan” has been
underway since the summer, and the company plans to have
the engine demonstrator assembled by mid-2014, ready for
testing on the MTU test rig.
“What makes this project so challenging is the fact that it
combines ambitious fuel and emission reduction targets with
a technology readiness level of six, which is basically just
short of demonstration in an operational environment,” says
Stegmaier. The mechanical engineer admits that the project
has given him a few grey hairs, but says that SAGE 4 is generally progressing very well. He adds that the basic architecture of the demonstrator draws heavily on the existing, triedand-tested design of the PW1524G engine: “That boosts our
chances of succeeding with this project.”
The latest milestone reached by the SAGE 4 team is Design
Review 2, says Stegmaier: “The conceptual design and groundwork have reached their critical phase and will be completed
by the end of the year.” The next step will be to produce
detailed component designs—a tricky task when you are using
so many new technologies in a lighter, efficiency-enhanced
demonstrator. MTU is therefore working closely with associates such as Swedish engine manufacturer Volvo Aero and
Italian company Avio. Volvo is developing a novel turbine exit
casing designed to offer benefits such as improved noise
reduction, while Avio is working on an enhanced reduction
gearbox known as the Fan Drive Gear System.
With an overall budget of 1.6 billion
euros, half of which is funded by the EU
and half by industry, Clean Sky is the
biggest concerted aeronautical research
program ever undertaken in Europe. The
aim of the initiative is to support the
European air transport industry in meeting the ACARE targets for the reduction
of fuel consumption, emissions and
noise. Clean Sky involves 86 partners
from 16 countries working within six
areas of research, one of which is
Sustainable and Green Engines (SAGE).
The program is scheduled to run through
2017.
For its new A320neo aircraft family, Airbus relies on the geared turbofan
technology.
MTU is responsible for the overall coordination of the project
and for the low-pressure turbine and high-pressure compressor, the company’s flagship products. One of MTU’s tasks is
to produce parts such as turbine vanes and casing components by means of selective laser melting (SLM), an additive
manufacturing process. This novel technique makes it possible to achieve optimized aeromechanical designs in a significantly shorter timeframe while also reducing production
waste. Efforts are also focusing on new materials such as
titanium aluminide, and the team is additionally hoping to
reduce weight and cut fuel burn by using inner rings made
from lightweight and stable fiber-reinforced materials.
The PurePower® PW1217G will power Mitsubishi’s new MRJ.
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Taferner explains how cooperation under the Clean Sky program works: “The ITD leaders responsible for the individual
core technology areas define special work packages which
are then awarded to other partners through calls for proposals (CfPs). The partners thus found have to invest some of
their own money in developing the technology, so you have to
define tasks that produce a win-win situation—and of course
find partners who have the necessary expertise.” The tendering process and selection procedures are managed and overseen by the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking, a management
body set up for the program in Brussels.
A good example of such a work package is the development
of an innovative forging technology for titanium aluminide.
“The Austrian company Böhler Schmiedetechnik, which is
gaining a competitive edge in the technology required to produce forged parts from lightweight titanium aluminide, is
supplying MTU with high-end forged parts at no charge which
we can use for testing, processing and validation in the
demonstrator,” says Taferner, who is also responsible for
international technology cooperation projects at MTU. Other
organizations that have already got involved include Cobham
Composites, a British company specializing in composite products, Technische Universität München, and GFE, a manufacturer of high-performance metals and materials. “Once all
the CfPs are completed we will have some 20 to 30 partners
on board,” says Taferner. “The key to success is tight coordination and a good team spirit.”
All parties involved will be expected to put their very best
effort into ensuring that the engine demonstrator is ready to
show what it is capable of in 2014: “Plenty of work still lies
ahead of us, including component and rig tests to investigate
mechanical and aerodynamic properties and the conversion
of a GTF prototype engine from the Bombardier CSeries family which Pratt & Whitney will be making available to us at the
end of 2012,” notes Stegmaier, who is very much looking forward to the next stages of the project. “Ultimately, Clean Sky
will enable us to make another technological leap—that’s the
greatest asset we will gain from this.”
Klaus Stegmaier
+49 89 1489-5584
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A huge leap
forward on the
materials front
By Denis Dilba
A game-changing advance in technology, Computational
Materials Engineering (CME) allows materials to be developed much faster and in a more targeted way than before.
“This computer-aided simulation technique will halve development times at MTU Aero Engines, bringing about a
major reduction in time to market,” says Dr. Jörg Eßlinger,
Director, Materials Engineering at Germany’s leading engine
manufacturer. And that is just one of the advantages of
CME.
E
ngine manufacturing, with its exacting quality
requirements especially as regards safety-critical
aspects, is an area where it can take the better
part of a decade to develop materials, from coming up
with the idea for a new alloy to maturing it for production use. Among the most time-consuming parts of this
process are the optimization cycles required to produce
and characterize the material and process variants
under consideration until a material is found that meets
all cost and quality criteria. At times it is little more than
a process of trial and error, “albeit at an exceptionally
high level,” says MTU’s chief materials engineer.
“Unfortunately, we can never be entirely sure whether
the desired results are brought about by adding this or
that percentage of tantalum, molybdenum or cobalt to
a material, or by slightly modifying the heat treatment
of the material, until several weeks later, once all the
relevant testing has been completed.” Since the first
attempt rarely hits the bull’s eye and is unlikely to deliver the optimum result, the whole exercise must be repeated and refined again and again. But this is set to
change, as now—with the aid of computers—it is possible to tailor materials, production processes and components to precisely meet requirements.
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5
100
80
4
Ti/wt%
70
60
3
50
40
2
30
20
7
1
7
10
6
5
6
Al/wt%
4
5
Ta/wt%
3
4
2
Boundery Condition: Temperature 1050 °C
Thermodynamic equilibrium: The stable volume share of the precipitates which is decisive for
the material’s strength is predicted based on the Al, Ta and Ti content.
5
Ti/wt%
4
3
2
7
1
7
6
5
6
Al/wt%
4
5
Ta/wt%
3
4
2
Intersection volume between two working points
Improved by simulation: After an analysis of various temperature points the parameter range
can be restricted and the optimum material composition can be found.
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GammaPrime Volume Fraction (%)
90
This relatively new area of research has
emerged from a combination of basic science with conventional materials engineering. For a long time, these methods could not
be applied to materials research because of
the extreme complexity of the processes that
must be simulated. But now computers are
much more powerful, computational methods
have been refined, and there is a better understanding of the phenomena at atomic
level, according to Eßlinger. “With CME we
can tell in advance what effects new chemical
constituents or a particular set of production
parameters will have on an alloy’s microstructure, and hence on its mechanical strength.”
In Eßlinger’s view, CME will be become an
indispensable tool in the development of
materials, considering the exacting requirements emerging engines will have to satisfy.
“Things are bound to get more complex.”
More efficient engines, which will have to
operate at even higher temperatures than
those in service today, call for novel, advanced high-performance materials. “Each
engine stage will in future be manufactured
using the material that is best suited for the
job,” predicts Dr. Andreas FischersworringBunk, a structural mechanics engineer at
MTU. But for this to become a reality the
materials development expenditure must be
brought down. CME is a great help, as it permits a computer-based preselection of the
most promising material variants, which are
then produced in the conventional manner.
“The alloys thus selected are much more
likely to be suitable for the intended purpose,
which means we have fewer development
iterations to go through,” says Thomas
Göhler, who is writing his doctoral thesis at
MTU.
The precipitates are clearly visible under the scanning electron
microscope at 20,000X magnification.
material, but for fully ten percent of its price.
Without CME, the expenditure required to
replace this expensive transition metal would
be prohibitive. MTU engineers are also using
CME to optimize the heat input generated by
linear friction welding and to assess pores in
cast parts. “It allows us to evaluate more
quickly where pores are tolerable and where
they aren’t, and to determine how and where
exactly they occur,” adds Dr. Wilfried Smarsly,
Representative, Advanced Materials at MTU.
“That gives us significantly more flexibility in
production and design, and increases yield
rates.”
Actual microstructures are quantified by means of digital image
processing and compared with the simulation (red = contour data,
blue = surface area).
According to Eßlinger, CME would also be an
ideally suited tool for the additive manufacturing technologies that are now emerging:
“Here, the problem to solve is to define the
ranges in which the manufacturing parameters for the individual additive processes are
allowed to vary.” This determines whether the
desired level of component quality can be
achieved in the first place and, if so, what the
optimum parameter values are to achieve low
manufacturing costs and high quality. With
the help of the new simulation technique, it
will be possible to judge the potential of these
additive processes more accurately. More-
MTU is working together with universities on
many topics associated with CME. In the
assessment of pores, for example, the company cooperates with Technische Universität
München. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heike Emmerich,
who holds the chair for material and process
simulations at the University of Bayreuth, is
contributing to the work on a rhenium-free
single-crystal alloy. She is convinced that
CME will in the long term also permit inverse
material design. “That’s where you start with
the desired material properties and tailor the
appropriate material to them on the computer.”
But things have not got quite that far yet.
“Our current top priority is to learn and develop our capabilities, with research as a central
element,” says Eßlinger, who is certain that
“CME will soon be a tool we cannot afford to
do without.” He expects CME to become accepted as standard industry practice within
five to ten years. This should please customers, since “it gives them engines that are
optimized down to the last detail, burn less
fuel, and meet higher performance demands.”
A better understanding of materials allows
completely new alloys to be developed more
quickly and also permits existing ones to be
optimized. “What’s more, CME offers added
precision in calculating the safe service life
of components,” says Fischersworring-Bunk.
Overall, the CME approach helps improve the
high-temperature resistance and mechanical
strength of components while at the same
time reducing their weight. “And all this at
lower development costs.”
CME will save time and money in other areas,
too. Göhler explains that a rhenium-free nickel-base alloy is being developed at present.
This costly alloy constituent accounts for only
three percent of a conventional turbine blade
over, CME will allow processes suitable for
the manufacture of components to be finetuned in terms of buildup time and energy
input required.
Dr. Jörg Eßlinger
+49 89 1489-4691
Working shoulder to shoulder: Metallurgists and materials developers are jointly analyzing the material.
For interesting multimedia services
associated with this article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
29
Products + Services
Big
ambitions
By Bernd Bundschu
January 1, 2012 is set to be a landmark date for MTU Aero Engines:
It is the day on which the engine manufacturer will take on full responsibility for a key component of the GEnx engine for the Boeing
787 Dreamliner and the new Boeing 747-8. From that day forward,
every engine of this type will come with a turbine center frame (TCF)
made in Munich. The necessary production line at MTU’s Munich
plant is currently being ramped up—in record time.
„G
etting a project of such magnitude up and running in not
even half a year—that’s never been done before at MTU,”
remarks a delighted Wolfgang Hiereth, Director, GE Programs in Munich. The engine specialists reached a major
milestone on August 24 this year, when they handed over their first
TCF to a delegation of senior General Electric (GE) executives in the
traditional last-bolt ceremony. Production is scheduled to be up to full
capacity by the end of the year, by which time the production line will
be manufacturing and delivering one complete module each day.
“Even here at MTU, hardly any of us really believed that such a swift
ramp-up would be possible,” comments Hiereth proudly. “All of the
employees and departments involved did an amazing job; the ramp-up
was a demonstration of perfect teamwork.” The final preparations for
full-capacity assembly operations are now under way. “We’re well on
track, and will be able to meet our delivery commitments,” reports
Hiereth. The results of an MTU audit conducted by Boeing in September were highly satisfactory, too, and the airframer has every confidence in the company’s reliability. General Electric will start deliveries
to Boeing of the first GEnx engines equipped with the new MTU turbine
center frame at the end of 2011.
The TCF is the transition duct between the high-pressure and lowpressure turbines, and as such is exposed to extremely harsh operating conditions. Its function is to route the flow of hot gases exiting the
high-pressure turbine at a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees
Celsius past numerous structural components and tubes toward the
low-pressure turbine, keeping aerodynamic losses at a minimum. The
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Products + Services
MTU started to draw up plans for its innovative hub-strutcase production line in 2008, and commenced installation
work on the new production facility, which covers a surface area of 1,100 square meters, in 2010. “The concept
called for new machines, new tools, and a completely new
processing strategy,” recalls Keller. Working hand in hand
with the machine-tool manufacturer, the team developed
an ultramodern, customized, flexible manufacturing system capable of processing components with a diameter
of up to 1,300 millimeter. The 30-meter-long production
line features combined turning, milling and grinding machines with integrated part and tool measuring systems,
automated part feeding, a large tool magazine, and a
transfer line with a buffer capacity that allows up to
twelve workpieces to be lined up for processing in the
vicinity of the workstation. “Working three continuous
eight-hour shifts, 24 operators will be producing 240
HSC modules per year,” says Keller.
To shield the HSC modules from the heat of the gases
flowing through them, all inner surfaces are provided with
the so-called flowpath hardware (FPH). Peter Dirr,
Director, Airfoils and Flowpath Hardware, explains that
“the protection consists of a fairing, an inner and an outer
panel, and we need twelve of each of these.” The flowpath hardware is cast in MAR 247, a nickel-based alloy
with excellent high-temperature and hot-gas corrosion
resistance. MTU has set up an innovative FPH production
line, too, based on a novel concept including automated
part and tool feeding and an integrated tool and workpiece measurement system that ensures close to zero
deviation from specifications. The results of initial test
runs confirm its accuracy. Dirr reports: “Out of the 300
to 350 part dimensions inspected, only two or three deviated by a hundredth from the specified value. With results
like these, we will be able to significantly reduce production costs.”
The Boeing 747-8F is powered by GEnx engines. MTU contributes the turbine center frame to this new GE engine.
TCF for the GEnx engine was originally developed by GE
and subsequently modified by MTU when the German
company joined the program in late 2008 and took over
responsibility for this module. As Hiereth explains: “From
the outside, the MTU-designed TCF looks exactly like the
original GE version, but on the inside it’s completely different. One of the things we did was to optimize the walls
of the hot-gas duct, which makes huge demands on the
manufacturing process due to its complex, three-dimensional geometry. We also managed to reduce the module’s weight by optimizing its design.” GE was impressed
by and highly appreciative of the design changes undertaken by MTU.
32
The main component of the TCF is the hub-strut-case
(HSC) module, which consists of a hub, twelve struts and
the case. To save weight, the walls of these parts are very
thin, but they must nevertheless be strong enough to withstand the high mechanical and thermal loads resulting
from the difference in temperature between the ambient
air and the engine gases. The engineers’ solution to this
challenge was to manufacture the entire case, down to
the very last bolt, using Inconel, a ductile and extremely
heat-resistant chrome-nickel alloy. “It is a material that
demands a highly precise machining process,” notes Franz
Keller, Foreman, Hub-Strut-Case Production.
MTU has ramped up the TCF production line in record time.
The two new production lines will ensure a maximum of
efficiency, process stability and component quality, and
also help to shorten turnaround times. Hiereth notes: “As
a result of continuous improvements to the processes,
we’ve been able to comply with the specified schedule
requirements and will continue to work toward further
streamlining our processes and cutting manufacturing
cycle times.” The turbine center frames will be assembled on a newly installed, takt-based, moving production
line consisting of seven stations and a pre-assembly
area. This automated assembly line was yet another foray
into new territory for the engine experts in Munich, and
promises to augment the efficiency of TCF assembly, according to Hiereth. Training of the assembly-line operators
has already been completed.
Wolfgang Hiereth
+49 89 1489-3501
MTU CEO Egon Behle (left) and GEnx Product Manager Tom Walker, GE, at the
last bolt ceremony at MTU in Munich.
article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
33
Products + Services
Soft on the outside,
hard on the inside
By Daniel Hautmann
The cloud looked harmless enough, so the pilots of the Boeing 747-400 decided to fly straight
through it. Only when the four engines failed and the aircraft began to lose height did they realize their mistake. After several attempts, the engines finally sprang back into life, enabling the
pilots to make a safe landing. But what exactly had happened? The Boeing had strayed into a
cloud of volcanic ash and the sharp-edged ash particles had played havoc with its engines,
especially the blades. To prevent that from happening in the future, MTU has developed a new
coating.
D
ramatic events such as those recorded on the flight from Amsterdam
to Anchorage may be rare, but volcanic ash and other abrasive substances—especially sand, salt and ice—do regularly cause problems.
Their effect, which is similar to rough sandpaper, causes rapid engine wear,
with the blades of the high-pressure compressor affected particularly badly.
Material is eroded from the pressure side, cracks appear, and the trailing
edge is sharpened like a knife. “It’s as if you’d been sandblasting for hours,”
says Christoph Heck, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, The Americas at
MTU Maintenance Hannover. The result is often a drastic reduction in maintenance intervals—which drives costs sky-high. And, as if that weren’t
enough, the abrasive effect also alters the geometry of the blades, leading
to efficiency losses, increased fuel consumption and higher CO2 emissions.
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Products + Services
To help remedy this situation, MTU Aero Engines has
come up with ERCoatnt, a new special protective coating
which makes the blades and vanes of the high-pressure
compressor more resistant to wear. The coating is applied
by physical vapor deposition (PVD). A high-power arc evaporates and ionizes the coating material, and the metal
vapor condenses on the blades as a microscopic thin
film. The process can be controlled by adding reactive
gases to “tailor the film’s properties nanolayer by nanolayer”, as PVD technology process engineer Wolfgang
Eichmann explains.
The ERCoatnt process involves vapor deposition of more
than just one material. “You need at least one ceramic
and one metallic layer,” says Dr. Thomas Uihlein, the
overall project manager. The ceramic layer supplies the
necessary hardness, but would chip and flake off if left
exposed to the impact of grains of sand traveling at
1,000 kilometers per hour. That is why engineers add an
impact-absorbing metallic layer, explains Uihlein: “That’s
what enables us to achieve high ductility.” Depending on
the component, coatings may be vapor-deposited one
after the other on an alternating basis. A beneficial sideeffect is the fact that the blades become more resilient
to the vibrations that occur during flight. As Uihlein ex-
Volcanic ash
In April 2010, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull began an
eruption that went on for several weeks. Large parts of Europe’s
airspace were closed to air traffic as a result—and for good reason: Volcanic ash reduces visibility and can potentially cause
engine failure. Unlike sand, volcanic ash contains glass-like particles. These particles shatter, which reduces their impact energy
but increases their abrasive effect. “We got hold of some of the
ash and analyzed it,” says Dr. Thomas Uihlein. The results showed
that ERCoatnt can help: “The protection our coatings provide
against volcanic ash in the compressor is at least as good as the
protection they offer against sand.” Nevertheless, given the risk
of damage to the engine and airframe pilots are advised to avoid
flying through ash whenever the concentration is high.
plains, different materials are used depending on the
component’s base material, with examples including titanium and titanium nitride, or chromium and chromium
nitride: “It’s important to choose the right material for
each application.”
The idea for the new coating first emerged in 2003. When
the first blisks were used, customers asked for these hardto-repair components to be coated with wear-resistant
materials to extend their service life. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have also shown just how badly aircraft and
helicopter engines can be affected by dust and sand. So
MTU began developing solutions to tackle this problem.
In 2006, MTU was approached by Saudi Arabian Airlines,
which runs flights between Medina and Jeddah. The short
flights they are operating in sandstorm-prone desert
areas—with numerous take-offs and landings—make highperformance engine materials a must. For test purposes,
the German engine specialists installed what are known
as “rainbow engines” in some customers’ aircraft. These
feature uncoated and conventionally coated blades as
well as blades with MTU’s ERCoatnt protection side-byside in the same stage to allow comparisons to be made.
In the case of Saudi Arabian Airlines’ V2500-D5-powered
MD-90 aircraft, the engines were dismantled in 2010,
after two years of service and some 3,500 flying hours,
and painstakingly examined. Bernd Kriegl, a Munichbased expert in engine repairs, explains what they found:
“All the blades and vanes coated with MTU’s ERCoatnt
were still serviceable or repairable, while all the other
blades were heavily eroded and no longer in a repairable
condition. The results showed us that multilayer coatings
perform much better,” he adds.
Uncoated and coated compressor blades of a V2500 engine in service with Saudi
Arabian Airlines after two years of flight operations. The right-hand blade features
MTU’s erosion protection coating.
36
The use of ERCoatnt makes particular sense in the light of
increasing air traffic in the Middle East, North Africa and
parts of Asia, where deserts are expanding and where
sand can climb to heights of up to 15 kilometers. “The
Good, better, best: Compressor blades from a CF6-80: uncoated, with conventional coating and with MTU’s erosion protection coating (from left).
MTU-coated blades suffer minimal wear in service, so the
high-pressure compressor will keep performing in its
optimum range for longer. That increases engine efficiency, cuts fuel consumption and reduces CO2 emissions. It
also means that the blades are maintained in a condition
where they can still be repaired rather than having to be
replaced,” says Christoph Heck.
With the emissions trading scheme due to come into force
next year, technologies that help save fuel—such as the
MTU-developed coating process—are in great demand.
Ultimately, the novel coating offers the potential to
ensure optimum blade performance for all airlines—not
just those whose aircraft are constantly flying through
sandstorms. Components with ERCoatnt have so far
notched up a total of 15,000 flight hours. Extended
approval for used and repaired blades is already well on
track, with approval for the CF6-80 expected to be granted before the end of this year and that for the CFM56 and
V2500 to follow in 2012. Perhaps that will go some way
to reducing people’s fear of sandstorms and clouds of
volcanic ash.
For additional information, contact:
Dr. Thomas Uihlein
+49 89 1489-3812
Wear-resistant coatings allow military aircraft and helicopters to remain in service for
longer periods, particularly in hot and sandy regions.
article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
37
Products + Services
T
Service in the desert
By Bernd Bundschu
Turkmenistan is pinning its hopes on a golden future—hard to imagine for a country that is mostly
desert. Yet treasure lies beneath the sands in the form of huge deposits of oil and natural gas.
The Dauletabad field in the south of the country is one of the world’s largest gas fields. Western
technology has been brought in to help the country exploit these natural resources. Among the
equipment are three LM2500 DLE units. MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg is responsible for
maintaining these industrial gas turbines (IGTs).
urkmenistan is the most southern of the
Central Asian nations. A former Soviet state
which gained its independence in 1991, it
borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan,
Iran and—across the Caspian Sea—Azerbaijan.
Turkmenistan is slightly larger than the state of
California in the U.S., but only has around 4.8
million inhabitants. Most of the country’s income
comes from its energy exports, with Turkmenistan featuring among the world’s top 12 gas producers and top six gas exporters. Turkmenistan
has also been discussed as a possible gas supplier for the European Nabucco project, the
planned alternative gas route to the Russian
South Stream pipeline.
The Dauletabad gas field is situated some 400
kilometers to the south-east of the capital city of
Ashgabat in Ahal Province near the borders with
Iran and Afghanistan. It is named after the nearest settlement just across the border in Iran. The
size of the natural gas field is estimated at some
710 billion cubic meters. The field was first discovered in 1974. State-owned company Turkmen
Gas began exploiting the vast gas resources
eight years later. Some of Dauletabad’s gas
makes its way to Turkmenistan’s neighbor Iran,
and also to Europe via Russia. Before the gas can
be transported through the pipeline it has to be
compressed. This is accomplished by a number
of compressor stations along the pipeline route.
The “Dauletabad-2” station contains three gas
compressors, each of which is powered by an
LM2500 DLE gas turbine.
The General Electric LM2500 DLE is a derivative
of the CF6-6 aircraft engine. It has a 16-stage
compressor, an annular combustor and a twostage high-pressure turbine. The downstream free
power turbine boasts high levels of efficiency,
and the exhaust gas from the variants equipped
with a Dry Low Emissions (DLE) combustion system is remarkably clean. The LM2500 is the most
widely used gas turbine in the 20- to 25-megawatt class and has been included in MTU’s maintenance portfolio since 1981. “Our first contact
with TurkmenGas was back in 2005,” recalls Ralf
Kansok, Sales Manager, Africa, Turkey, Central
Asia & Brazil and the person responsible for the
TurkmenGas operates three LM2500 DLE industrial gas turbines at its “Dauletabad-2” compressor station.
38
For overhaul the IGT heavyweights are shipped from the Turkmen desert to MTU Maintenance
Berlin-Brandenburg.
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Products + Services
project at MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg. The
company has signed contracts worth a total of some
eight million U.S. dollars. “The agreement requires us to
perform inspections and minor on-site repairs and to
overhaul the three LM2500 DLE gas turbines.” The maintenance work is carried out at MTU Maintenance BerlinBrandenburg in Ludwigsfelde. Two or three MTU service
engineers remove the complete gas turbines in Dauletabad and ship them to Germany. Once the units have been
overhauled, they are reinstalled in the compressor station
and put back into operation. The overhaul includes DLE
mapping services to increase fuel efficiency and reduce
emissions.
But before the MTU service engineers can get down to
work on site in Dauletabad, several weeks of preparations are needed to complete the formalities. The journey
of some 4,000 kilometers to travel to Turkmenistan is far
from easy. MTU’s team starts by taking a plane from
Berlin to Ashgabat via Istanbul, a flight time of some six
hours. After a night in a hotel, they set off the next morning on a six-hour car journey heading south-east along
the Turkmenistan-Iran border until they reach an encampment in the middle of the desert, which will be their
home for nearly two weeks. One person who is always on
the team is project manager Ralf Kansok, who is familiar
with the local circumstances. “Communication is always
a tough one on this project,” says Stephen Naumann,
Senior Manager, Field Service at MTU Maintenance. “If
you don’t speak Russian or have an interpreter then you’re
stuck. And what makes things worse is that Russian and
Turkmen are two different languages.”
Outside Ashgabat, rural life poses some significant challenges. Europeans struggle to get used to the food and
accommodation, and some of the MTU employees have
already experienced health problems as a result of the
poor hygiene standards. Getting to grips with local formal
procedures and decision-making processes, too, is a
challenge. Says Kansok: “It’s a tedious process which—
from the signing of the contract, through the necessary
approvals by a myriad of local agencies, authorities and
ministries—takes months, if not years before you have a
legally binding services agreement in hand. Unfortunately, pending the finalization of the contract, activities are
put on ice, even if the work is urgently needed to keep
the gas compressor in serviceable condition.”
Two or three MTU service engineers remove the complete gas turbines in Dauletabad
and accompany them to Germany. The experts also supervise reinstallation.
40
During the MTU employees’ three-week field service assignment in July this year, two of the three LM2500s were
successfully recommissioned. “This marked a key milestone for the project as a whole,” according to Kansok.
“We were not at all sure if we could get the installations
up and running again, given that one of the gas turbines
had been out of operation for fully a year, and the other
even for three years. Now the third LM2500 DLE, which
was long due for major overhaul, too, could be removed
and prepared for shipment to Ludwigsfelde.” The operating conditions for gas turbines in Turkmenistan are harsh,
The LM2500 gas turbines are disassembled and overhauled in MTU’s Ludwigsfelde shop. MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg is MTU’s center of excellence for IGTs.
with cold, damp winters and extremely hot, dry summers
when temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius. The
situation is exacerbated by the fine desert sand that
accelerates wear and regularly blocks up the air filters. If
something goes wrong with one of the IGTs, the only solution in most cases is improvisation and patience, because getting hold of spare parts locally is virtually impossible. “Neither the local operator nor the TurkmenGas
headquarters in Ashgabat have the necessary authority
to procure parts,” says Kansok. “Throw in the fact that
there is no roaming partner for European cell phones and
only sporadic Internet access, and you see that satellite
phones are pretty much the only reliable alternative. To
make things even more difficult, none of the major international parcel services will deliver to Turkmenistan.” All
this results in a permanent shortage of spare parts.
Nevertheless, Kansok thinks the situation is improving in
Turkmenistan and that plenty of things are changing for
the better: “Since 2006, when a currency reform took
place, we’ve seen some improvements in infrastructure
plus a big drop in the number of security checks all across
the country.” In view of the steady increase in energy
exports, Kansok feels that the Central Asian country
remains an interesting growth market, especially for MTU
Maintenance. “Turkmenistan is already in the process of
building or planning several new compressor stations
equipped with LM2500s for the Dauletabad field.”
Ralf Kansok
+49 3378 824-817
41
Global
By Martina Vollmuth
Breathtaking growth rates, plans underway for 45 new airports, a demand for several thousand
aircraft, and 160 billion euros in government funding: The news from China shows the country’s
determination to push forward with its sky-high ambitions. Plans are now on the table to build a
new engine for the first short- and medium-range airliner to be made in China, the C919. MTU is
looking for ways of contributing its technologies, and the company’s engine experts are busy
sounding out opportunities for cooperation.
42
E
gon Behle has never had any doubt that China is
serious about becoming a technology powerhouse.
“The country has the resources and the will to create a powerful aviation industry.” MTU Aero Engines’ CEO
estimates that in the next one to two years a Chinese
consortium will be established to develop a competitive
engine, and, as Behle emphasizes: “We would like to make
a contribution.” Working out exactly how this kind of
commitment could pan out is the job of an interdisciplinary MTU team led by Dr. Christian Winkler, Director,
Business Development, and Klaus Müller, Senior Vice
President, Corporate Development.
The options range from the development of supplier relationships to collaboration on engine design or setting up
a joint venture with Chinese engine manufacturer AVIC
Commercial Aircraft Engine Company (ACAE). “We are
currently in the process of performing a cycle study
together with ACAE, which will enable us to determine
what an engine for the C919 must be like," says Winkler.
At the same time, discussions are being held to establish
the terms of a potential joint venture—Müller envisages a
partnership similar to the one MTU has in the maintenance sector with China Southern Airlines—and contact
is being made with suppliers. All these steps are being
carried out in close consultation with MTU’s strategic
partner, Pratt & Whitney.
Müller and Winkler hope this proactive approach will
boost MTU’s presence in China. Müller explains: “China
is a huge market with breathtaking growth rates and forecasts. We very much want to be a part of that. But we
also want to make a contribution toward technological
development.” Germany’s leading engine manufacturer
has already successfully established itself as a partner to
China Southern Airlines, the country’s biggest airline,
through MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. In the ten years since
it was founded, the engine shop in the Zhuhai Special
Economic Zone has developed into the biggest provider
of maintenance services for commercial aircraft engines
43
Global
the jet. “We want to bring our core competencies to the
table—our low-pressure turbine technology and our highpressure compressor expertise,” Winkler says. And that
might only be the start: MTU is also weighing up the possibility of taking on further work packages, additional
modules and system management tasks. Care must be
taken to make absolutely sure that everything MTU contributes meets the statutory requirements for export and
technology transfer abroad, confirms Winkler. “We are
working closely with the Federal Office of Economics and
Export Control.”
For the engine experts from Munich a participation in the
C919 engine would create a whole new dimension: Next
to the Advanced Regional Jet ARJ21, the Chinese 150-to190-passenger jet is one of the two aircraft that the
Chinese are hoping will propel their aviation industry into
the major league. The idea is that the C919 should break
the existing duopoly of Boeing and Airbus and offer serious competition to the short- and medium-haul A320 and
Boeing 737. New aircraft in the narrowbody segment are
also being built by Russia (the MS-21) and Canada (the
CSeries). Boeing and Airbus are all too aware of China’s
enormous clout in the marketplace and are watching
developments very carefully: The schedule drawn up by
the C919 manufacturer, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), envisages that the C919’s
maiden flight will occur in 2014 and that deliveries of the
jets will commence just two years later. COMAC plans to
produce 50 aircraft a year. The company estimates
domestic and foreign demand to be in the region of 2,000
aircraft.
The C919 is the first short- to medium-range jet developed and built in the People’s Republic of China. Its maiden flight is scheduled for 2014.
The new terminal of Beijing Capital International Airports is the largest building of the
world.
in China, and is now hoping to become the biggest for the
whole of Asia. To boost capacity, the site is now being
expanded, with the construction work scheduled for
completion next year. Hoping to play an ever-more active
role in the country, MTU opened a representative office
in Shanghai at the beginning of last year to coordinate all
the company’s activities in the region. The office is run by
Melody Liu and was set up after MTU and ACAE signed
an agreement in late 2009 to perform a joint study to explore options of building a domestic aircraft engine
industry in China. The aim of the study was to evaluate
what structure a local engine company should adopt to be
viable and what technologies will be needed for emerging
engines to be successful in the Chinese market. Liu is
confident that the prospects for success are excellent: “If
China could only choose one partner, it would go for
Germany—for German precision coupled with Chinese
speed is a sure-fire recipe for success.”
One thing is clear: The envisaged engine to power the
C919 is expected to be at least as good as the CFM
International Leap-X, which has already been chosen for
44
China is vigorously pressing ahead with its plans to
expand the rest of its aviation sector, too. The government has pledged to invest more than 160 billion euros
in a five-year plan that includes building 45 new airports,
expanding and modernizing 88 existing airports and relocating a further 20, all by 2015. China’s ambitions also
extend to the skies: The country aims to increase its
present aircraft fleet—including the general aviation sector—from 2,400 to 5,000. For now, that means more aircraft purchases, though in the future this demand could
be covered by domestic production. Air traffic in the
world’s most populous nation is growing at double-digit
rates—faster than in any other country—and the prospects are huge: The Civil Aviation Administration of China
(CAAC) expects passenger numbers to double over the
next five years to between 450 and 500 million. By 2030,
it estimates that this number will have risen to some 1.5
billion passengers a year, which would make China the
biggest aviation market in the world.
Market leader in China: MTU Maintenance Zhuhai maintains V2500 and other engines.
Klaus Müller
+49 89 1489-5401
article, go to
www.mtu.de/report
45
Report
The “elegant”
way to fly
By Achim Figgen
Hans von Ohain was taken aback by the noise and vibrations he experienced on his first flight in an early 1930s passenger plane. But his
disappointment ultimately led to one of the greatest revolutions ever
seen in aviation history: The young physicist plunged into the world of
engineering and, with financial support from Ernst Heinkel, developed
a novel aircraft engine to power the world's first all-jet aircraft. The jet
engine pioneer would have been 100 years old this year.
A
nyone who has ever taken a long flight in an old piston-engine aircraft—particularly in poor weather and
at low altitude—will appreciate just how uncomfortable this form of transport must have been. Yet it was still an
expensive luxury that few people could afford at the time.
One person who did get the chance to experience it was
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain, who was born on December
14, 1911 in Dessau. He had just turned 20 and was studying
physics at the University of Göttingen when he took his first
flight in a three-engined Junkers from Cologne to Berlin, but
von Ohain was far from impressed: “The propellers made a
horrendous noise. The airplane rattled because it had piston
engines,” he said, conceding that “it was not as romantic as
I thought it would be”. Romantic inclinations are perhaps the
last thing one would expect from an otherwise rationally
minded scientist, but von Ohain had also been a member of
the university flying club where he had discovered the delights of sailing soundlessly through the air in a glider. He
found it hard to accept that commercial flights could not
somehow be made as gentle and elegant.
In May 1981, Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain paid a visit to MTU where Dr. Wolfgang Hansen, MTU’s director, quality assurance explained how the HeS-3B was rebuilt.
46
47
Report
There are only two reconstructions of the world’s first fully functional jet engine. They are now exhibited at Deutsches Museum in Munich and the National Air and
Space Museum in Washington.
The HeS-3B featured an axial and a radial compressor, an annular combustor, and a single-stage radial turbine.
In contrast to many of his more theoretically
minded colleagues, von Ohain—the son of a
noble family from the Belgian town of Ohain
who changed their name from “de Pape” to
Pabst when they moved to Saxony in the
15th century—was no stranger to the practical sides of life. For one thing, he was the
proud owner of an automobile, a prestigious
hobby that required him to make regular visits to a mechanic’s shop. He soon struck up
a friendship with the car mechanic Max Hahn,
a relationship that would later prove to be
tremendously fruitful. Back then, Göttingen
was also the place to be for German aeronautical researchers, playing host to renowned professors such as Ludwig Prandtl
and Theodore von Kármán.
It is said that this unconventional approach
was typical of him throughout his life—as was
his ability to always find the right backer for
his projects. One example was his doctoral
adviser Professor Robert W. Pohl, who quickly recognized “the ease with which he can
apply his knowledge of theoretical physics to
practical problems” and who encouraged his
student to put his ideas for a jet engine into
practice. When the preliminary tests performed with the help of Max Hahn in the car
repair shop using a simplified engine model
proved unsuccessful, it was again Pohl who
told von Ohain that he lacked “a substantial
knowledge of technology” and would need to
seek the support of industry to solve critical
issues, particularly his problems with the
combustion chamber.
In 1933, during his seventh semester at university, von Ohain finally began working in
48
The young Hans Joachim Pabst von
Ohain.
earnest on his idea for a vibration-free aircraft engine. At that time, the piston engine,
which used a propeller to move the aircraft
forward, was the be-all and end-all of engine
design. But the physics student decided to
pursue a different route by attempting to
obtain thrust from combustion gases produced by mixing compressed air with fuel
and igniting them. The idea in itself was nothing new; scientists from several European
countries had already toyed with this concept and filed patents. But Hans von Ohain
knew nothing of this, and he did not carry
out any research into existing literature, as
he explained years later: “It is better to rely
on your own thoughts and invent everything
from scratch. This method gives you a good
chance of avoiding the errors that thwart
other thinkers.”
Ernst Heinkel (2nd from left) on the test field from which the He 178 took off.
49
Report
Hans Joachim
Pabst von Ohain
1911
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain is born on
December 14 in Dessau.
The Heinkel He 178 was the world’s first all-jet aircraft.
Messerschmitt or BMW would have been the logical place to start,
but von Ohain made a different choice that at first glance seemed a
strange one: He decided to take a gamble on the Heinkel aircraft
works in Rostock. The owner, Ernst Heinkel, who was considered to
be slightly mad, was obsessed with speed, very wealthy, and owned
a company that had never before had anything to do with engine
design. But in von Ohain’s mind, this was the perfect choice, because
he feared that a manufacturer of piston engines would reject his revolutionary ideas, which so far only existed on paper.
his time at the University of Göttingen and at Heinkel as it was during
his subsequent work in the United States.
After World War II, von Ohain was brought to the U.S. by ‘Operation
Paperclip’ together with many other key German researchers. He
spent many years working as a scientist at various U.S. Air Force
research institutes in Ohio. After retiring, he became a professor at
50
1937
The HeS-1 experimental engine is tested for the
first time—using hydrogen fuel.
1939
August 27 marks the maiden flight of the first
aircraft with a jet engine: the He 178 powered
by the HeS-3B.
1941
March 30 sees the maiden flight of the He 280
fighter jet prototype powered by two HeS-8
engines.
The decision turned out to be a good one: On March 3, 1936,
Professor Pohl wrote a letter of recommendation to Heinkel, who met
up with von Ohain for the first time just 15 days later. The two men
signed a contract on April 3, and von Ohain’s capable colleague Max
Hahn was taken on board at the same time. Heinkel had eagerly taken
the bait and provided the young Dr. von Ohain—he had completed his
Ph.D. in physics in 1935—with all the financial and staffing support he
needed, thereby giving him a critical edge over his British counterpart
Frank Whittle, whose ideas had met with a remarkable lack of interest. So it was that the German test pilot Erich Warsitz became the
first person to fly a jet-engined aircraft on August 27, 1939 with the
successful maiden flight of a purpose-built Heinkel He 178 equipped
with an HeS-3B jet engine—almost two years before the British Gloster
E.28/39 with its Whittle W.1 engine finally embarked on its first flight
on May 15, 1941.
With typical modesty—even his future parents-in-law did not know
their daughter was engaged to marry the inventor of the jet engine
until the actual wedding—von Ohain always insisted that he could
never have implemented his designs without the help of people such
as Ernst Heinkel and Max Hahn. Yet it seems likely that an equally
important factor on top of his extraordinary technical expertise was
his personality: Friendly and engaging, von Ohain motivated his colleagues and staff to excel at what they did and secured all the support he needed to further his own work. This was just as true during
1936
First meeting with Ernst Heinkel on March 18.
1947
von Ohain is taken to the U.S. as part of Operation Paperclip where he starts work for the U.S.
Air Force as a scientist at Wright Field (known
as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base since 1948).
1949
Marries Hanny Schukat in November.
1963
Appointed chief scientist of the Aerospace
Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base.
1975
Becomes chief scientist of the Air Force Aero
Propulsion Laboratory.
Peter Pletschacher, Josef Hareiner, Dr. Walter Rathjen and
Dr. Wolfgang Hansen (from left) accompany Ohain and his wife
on a company tour of MTU’s Munich facility.
Two aviation pioneers: On October 26, 1979 Sir Frank Whittle (2nd from left) and
Dr. Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (2nd from right) met in Washington.
the University of Dayton, to some extent fulfilling a dream he had harbored in his earlier years of becoming a tenured professor at a German
university.
“Hans von Ohain is a great example of German innovation and engineering skills which continue to enjoy an outstanding reputation all
over the world,” enthuses Dr. Rainer Martens, Chief Operating Officer
at MTU Aero Engines. Germany’s leading engine manufacturer sees
itself as part of this tradition and keeps the flame of von Ohain’s legacy alive: In the late 1970s and early 1980s MTU produced two reconstructions of the He S 3B, the world’s first fully functional jet engine,
with the support of the pioneer himself. They are now exhibited at
Deutsches Museum in Munich and the National Air and Space Museum
in Washington. The engine industry has since become a global business and, as Martens emphasizes, it remains a genuinely high-tech
segment that offers solid and secure employment to many thousands
of people across Germany—in no small measure thanks to the foundations von Ohain laid. “We are obviously proud of ‘our’ Hans von
Ohain,” he adds.
With his background in physics, von Ohain essentially came to the
industry as an outsider, and Martens has long pondered the question
of whether someone like him would nowadays have any chance of
ending up as an engine designer. As MTU’s chief operating officer
notes, there is an ongoing need for engineers with a thorough grounding in theoretical science, “and there is no reason they couldn’t be
physicists.”
1979
After retiring, serves as a professor at the
University of Dayton Research Institute.
1998
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain dies in
Melbourne, Florida, on March 13.
Odilo Mühling
+49 89 1489-2698
www.mtu.de/report
51
In Brief
MTU Aero Engines takes 18-percent share in
the PurePower® PW1100G-JM engine program
MTU Aero Engines has taken an 18-percent share in the PurePower®
PW1100G-JM engine program which is currently being developed for
the emerging Airbus A320neo aircraft family. This has been agreed
between MTU, JAEC and Pratt & Whitney, the leading OEM partner
company in this program. According to the agreement, MTU will also
take on a portion of the final engine assembly and test of the
PW1100G – a new role for MTU in a high-volume commercial engine
program. “We are very proud to have succeeded in increasing our
program share and taking on a major role in engine assembly. Our
participation in the geared turbofan engine programs will be a major
driver of future growth for MTU”, said MTU CEO Egon Behle.
The 18-percent share in the PW1100G-JM program for the A320neo
aircraft family is three percent more than the previously agreed shares
in the other PurePower® engine programs. In addition to the complete
low-pressure turbine and the first four stages of the high-pressure
compressor (HPC), MTU will provide the brush seals. Also new is a
manufacturing portion of HPC nickel blisks. The portion of final engine assembly and test is also included in MTU’s increased workshare. Furthermore, both partners have agreed to raise MTU’s stake
in the PW1500G engine program for Bombardier CSeries aircraft from
15 to 17 percent.
MTU scores big
at Le Bourget
CF34s from Mexico
A new agreement now concluded opens the
door for MTU to expand into the Central and
South American CF34-10 market: AeroMexico
Connect has concluded an exclusive contract with MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg and will send all of its engines of this
type—up to 37 propulsion systems in total—to
the Ludwigsfelde-based company for MRO
services. The agreement covers the engines
powering the operator’s current fleet of eight
Embraer 190 regional jets, plus another nine
of the twinjet it has on firm order. The deal
will run until 2022 and be worth at least 57
million euros (79 million U.S. dollars) in revenues for MTU.
Editor
MTU Aero Engines GmbH
Eckhard Zanger
Senior Vice President Corporate Communications
and Public Affairs
Managing editor
Torunn Siegler
Tel. +49 89 1489-6626
Fax +49 89 1489-4303
torunn.siegler@mtu.de
Editor in chief
Martina Vollmuth
Tel. +49 89 1489-5333
Fax +49 89 1489-8757
martina.vollmuth@mtu.de
Address
MTU Aero Engines GmbH
Dachauer Straße 665
www.mtu.de
Realization
Heidrun Moll
Editorial staff
Bernd Bundschu, Denis Dilba, Achim Figgen,
Silke Hansen, Daniel Hautmann, Odilo Mühling,
Andreas Spaeth, Martina Vollmuth
Blisks from
TECT Power
U.S. company TECT Power will deliver as many as
800 compressor blisks a year to MTU under a
strategic agreement concluded for the term of ten
years. MTU is among the world’s most highly experienced blisk manufacturers and estimates its annual production volume at 4,000 of these integrally bladed disks. The components will be produced
at MTU’s plant in Munich and in the U.S., with
every fifth blisk being supplied by TECT Power as
part of the cooperative effort.
The CF34-10 engines powering Aeromexico’s Embraer 190 regional jets are maintained by MTU Maintenance
Berlin-Brandenburg.
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai
and Skynet Asia Airways
sign contract
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai and Japanese Skynet Asia
Airways (SNA) will be cooperating on the maintenance of CFM56-7 engines operated by the airline. A
contract to this effect was inked by Toshio Kurokawa,
General Manager, Maintenance and Engineering, SNA,
and Holger Sindemann, President MTU Maintenance
Zhuhai, at the Aviation Expo China in late September. The agreement now concluded runs for an initial
five years; if renewed for another five years, it will
cover the engines powering 13 Boeing 737NG jets
that are currently going into service with the
Japanese airline.
Signed a cooperation agreement:
Toshio Kurokawa, General Manager,
maintenance and engineering, SNA
(left) and Holger Sindemann, President
and CEO, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai
The new Boeing 747-8 was one of the major attractions at this year’s Paris Air Show. The aircraft is powered by GEnx engines.
New supplier from China
For MTU Aero Engines, this year’s Paris Air Show was a huge success: In late June,
MTU CEO Egon Behle reported that the company had bagged orders in the total
amount of more than 600 million euros. “That’s a figure that is twice as high as
two years ago,” explained Behle. Deals have been concluded for the PurePower®
PW1000G geared-turbofan family, the GEnx engine powering the Boeing 747-8,
and the popular V2500 for standard A320 jets.
MTU will soon use finished parts made in China to manufacture commercial engine components. At the Aviation Expo China in late September, Germany’s leading engine manufacturer
and Chinese company Xi’an Aero-Engine Plc. (XAE) concluded a deal for the supply of a total
of 53 finished parts—rotating and stationary rings, disks, and small turned/milled parts—for
use in the commercial engines V2500, GP7000, PW2000 and smaller Pratt & Whitney Canada
engines. The first deliveries are scheduled to arrive at MTU in Munich early next year. The
value of the procurement contracts is expected to increase to six million euros by 2016.
52
Masthead
Robert S. Cohen, President of TECT Power (left) talking to MTU COO Dr. Rainer Martens.
Layout
Manfred Deckert
Sollnerstraße 73
Photo credits
Cover Page: MTU Aero Engines
Pages 2–3 Eurofighter GmbH; Fotolia;
MTU Aero Engines
Pages 4–5 AirTeamImages; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 6–9 Air New Zealand; DHK; MTU Aero
Engines
Pages 10–13 Andreas Spaeth; Mitsubishi Aircraft
Cooperation; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 14–17 Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftund Raumfahrtindustrie e.V. (BDLI);
Eurofighter GmbH; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 18–21 GE - Aviation; Sikorsky Aircraft Cooperation; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 22–25 Airbus, Bombardier; Clean Sky Joint
Undertaking; Pratt & Whitney
Pages 26–29 MTU Aero Engines
Pages 34–37 US Air Force; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 42–45 Commercial Aircraft Corporation of
China (COMAC); Foster + Partners;
Fotolia; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 46–51 Deutsches Museum; MTU Aero Engines
Pages 52–53 Aeromexico; Boeing; MTU Aero Engines
Printed by
EBERL PRINT GmbH
Kirchplatz 6
87509 Immenstadt • Germany
Contributions credited to authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors. We will
not be held responsible for unsolicited material.
Reprinting of contributions is subject to the
editors’ approval.
53

MTU Report (Page 2 - 3)

Transcription

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