Fine airborne particles, which are also referred to as “dust,” are naturally suspended in the first few thousand feet of air. Some of these particles are no wider than one-tenth the width of a human hair. During flight take-off, commercial jet engines can ingest them.
The microphysical properties, dust emissions, and source regions of atmospheric dust are not fully understood at the fundamental level, resulting in atmospheric models that are unable to accurately replicate its effects. Additionally, there is a significant amount of dust observations conducted using ground-based instrumentation, remote sensing, and aircraft. However, these observations are not uniformly distributed, and they are particularly scarce in the vicinity of the largest dust sources.
Over time, and particularly in humid and harsh environments worldwide, these particles can infiltrate an engine’s core, resulting in the deterioration of critical components and a decline in the engine’s efficiency and durability.
The Leap engines experienced this issue, which prompted criticism from airline owners.
Premature deterioration of turbine components has been a substantial concern, particularly for engines that operate in these extreme environments, according to reports. The CEO of Safran observed that the LEAP engines operate properly in typical conditions; however, they encounter “slightly more difficult” obstacles in harsher climates, resulting in increased maintenance and repair requirements.
Furthermore, the reliability of these engines has been called into question by incidents involving HPT blade failures. CFM was compelled to redesign these components to improve their durability, as investigations disclosed severe damage to HPT blades in numerous instances.
CFM International, a 50-50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines, developed a solution to these minute particles after conducting extensive testing, studying the effects, and responding to customer feedback, particularly in the Middle East. The company’s enhanced high-pressure turbine (HPT) hardware durability package, which was developed for CFM LEAP-1A engines that power the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft, was certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration on December 6.
The LEAP-1A engine’s durability and time on the wing will be increased by the durability kit, which includes the HPT stage 1 blade, HPT stage 1 nozzle, and forward inner nozzle support. This will assist customers in maintaining the operation of their fleets, particularly in sweltering and harsh environments.
Gaël Méheust, president and chief executive officer of CFM International, said this new hardware is fulfilling the company’s commitment to guarantee that LEAP-1A engines attain the same level of maturity, durability, and time on wing that the customers have experienced with the CFM56 product line.
The development process necessitated approximately 15 years of laboratory work, the analysis of millions of hours of field data, and the creation of a homemade compound that replicated the effects of earthly dust particles, which GE Aerospace engineers affectionately refer to as “pixie dust”, and the subjecting of a series of LEAP-1A engines to a battery of dust ingestion simulations in test cells.
In an article published last year, Carlos Perez, senior director of engineering for LEAP engines at GE Aerospace, who participated in the tests at the company’s headquarters in Cincinnati, stated that the dust tests on LEAP-1A engines are some of the longest endurance tests the company has ever conducted in terms of simulating the environments seen in the Middle East.
The compressor that supplies air to the combustion chamber is powered by HPT blades, which are located in the engine’s interior and rotate at a rate of thousands of revolutions per minute (RPM) in temperatures that are hot enough to melt wrought iron. Ultimately, the dust ingestion experiments were able to replicate the wear on the HPT stage 1 blade of the LEAP-1A engine that operators were observing in the field.
Engineers were able to make subtle but significant changes by observing the impact of this on the components, resulting in the optimization of the casting and cooling of the HPT blade, as well as the enhancement of the blade tip and trailing edge design. The HPT stage 1 nozzle and forward inner nozzle support were also modified to enhance the system’s durability.
“Now!” Do you think this improvement comes at a performance tradeoff?” “Let us know in the comments.” Please like and share our videos and subscribe to our channel. Please also take membership in our channel to encourage us.”
Official Website of Youtube Channel – Altitude Addicts