Sigma Labs Inc (SASI)

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CFM’s big certification test

My favorite parts:

"This engine completed its first ground test pro­gramme in early July, validating all of the advanced technologies in the engine"

And:

"In January 2014 the LEAP-1A - the very first LEAP engine tested - successfully completed a se­ries of early icing tests, one year ahead of required certification testing. The engine behaved very well in extremely harsh conditions, validating pre-test predictions and reinforcing the company's confi­dence that the engine will certify on time, and meet the performance and reliability promises made to its customers."

FULL Article:
September 4 2013 was a big day for CFM Inter­national and the thousands of employees around the world who had devoted countless hours getting there. On that day the company started testing the first full LEAP engine at GE's facilities in Peebles, Ohio, two days ahead of a schedule that had been set in April 2010. It was a tremendous achievement but, rather than the culmination of a lot of hard work, it was only the beginning.

Over the next three years CFM will run a total of 60 different engine builds and log more than 40,000 engine cycles - the equivalent of 15 years' commercial airline service - before the first LEAP engine is delivered to an airline customer.

"This is the biggest certification programme in the history of CFM, or either of our parent compa­nies for that matter," says Allen Paxson, CFM ex­ecutive vice-president. "I am not sure anyone in the industry has ever undertaken such a monumental programme. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

"We believe that the LEAP engine will be the best-in-class in the single-aisle arena. Our job over the next three years is to prove it. We are putting this engine through its paces to ensure that it will do everything we have promised and more. If there are problems, we intend to find them on our test stands rather than on our customers' airplanes," he adds.

The LEAP engine certification programme is proceeding on schedule. As of June there were five engines, including the LEAP-1A, LEAP-1B and LEAP-1C variants, on test and the company was on track to have a total of 20 engines on test by year end.

A major milestone in 2014 was the start of the LEAP-1B engine testing on June 13, three days ahead of schedule, at Snecma (Safran) facilities in Villaroche, France. As with the LEAP-1A, the LEAP-1B engine started the first time and, after a series of break-in runs, was running at full power in a matter of hours.

This engine completed its first ground test pro­gramme in early July, validating all of the advanced technologies in the engine, including the carbon fibre composite fan, the twin annular pre-mixing swirler (TAPS) combustor, the CMC shrouds and the high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade design. The engine demonstrated smooth mechanical opera­tion, robust starting and excellent operability.

In January 2014 the LEAP-1A - the very first LEAP engine tested - successfully completed a se­ries of early icing tests, one year ahead of required certification testing. The engine behaved very well in extremely harsh conditions, validating pre-test predictions and reinforcing the company's confi­dence that the engine will certify on time, and meet the performance and reliability promises made to its customers.

Another LEAP-1A engine is undergoing early block testing. This is one of the most gruelling the engine will endure. During the course of this test the engine is operating at triple redline: maximum fan speed; maximum core speed; and maximum exhaust gas temperature. Results to date are in line with pre-test predictions and are giving the company even more confidence going into the certification block test, scheduled to begin year-end 2014.

Both the LEAP-1C and LEAP-1A configu­rations were on track for flight testing on GE's modified Boeing 747 flying testbed at its facilities in Victorville, California. The LEAP-1C completed a ground test programme in early July, and will be the first variant to fly.

"We couldn't be happier with the results we are achieving," says Cédric Goubet, CFM's execu­tive vice-president, "and our team continues to do a phenomenal job of keeping this programme on schedule. We are subjecting this engine to conditions more severe than it will likely ever see in commercial service, and it has met every chal­lenge beautifully. As our engineers say, this engine wants to run and we have had many instances of it running 20-plus hours a day, non-stop. The LEAP engine will absolutely deliver everything we have promised and more."

Through the end of June the five LEAP engines had accumulated 1,500 cycles in the early stages of testing. This comes after nearly six years of exhaustive component and rig testing, including three core tests (525 total hours); a 5,000-cycle endurance test on the composite fan; bird ingestion and fan blade-out rig tests; more than 5,000 hours of TAPS combustor testing; and about 4,100 cycles testing LEAP hardware in a GEnx engine, including turbine blades and CMC shrouds.

"The LEAP engine is a really exceptional motor," says Paxson. "With each cycle we log our confidence in the technology choices we made con­tinues to grow. We believe that the LEAP engine will provide the best fuel efficiency in its thrust class out of the box and continue to retain that advan­tage over the life of the product. We can't wait to get this engine into service."

The foundation of the LEAP engine is heavily rooted in advanced aerodynamics, environmental and materials technology development pro­grammes. This revolutionary engine will provide 15% better fuel consumption and an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions compared with today's best CFM engine, along with dramatic reductions in engine noise and emissions. All this technology brings with it CFM's legendary reliability and low maintenance costs.

The engine programme was officially launched in July 2008, and has been selected as the sole powerplant for the Boeing 737 Max and Comac C919, China's new 150-passenger single-aisle aircraft, and it is one of two engine options on the Airbus A320neo. To date, CFM has garnered orders for nearly 8,000 LEAP engines across these three platforms.

The LEAP development programme has four guiding principles with ambitious goals for each: LEAP is designed to provide 15% better fuel effi­ciency; reliability and maintenance costs equivalent to the current CFM56 family, which are agreed to be the best in the industry; NOx emissions that are 50% lower than CAEP 6 protocols; and noise levels that are 10 to 15dB lower than Stage 4 requirements.

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