 Editorial
 Olivier De Vriendt (Techspace Aero), Booster Sub-Project leader
The VITAL project is entering an important phase, with a number of key tests slated for the second half of the year. This is also the case of our Booster sub-project, including the production and testing of several demonstrators by Techspace Aero (SAFRAN Group), Volvo Aero and MTU Aero Engines, in conjunction with various research centers and SME's. The Booster sub-project is working on various low-pressure modules to enable the development of new architectures for higher bypass ratio engines. Two of our main objectives are weight reduction and higher aerodynamic loading, so we can avoid adding booster stages to offset the lower fan speeds. Based on all of these efforts, we should be able to reduce weight by a full 25% in relation to 2000’s state-of-the-art modules. As the Booster Sub Project leader, I welcomed the VITAL partners to the third Annual review organized by Techspace Aero in Liege. This year’s event was particularly successful and I was especially proud of the comments by the EC and auditors, who praised the good level of work done in booster sub project. We’re now heading into the home stretch, with more tests coming up. Based on the work performed to date and the all-out commitment of our teams, I am sure that the results will meet our expectations.
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CRTF under test at CIAM
 Since May 2008, Snecma’s Contra-Rotating TurboFan (CRTF) has been running on the C3A aeroacoustic test stand at the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) in Tourajevo, near Moscow. Over the next few months, these tests will be used to establish the baseline acoustic and aerodynamic performance of the Snecma-designed CRTF1 fan, and eventually validate the critical functions for the contra-rotating turbofan engine concept.
Aerodynamic acceptance testing for the C3A test rig and the CRTF1 module are now under way. Staff from Snecma (SAFRAN Group) and CIAM are overseeing the tests, specialists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will perform unsteady aerodynamic measurement and specialists from the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands (NLR) will carry out modal acoustic measurement.
Acoustic tests will start in September, followed by aerodynamic characterization tests, including aeromechanical check. These tests should be completed by the end of October.
According to Jean-Marc Cailleau, in charge of CRTF operations at Snecma, “Tests are back on track, especially since we, with CIAM have implemented an improvement plan that has enhanced the efficiency of our testing process.”
Following this September testing a new series of tests will be conducted by CIAM, who will test two new aero-acoustic configurations of the CRTF fan. The objective is two-fold: to enhance performances by fans re-blading taking into account composite fan design specifics, to improve integration and economic capabilities by new fans designing with reduced blades numbers and disks axial distance taking also into account composite fan design specifics.
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Technology Spotlights
Techspace Aero DDTF Booster under test at CIAM
CIAM (Central Institute of Aviation Motors) officially took delivery of the Techspace Aero DDTF (Direct Drive Turbo Fan) booster during the Test Readiness Review at Techspace Aero plant, with representatives of the European Commission in attendance. The project team had to cope with the challenge of shipping equipment to Russia, since procedures are complex. After studying this problem, the team decided to use the ATA procedure, which avoids taxes on equipment intended for research, and also allows the equipment to stay in Russia for one year. Techspace Aero was asked by the European Commission to describe this procedure to Russian government representatives in Brussels, in order to pave the way for future collaborative ventures between Europe and Russia. The first tests of the booster were carried out at CIAM, near Moscow, in July 2008. The first phase of testing is now completed. Céline Lebas, project manager at Techspace Aero (SAFRAN Group), is very confident: “Despite the problems in terms of parts production and shipping, we are now on schedule.”Tests will resume in September, after being interrupted in August while the test center was closed for maintenance, and will include further performance tests as well as altitude tests.
Major module of the booster for DDTF
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VITAL News
Direct Drive Turbofan - lightweight fan manufacture & test Production of the lightweight fan module has gone very well so far in 2008, even though these are one-off components. Three sets of fan blades have been produced, which is sufficient for all testing. The fan casings and structural OGV have also been made ready for the key fan blade-off (FBO) test. Production was truly a team effort, involving RRUK, RR-D, GKN, VAC, FACC, MS-C, DLR and various other sub-tier suppliers. Component testing started in February 2008, beginning with the bird-strike test. This is essential to test the robustness and durability of the blades when the engine ingests birds of different sizes; at the same time the tests demonstrated the actual weight savings achieved by using lightweight materials. Testing was successful and the full results, including high-speed films, are now being analyzed. Work is continuing with the fan fatigue and FBO tests, and results of the fatigue tests have been very encouraging to date. The major upcoming event, however, is the blade-off test. This is where the fan is spun in a vacuum pit and one blade explosively released to demonstrate that the containment system safely contains the blade and its debris. The test rig has been built using the whole lightweight fan module and the test is expected shortly. These tests will confirm that the overall VITAL fan weight targets have been met (which also helps meet the CO2 target).
Bird-strike test
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CRTF booster under test at Von Karman Institute
Throughout July, Techspace Aero, the Von Karman Institute and Cenaero carefully monitored tests of the first stage of the booster (disk + stator) on the contra-rotating turbofan (CRTF). This first series of “baseline” tests, on the test rig at the Von Karman Institute in Belgium, was used to correlate the experimental and numerical results, and to validate the elsA computation code on an atypical configuration using a half-scale model. The first series of tests was successfully completed in July, leading to the start of the second series of tests in September. For this second series of tests, the disk housing will be replaced by one featuring a circumferential groove over the blade. “Our aim is to see if this groove increases stage performance,” explains Stéphane Hiernaux, project manager at Techspace Aero (SAFRAN Group). A third and final series of tests will take place from October to December, completing the project. It is designed to measure losses due to airflow leaks in the nozzle guide vanes. The aim of these tests is to better understand these flows so we can develop a modeling procedure and validate numerical models, eventually enabling us to better integrate these flows in the design of next-generation boosters.
The first stage of the booster on the CRTF
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Agenda
Management committee - Management Committee September 4, 2008, Roissy (France)
- VITAL Workshop, March 9 and 10, 2009, in Budapest (Hungary)
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Crew :