FARNBOROUGH - GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) recently completed the second of three planned phases of full-scale fan rig testing for its growth CF34-8C turbofan engine at the Rugby, England, facility of European Gas Turbines.
The CF34-8C fan, which is 2.2 inches larger in diameter than the fan in current CF34 models, features an advanced-design, wide chord blade for increased ruggedness and performance.
The first phase of testing identified the optimum position of the fan blade airfoil on the blade platform and successfully demonstrated the fan blade's tolerance for medium bird strikes. The second phase confirmed forecasts of blade-out and fan imbalance loads and the structural integrity of the fan containment ring. The final phase, a large bird strike test, will run early in 1997.
"We are very pleased with the results of the important blade-out test, as well as the results of our other -8C development component test activities," said Lloyd Thompson, general manager of GEAE's Small Commercial Turbofan Department. "We expect to complete about 270 test hours on -8C components by the end of this year, and the progress that we have made to date gives us every confidence that the CF34-8C will be certified and available for the Canadair 70-passenger CRJ-X aircraft, and other commercial and military applications, in the 1999 to 2000 time frame."
Testing of the low pressure turbine's aerodynamic performance is also currently under way, and aeromechanical and aerodynamic testing of the new, 10-stage high pressure compressor will begin this month. Scale model exhaust nozzle testing has been successfully completed, and initial testing of the combustor has established the fuel flow required for altitude starting.
The first engine is to go to test in mid-1997, and engine flight testing on GE's Boeing 747 flying testbed is to begin in 1998. Engine certification is targeted for mid-1999.
The CF34-8C engine is the newest and most powerful member of the CF34 family, with a thrust rating of 13,000 to 18,000 pounds (58 to 80 kN).