Engine Alliance GP7000
| GP7000 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Two GP7270s mounted on an Airbus A380. | |
| Type | Turbofan |
| Manufacturer | Engine Alliance |
| First run | 2004 |
| Major applications | Airbus A380 |
| Unit cost | $13.5 million (2006 USD) |
| Developed from | General Electric GE90 Pratt & Whitney PW4000 |
The Engine Alliance GP7000 is a turbofan jet engine that is currently in service on the Airbus A380.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
Originally intended to power Boeing Commercial Airplanes's cancelled 747-500X/-600X, the engine has since been pushed for Airbus' A380-800 superjumbo. It is built around the GE90-110B/115B core and contains a Pratt & Whitney fan and low-pressure system design.
The competing Rolls-Royce Trent 900 was named as the lead engine for the then-named A3XX in 1996 and was initially selected by almost all A380 customers. However the GE/PW engine increased its share of the A380 engine market to the point where as of September 2007 it will power 47% of the super-jumbo fleet. This disparity in sales was resolved in a single transaction, with Emirates' order of 55 GP7000-powered A380-800s, comprising over one quarter of A380 sales (as of September 2007). Emirates has traditionally been a Rolls-Royce customer. A380 aircraft powered by the GP7000s will have A380-86X model numbers as 6 is the code for Engine Alliance engines.
Ground testing of the engine began in April 2004 and the engine was run for the first time on an A380 on August 14, 2006. [1] The American Federal Aviation Administration certified the engine for commercial operation on January 4, 2006. [2] On August 25, 2006, an A380-861 test aircraft (MSN 009) made the first flight of an Engine Alliance powered A380. The flight began and ended at Toulouse and lasted about four hours. Tests were performed on the engines' flight envelope, cruise speed, and handling. A day earlier, the same aircraft performed rejected takeoff tests on the engines.
The Engine Alliance offers the GP7200 for the Airbus A380 passenger and freighter configurations. The GP7270 is rated at 70,000 lbf (310,000 N) of thrust whilst the GP7277 is rated at 77,000 lbf (340,000 N). The engine is offered with two ratings appropriate for the various A380 configurations and take-off weights: GP7270 for the 560 tonne variant, and GP7277 for the 590 tonne A380-800 freighter. Late 2011 an upgrade which leads to cut in weight by 23 kilo (50 lbs) will be made, the component comes from Volvo Aero [1].
[edit] Applications
[edit] Specifications (GP7270)
General characteristics
- Type: two-spool high-bypass turbofan engine
- Length: 4.74 m (187 in)
- Diameter: 3.16 m (124 in), fan tip 2.95 m (116 in)
- Dry weight: 6,712 kg (14,800 lb)
Components
- Compressor: hollow-titanium, 24 swept wide-chord hollow titanium fan blades, 8.7:1 by-pass ratio; five-stage low-pressure axial compressor; nine-stage high-pressure axial compressor
- Combustors: low-emissions single annular combustor
- Turbine: two-stage high pressure turbine, boltless architecture, single crystal blades, split blade cooling and thermal barrier coatings, axial flow; six-stage low-pressure axial flow
Performance
- Maximum thrust:
- 36,980 kgf, 363 kN, 81,500 lbf
- Overall pressure ratio: 43.9
- Thrust-to-weight ratio: 4.73 (assuming 17,230 lbf weight of engine and 81,500 lbf of thrust)
[edit] See also
- Comparable engines
- Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official site, Engine Alliance
- Official site, GE-Aviation
- Official site, Pratt & Whitney
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