As part of the European research programme Clean Sky 2, MTU Aero Engines is further optimising its components, the low-pressure turbine (LPT) and the high-pressure compressor (HPC) and building two demonstrators. The Engine Material Validation (EMVAL) engine demonstrator is being built in Munich, to validate new LPT technologies. It will also be tested in Munich. The dual-shaft compressor rig is simultaneously being assembled and tested in Cologne, at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). The cooperation partner for both projects is GKN Aerospace.
The test demonstrator for validating new LPT technologies is an MTR390. This engine was used in a Tiger helicopter and was provided to MTU by the German military. In Munich it is being rebuilt as an EMVAL engine demonstrator. A power turbine had to be designed, built and installed in the core engine to integrate the new technologies.
MTU expects the test program evaluation to be finished by the end of 2023.
Tests of the dual-shaft rig will start at the DLR in autumn. The test campaign is expected to be completed and evaluated in the next year. The validated technologies will then flow into the next generation of geared turbofan engines.
The Clean Sky 2 technology program was launched in 2014 and will end in 2024. The goal is to make aviation cleaner and more efficient. MTU is one of 16 leading companies, alongside the DLR and GKN Aerospace.
“The collaboration between the DLR, GKN and MTU perfectly integrates each partner’s strengths – GKN’s expertise on large static components, the DLR’s experience in the area of testing, and MTU’s compressor, turbine and system expertise,” says Claus Riegler, senior vice president of technology and engineering advanced programmes at MTU.