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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 1250.PDF
MILITARY AVIATION a gamma titanium aluminide, which has half the density of the nickel-based alloys normal ly used. The reduced mass of the rotating unit means the compressor ring and containment case can also be made lighter. The Allison/GE team has been selected by the DoD as the major-contractor team to demonstrate the Phase II goals. Harvey Maclin, manager of GE's advanced engine operations, says: "The team uses integrated component teams to perform the design, analysis and hardware procurement. The work is not split by component, but by the people who have the best skills, thereby achieving the highest level of integration and confidence that the goals will be achieved." To ensure die recent acquisition of Allison by Rolls-Royce does not compromise any "top secret," or "above top secret", work, the Indianapolis-based organisation has created a wholly owned subsidiary, named Allison Advanced Development, to handle restricted and classified programmes such as IHPTET Larry Burns, chief engineer of advanced pro jects, is expected to become manager. .Maclin says the "...GE/Allison approach to Phase II is to demonstrate a balanced system featuring advanced materials, cooling technology, advanced aerodynamics and cycle architecture." Phase II goals include running the core engine at turbine-inlet temperatures (TIT) higher than levels achieved during the first phase. With the XTG-65 core developed for P&W's XTC-65/2 Joint Technology Demonstrator Engine (JTDE), inlet temper atures exceeded those recorded in current advanced-technology engines by more than 200°C, beating the Phase I TIT target by Military-engine technology is evolving rapidly. European collaboration is breaking barriers and spurring the US industry to greater efforts DOUGLAS BARRIE/LONDON JULIAN MOXON/PARIS GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES The next two months will see the debut of key military engine technologies on both sides of the Atlantic. Eurojet's EJ200 should be flown for the first time, while Pratt & Whitney was due to begin test ing its latest combat core, the XTG-66. Europe's latest collaborative military engine programme should become airborne with the flight of Eurofighter 2000 Development Aircraft 3 (DA3), the first to be fitted with the EJ200 turbofan. The XTC-66 is P&W's first attack on Phase II of the US Department of Defence's (DoD) three-phase, Integrated, High- Performance, Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) initiative. The thrust of this critical DoD programme is to secure near-revolutionary performance increments for the next generation of combat-aircraft powerplants. The technology used in the XTG-66 could boost fighter-engine thrust-to-weight ratio by up to 60%, compared to the baseline YF119 developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (AIT) competition. By 2003, under the IHPTET programme, Allison Engines, P&W, and now General Electric, aim to demonstrate engine thrust- to-weight ratio up by 100% and cut fuel con sumption by up to 38%. Progress has been rapid since IHPTET began in the 1980s — Allison and P&W have achieved their performance goals ahead of schedule; confidence is high that IHPTET tar gets, once believed impossible, will be met; and early planning for "beyond IHFrET" is under way. Allison, which teamed with GE in 1994 to pursue further IHPTET contracts, has success fully run what many in the industry classify as one of the most advanced cores in the world. In 1994, the company's XTC-16/1B vari able-cycle core achieved stable operation at tur bine-rotor temperatures which had not been considered attainable until the end of 1997. In 1995 it plans to run a new version, dubbed the XTG-76/2, featuring single-crys tal Lamilloy turbine blades. Lamilloy is an Allison-developed technology whose "transpi- rational" cooling uses pathways within lami nated alloy to produce "pores" for heat loss. The XTC-76/2 will also use metal-matrix composite (MiVlC) materials in the compres sor. The M.YIG likely to be used in the core is FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3 - 9 May 1995 23
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