#Gearcity aiprlane engine full

CFM engines have grown from an initial bypass ratio of 5:1 in the 1980s to the LEAP engine, which has a bypass ratio of 11:1. The bypass ratio is an extremely important number that describes the relationship between the thrust the rotor (fan) generates and how much energy it takes to drive the rotor. Light and tough, the material allows engineers to go big and build rotors as large as 13 feet in diameter, which, in turn, increases propulsive efficiency and bypass ratio.

The team plans to make it from a special carbon fiber woven in three dimensions and injected with resin. That fan also happens to be the most eye-popping feature. “While we are exploring other potential architectures, they cannot deliver the same level of fuel burn and CO 2 emissions improvement that we could achieve with an open fan.” “Our most sustainable solutions - the ones that provide the greatest benefit - require an open-fan architecture, as a matter of physics,” Harper says. This open fan can help provide significant improvement in propulsive efficiency, a key contributor to reduced emissions and fuel consumption. The fan at the front of this architecture is “open” because, unlike other turbofan engines, it isn’t surrounded by a case. The area we believe will yield the most benefit and plan to demonstrate in the coming years is the open-fan concept that would deliver a very significant fuel burn and CO 2 emissions improvement.” 'We work together to define our vision, set our future product requirements and execute our efforts to develop an engine that will best support the future of flight as we see it. “I spend a lot of time with Safran, airframers and airlines,' Harper says. Their ambitious vision depends on big advancements in engine architecture and technology. Harper and a team of some of the world’s best aerospace engineers intend to slash those numbers by another 20%, which would represent the greatest decarbonization gain it has ever achieved. Since the first CFM engines entered service in the early 1980s, the company has reduced its fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions by 40% compared with the engines it replaced. Harper and his colleagues face an enormous task. “It is the world’s most successful transatlantic joint venture, at least in aviation,” Harper says. This fleet has logged more than 1 billion engine flight hours, the equivalent of 20 round trips to Pluto. The company has delivered more than 35,000 engines to more than 600 operators worldwide. “This technology development program demonstrates the commitment GE and Safran share for achieving ambitious goals for a more sustainable future,” Harper says.ĬFM was founded nearly 50 years ago, and the partners also just agreed to extend the joint venture until the year 2050. The vision for the RISE program is perfectly captured by its name: Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines. Harper is the GE product manager on the CFM RISE program, announced on Monday by CFM parent companies GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. He and his colleagues are developing the technology that could ultimately lead to an engine that would use 20% less fuel and produce 20% fewer CO 2 emissions than the most efficient jet engines today.

Now it has brought him to the latest chapter in his career - a leadership role on a team reinventing the future of flight. The fascination with flight also took him to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he helped Emirates Airline maintain its fleet of airplanes using GE technology, and to Seattle, where he supported Boeing’s efforts to bring the plane-maker’s 777X aircraft, powered by the GE9X engine, into service. He pursued engineering degrees from Northwestern University and Ohio State and earned a spot on a team at GE Aviation designing and manufacturing the world’s most advanced commercial jet engines. It was that same fascination that also helped set the course of Harper’s life.

“Throughout my childhood, I was fascinated with aviation,' he says. 'I would watch the planes take off and land and imagine having the opportunity to travel and experience the world.” Growing up two blocks away from Midway Airport on the south side of Chicago, there always seemed to be a jet landing over his family home.

#Gearcity aiprlane engine full

Travis Harper’s life has always been full of planes.