Strong results for GE’s record-setting high pressure compressor rig testing

Testing continues on the high pressure compressor (HPC) module for the GE9X engine that will power Boeing’s 777X aircraft. The tests began in September at a GE Oil & Gas testing facility in Massa, Italy, and the module has accumulated close to 300 hours of testing today. “The test results for the GE9X HPC rig are very promising as the module achieved the 27:1 pressure ratio—the highest pressure ratio for any commercial aircraft engine,” said Bill Millhaem, general manager of the GE90/GE9X Program at GE Aviation. “The testing has validated the efficiency and operability of the HPC module design well ahead of the entry into service and supports our plan to deliver a 10% fuel burn improvement over today’s GE90 engines.” The HPC module is a 90% scale of the full-size HPC with more than 1,000 pieces of instrumentation that enable GE’s engineer to collect the necessary data to optimize the HPC module design. A GE LM2500 engine generates more than 29,000 horsepower to drive the HPC module during the test. When the rig test is completed in March, the module will have accumulated 450 run hours. GE plans to begin testing a second HPC module at the Massa, Italy test facility later this year and a third HPC module prior to first engine to test in 2016. GE will spend a total of $300m in 2014 on maturation testing of technologies for the new GE9X engine. Testing will include the Universal Propulsion Simulator (UPS) fan performance tests that is underway at Boeing’s Seattle, Washington facility. This test will provide key data on the GE9X fan design, which will be the largest fan diameter of any commercial aircraft engine to date.