MTU’s low-pressure turbine for A320neo engine passes milestone

The high-speed low-pressure turbine for Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine to power the A320neo has passed the mandatory stress tests with flying colors. These extremely complex telemetry runs, an official certification requirement for this module made by MTU, are considered one of the biggest challenges in engine testing. They serve to measure the vibrational stresses acting on the blades, along with the thermal load and temperature distribution. In a laborious manual process that took a couple of months, MTU’s high-speed low-pressure turbine was fitted with some 400 special measurement sensors. During 20 hours of testing, the propulsion system was put through its paces, also at overspeed conditions. The PW1100G-JM will enter into service on the Airbus A320neo next year. To date the PurePower engine family has completed more than 9,000 hours of testing, including more than 1,200 hours of flight test hours. Pratt & Whitney has more than 5,500 PurePower engine orders and commitments, including options.