General Electric GE90

General Electric GE90

GE90

GE90-115B Type Manufacturer First run Major applications Developed into Turbofan GE Aviation 1995 Boeing 777 General Electric GEnx Engine Alliance GP7000

General Electric GE90 is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines built by GE Aviation exclusively for the Boeing 777, with thrust ratings ranging from 74,000 to 115,000 lbf (329 to 512 kN). It was first introduced in November 1995 on British Airways' 777s. The engine is one of three options for the 777-200, -200ER, and -300, and the exclusive engine of the -200LR, -300ER, and -200F.

Design and development

The GE90 was launched in 1990. GE Aviation is associated with Snecma (France), IHI (Japan) and Avio (Italy). Developed from the 1970s NASA Energy Efficient Engine, the 10-stage high pressure compressor develops a pressure ratio of 23:1 (an industry record) and is driven by a 2-stage, air-cooled, HP turbine. A 3-stage intermediate pressure compressor, situated directly behind the fan, supercharges the core. The fan/IPC is driven by a 6-stage low pressure turbine.
NASA GE90 airflow simulation The higher-thrust variants, GE90-110B1 and -115B, have a different architecture from the earlier marks of GE90, with one stage removed from the HP compressor (probably from the rear, to increase core size), with an extra stage added to the IP compressor to maintain/increase overall pressure ratio to achieve a net increase in core flow. General Electric

General Electric GE90 performed a similar re-staging exercise when they upgraded the CF6 from the -6 to the higher thrust -50. However, this thrust growth route is expensive, since all the downstream components (e.g. turbines) must be larger (in flow capacity). As a result GE sought (and received) sole engine supplier status with the -115B on the Boeing 777-300ER. The fan is an advanced, larger diameter unit made from composite materials and is the first production engine to feature swept rotor blades. Although the larger fan in itself would produce a higher static thrust, an increase in core size and, thereby core power, was required to improve the net thrust at normal flight speeds. In October 2003, a Boeing 777-300ER broke the ETOPS record by being able to fly five and a half hours (330 minutes) with one engine shut down.[1] The aircraft, with GE90-115B engines, flew from Seattle to Taiwan as part of the ETOPS certification programme. The GE90 series are physically the largest engines in aviation history, the fan diameter of the original series being 312cm (123in). The largest variant, the GE90-115B, has a fan diameter of 325cm (128in). As a result, GE90 engines can only be airfreighted in assembled form by outsize cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 Condor, presenting unique problems if, due to emergency diversions, a 777 were stranded in a place without the proper spare parts. If the fan is removed from the core, then the engines may be shipped on a 747 Freighter.[2] Apart from its size, the GE90-115B is powerful enough to fully operate GE's Boeing 747 testbed on its own power[3] during a maximum thrust low speed flight test on board the aircraft

Derivatives
The GEnx engine, that has been developed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8, is derived from the smaller (i.e. earlier) core variant of the GE90, but features a fan with swept rotor blades. GE Aviation has also set up a cooperative venture with Pratt & Whitney, named Engine Alliance, under which the companies have developed an engine for the Airbus A380, called the GP7000, from the larger GE90-110B/115B core. GE has also announced studies on a slightly smaller derivative engine, dubbed the GE9X, to power the new Boeing 777-8x/9x aircraft. It was to feature the same fan diameter as the GE90-115B (128 in (326 cm)) and an overall thrust decrease of 15,800 lbf to a new rating of 99,500 lbf per engine for the -9X, and a derated 88,000 lbf version for the -8X. The new engines are expected to contribute to a 10% increase in fuel efficiency with an planned 10:1 bypass ratio, 60:1 overall pressure ratio and 27:1 high pressure compressor ratio.[4][5][6] GE recently updated the GE9X specifications to reflect growing concerns that the 777X that it will power was under-powered. Design changes include a slight increase of thrust to 102,000 lbf and a new fan diameter of 132 in, giving the new engine the largest fan GE has ever produced.[7][8][9]

General Electric GE90

Operational history
The first General Electric-powered Boeing 777 was delivered to British Airways on November 12, 1995;[] the aircraft, with two GE90-77Bs, entered service five days later.[] Initial service was affected by gearbox bearing wear issues, which caused the airline to temporarily withdraw its 777 fleet from transatlantic service in 1997.[] British Airways' aircraft returned to full service later that year,[10] and General Electric subsequently announced engine upgrades.

Records
According to the Guinness Book of Records, at 127,900 pounds-force (569kN)f, the engine holds the record for the highest thrust (although rated at 115,300 pounds-force (513kN)f). This thrust record was accomplished inadvertently as part of a one-hour, triple-red-line engine stress test. In order to accommodate the increase in torsional stresses an entirely new steel alloy (GE1014) had to be created and then A GE90-110B1 mounted on an Air Canada machined to extreme tolerances.[11] The new record was set during Boeing 777-200LR inflight over Siberia testing of a GE90-115B development engine at GE Aviations' Peebles Test Operation, which is an outdoor test complex outside Peebles, Ohio. It eclipsed the engine's previous Guinness world record of 122,965 pounds-force (546.98kN).[12] On November 10, 2005, the GE90 entered the Guinness World Records for a second time. The GE90-110B1 powered a 777-200LR during the world's longest flight by a commercial airliner, though there were no fare-paying passengers on the flight, only journalists and invited guests. The 777-200LR flew 13,422 miles (21,601km) in 22 hours, 42 minutes, flying from Hong Kong to London "the long way": over the Pacific, over the continental U.S., then over the Atlantic to London.[13] (The longest flight by a commercial airliner with passengers is 18.5 hours, flown by an Airbus A340-500 aircraft on a daily non-stop flight from Newark to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. See Singapore Airlines Flight 21)

Airworthines Directive
The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive on May 16th, 2013 and sent it to owners and operators of General Electric Company (GE) GE90-110B1 and GE90-115B turbofan engines. This emergency AD was prompted by reports of two failures of transfer gearbox assemblies (TGBs) which resulted in in-flight shutdowns (IFSDs). Investigation has revealed that the failures were caused by TGB radial gear cracking and separation. Further inspections found two additional radial gears with cracks. This condition, if not corrected, could result in additional IFSDs of one or more engines, loss of thrust control, and damage to the airplane. The Airworthiness Directive requires compliance by taking remedial measures within 5 days of receipt of the AD.[14]

General Electric GE90

Variants
GE90-76B rated at 76,000lbf (338.1kN) GE90-77B rated at 77,000lbf (342.5kN) GE90-85B rated at 85,000lbf (378.1kN) GE90-90B rated at 90,000lbf (400.3kN) GE90-92B rated at 92,000lbf (409.2kN) GE90-94B rated at 93,700lbf (417kN) GE90-110B1 rated at 110,100lbf (489.3kN) GE90-115B rated at 115,300lbf (514kN)
A General Electric GE90 turbofan mounted on Saudi Airlines' Boeing 777-200ER, at the King Abdulaziz International Airport.

Specifications (GE90-94B)
Type: axial flow, twin-shaft, bypass turbofan engine Length: 287 in (7,290 mm)[] Diameter: overall: 134 in (3,404 mm);[] fan: 123 in (3,124 mm) Dry weight: 16,644 lb[] (7,550 kg) Compressor: axial: 1 wide chord fan, 3 low pressure stages, 10 high pressure stages Turbine: axial: 6 low pressure stages, 2 high pressure stages Maximum thrust: max at sea level: 93,700 lbf (416.8 kN) Overall pressure ratio: 42:1 Thrust-to-weight ratio: approx. 5.6:1
The second most powerful variant (GE90-110B1), mounted on a Boeing 777-200LR

General Electric GE90

Specifications (GE90-115B)
Type: axial flow, twin-shaft, bypass turbofan engine Length: 287 in (7,290 mm)[] Diameter: overall: 135 in (3.429 m);[] fan: 128 in (3.251 m) Dry weight: 18,260 lb (8,283 kg)[] Compressor: axial: 1 wide chord swept fan, 4 low pressure stages, 9 high pressure stages Turbine: axial: 6 low pressure stages, 2 high pressure stages Maximum thrust: max at sea level: 115,300 lbf (514 kN) ; world record set at 127,900 lbf (568,9 kN) 827 feet above sea level Overall pressure ratio: 42:1 Thrust-to-weight ratio: approx. 6.3:1
A GE90-115B mounted on the #2 pylon of GE's Boeing 747 flight test aircraft at the Mojave Airport. GE90-115B was able to keep this 747 airborne by itself, while all three smaller Pratt and Whitney JT9D engines were deliberately [15] shut-down in flight. The -115B is more than twice as powerful as a JT9D engine, which was the most powerful in the world when first introduced.

Footnotes
References

[6] http:/ / www. flightglobal. com/ news/ articles/ ge-plans-10-fuel-burn-improvement-for-ge9x-engine-369242/ [7] http:/ / www. geaviation. com/ newengine/ [8] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=qVVj2ddb-eQ [9] http:/ / www. ainonline. com/ aviation-news/ paris-air-show/ 2013-06-16/ ge-pushes-envelope-ge9x-new-boeing-777 [15] YouTube - General Electric GE90-115B **World Record Breaking** (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=w8B3r680h3A)

Bibliography
Eden, Paul, ed. (2008). Civil Aircraft Today: The World's Most Successful Commercial Aircraft. London: Amber Books Ltd. ISBN1-84509-324-0. Norris, Guy; Mark Wagner (1999). Modern Boeing Jetliners. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint. ISBN0-7603-0717-2.

External links
GE90 page on geae.com (http://geae.com/engines/commercial/ge90/) It's Great Design Too: World's Biggest Jet Engine Fan Blade at The Museum of Modern Art (http://www.geae. com/aboutgeae/presscenter/ge90/ge90_20041116.html).

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File:GE90 dsc04644.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GE90_dsc04644.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: User:David.Monniaux File:GE90-Airflow.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GE90-Airflow.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User N328KF on en.wikipedia File:Air Canada GE90 Boeing 777-200LR.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Air_Canada_GE90_Boeing_777-200LR.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Kristoferb File:SVGE90.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SVGE90.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Ariadacapo File:GE90 B777-200LR.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GE90_B777-200LR.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Stefan File:Ge-747-N747GE-020918-03.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ge-747-N747GE-020918-03.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Alan Radecki Akradecki

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