Today Airbus and CFM International will use an Airbus A380 aircraft to test CFM’s open fan engine architecture. The Airbus A380 flight demonstrator with open fan engine architecture is expected to fly in the second half of this decade. Ahead of the A380 demonstrator flights, CFM will conduct engine ground tests at GE Aviation’s Flight Test Operations center in Victorville, the United States.
“New propulsion technologies will play an important role in achieving aviation's net-zero objectives, along with new aircraft designs and sustainable energy sources,” said Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer.
The manufacturer believes that this technology could be a game changer for commercial aviation, with the industry seeking ways to make flying carbon emissions-free by 2050.
The flight demonstrator aims to contribute to future engine and aircraft efficiency improvements, including enhanced understanding of engine/wing integration and aerodynamic performance as well as propulsive system efficiency gains, validating performance benefits, including better fuel efficiency that would provide a 20%, and ensuring compatibility with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)
Klauke added: “By evaluating, maturing and validating open fan engine architecture using a dedicated flight test demonstrator, we are collaboratively making yet another significant contribution to the advancement of technology bricks that will enable us to reach our industry-wide decarbonization targets.
This collaboration with CFM highlights the diversity of Airbus technology demonstrator portfolio and complements the work being carried out to evaluate concepts and mature technologies for Airbus’ zero-emission ambition. In February 2022, the two companies announced a joint flight test program to validate hydrogen propulsion capability. Airbus and CFM, along with parent companies GE and Safran, share the ambition of fulfilling the promise they made in signing the Air Transport Action Group goal in October 2021 to achieve aviation industry net zero carbon emissions by 2050 by developing and testing the technology necessary to make zero emissions aircraft a reality within the ambitious timeline defined. Airbus has a long-standing relationship with CFM and its parent companies, GE Aviation and Safran and, together, the partners have established a great track record of delivering high-performance products that meet the needs of airline customers.
A bit about actual Open Fan Architecture
The pursuit of ever-increasing propulsive efficiency has driven the growth of engine fan diameter in commercial jet engines over the past five decades. This progression is ultimately leading to open fan concepts. Although high bypass architectures can be seen in the form of turboprops on slower flying and shorter-range regional aircraft today, the open fan architecture to be demonstrated as part of the RISE Program is nothing like a turboprop engine. This advanced, new generation open fan architecture will be able to fly at the same speed as current single aisle aircraft (up to Mach 0.8, or 80 percent the speed of sound) with a noise signature that will meet anticipated future regulations. An open fan architecture is the most efficient and sustainable option that offers step change in propulsive efficiency, improvements in thermal efficiency and integration of advanced systems.