General Electric GE90

GE90 is the name for a series of turbofan engines of the U.S. manufacturer GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric. They feature a thrust 329-512 kN ( 74000-115000 lbf ) and are used exclusively on the Boeing 777.

The variant GE90 -115B is equipped with a fan diameter of 3251.2 mm (128 " ) and a achieved during a stress test thrust of 569 kN ( 127.900 lbf ) is the largest and most powerful jet engine in aviation history.

General

As a further development of the Energy Efficient Engine NASA from the 1970s, the ten stages of the high pressure compressor of the GE90 achieve a pressure ratio of 23:1, which is an industry record. The innovative fan blade of the GE90 are made with carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the front edges are covered to protect against erosion with titanium. The curved shape of the blades to optimize aerodynamics improves the efficiency of the engine.

In order to absorb the torsional strain needed to be developed a completely new steel alloy ( GE1014 ) that was edited with extremely low tolerances.

The engines of the GE90 series feature in the latest version GE90 -115B with a fan diameter of 3.25 m (128 " ), in the original version, there were 3.12 m (123 "). The diameter of the entire engine ( 3:43 m ) with its outer skin is almost as large as the fuselage of the Boeing 737 ( 3.76 m). This engine can be transported in the assembled condition only with oversized cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 and the Boeing 747LCF, which is associated with high costs. With demounted from the high-pressure system Fankranz a transport with a series - cargo version of the Boeing 747 is at least possible. Therefore, a high level of preventive maintenance is necessary to minimize failures of engines of this type. On 17 December 2005, a GE90- 94B fell to an Air France on the flight from Seoul to Paris, so that she had to make an emergency landing in Irkutsk. An An-124 brought a replacement engine. The cause of the failure is still being determined.

From publicly available technical papers it appears that further increases the pushing force could be made, if the need should be made for it. By comparison, the largest engine of the Boeing 747-400 generates a thrust of about 289 kN ( 65,000 lbf ).

Variants

The GE90 was developed in several variants with different performance data:

Derivatives

• The General Electric GEnx for the Boeing 787 is essentially a development of the GE90.
• The Engine Alliance GP7200 for the Airbus A380 uses the high-pressure system of the GE90. Engine Alliance is a joint venture of GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney.

Trivia

• A fan blade of the GE90 -115B is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.