PRATT & WHITNEY PUREPOWER ENGINES

The Pratt & Whitney PurePower Geared Turbofan engine introduced dramatic improvements in propulsive efficiency and noise reduction

- SUKHCHAIN SINGH

PRATT & WHITNEY PUREPOWER Engines comprise two aero-engine families, the PW800 engine family and the PW1000G or Geared Turbo Fan (GTF) engine family. Common between the PW800 and PW1000G engine families is the PurePower engine core which is a high-performance core built for the demands of high-cycle, short-haul operation.

FAMILY CORE. It is a state-of-the-art engine-core that is fully capable from 10,000 to 40,000 pounds of thrust. Scaling the engine core over this range had been enabled by the GTF engine architecture. GTF engines can slow the fan rotation while greatly increasing the speed of the low-pressure modules, the Low-Pressure Compressor (LPC) is able to “supercharge” the air before it enters the High-Pressure Compressor (HPC). In turn, that means fewer HPC stages are required to achieve the same level of performance. The end result for operators is that lighter-weight core with fewer parts, which is easier to maintain, with hundreds fewer aerofoils and fewer Life-limited Parts (LLPs) are required. All this with the same core across two families of engines gives operators the benefit of higher maturity that comes with many hours of operations. The GTF family offers double-digit improvements in fuel consumption, noise, environmental emissions and operating costs. The GTF-powered A320neo provides 16 per cent better fuel efficiency from prior-generation engines, 75 per cent reduction in noise footprint and a 50 per cent reduction in regulated emissions.