GEnx: MTU Aero Engines hands over first turbine center frame

MTU Aero Engines kicked off GEnx turbine center frame deliveries on Wednesday, August 24, when it handed the first production module over to GE Aviation. In a last bolt ceremony held at MTU in Munich, Rhonda Sample, Manager Manufacturing Programs at GE Aviation officially took delivery of the module from MTU CEO Egon Behle. Thus, deliveries of this MTU module for the U.S. manufacturer's fast-selling new engine started on time. Plans are to ramp up production to be able to ship one turbine center frame a day.

MTU's chief executive Egon Behle explained: "The GEnx, which powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and has been selected as the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 747-8, is one of our most important commercial engine programs for widebodies down the road. That's why we've set up highly advanced dedicated production lines for our components at the company's Munich facility." The numbers prove him right: So far, 1,300 orders and options have been received for the new GE engine. Rhonda Sample said: „MTU has been a valued associate over the years, and we are pleased that this last-bolt ceremony marks the continuation of that association."

MTU joined the GEnx program as a risk- and revenue-sharing participant three years ago and holds a program share of 6.65 percent. The company has taken on responsibility for development, production and assembly of the turbine center frame, or TCF for short. The original TCF design has meanwhile been optimized by improving the hot-gas ducts and reducing the module's weight. The TCF is the transition duct between the high-pressure turbine and the low-pressure turbine. Due to its location in the engine, it is exposed to extreme conditions in operation: It ducts the hot gases exiting the high-pressure turbine at temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Centigrade along structural components and pipes towards the low-pressure turbine, keeping aerodynamic losses at a minimum. Said Behle: "Production of this highly-engineered component must meet very stringent requirement."