Honeywell TFE731

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Honeywell TFE731-60 on a NASA test bench

The Honeywell TFE731 (originally: Garrett AiResearch TFE731 , military derivative is the Honeywell F124 ) is a turbofan engine made by the US manufacturer Honeywell . It was the first turbofan engine specifically designed for the business jet market. It is a twin-shaft engine in which the front blower (fan) is driven by the low-pressure turbine via a planetary gear . The bypass ratio was initially between 2.28 and 2.8. The engine is still in production today and is being further developed. It is extremely successful economically. By 12/2006 over 11,000 units of the civilian variants had been produced.

The air in the engine first flows through the fan. Part of it then goes through an axial compressor with four or five stages and is finally further compressed in a single-stage radial high-pressure compressor. This compressed air is directed into an annular combustion chamber , where the flow changes direction. After leaving the combustion chamber, it is redirected and then passed through the single-stage axial high-pressure turbine that drives the compressor. The flow then flows through the three-stage axial low-pressure turbine, the shaft of which drives the fan via a gear unit. The emerging fuel gases, mixed with the fan air, are then expanded in a nozzle and provide the drive thrust.

history

The engine was announced in April 1969 and is based on the experiences made with the Garrett AiResearch TPE 331 . The first engine ran on the test bench in September 1970 and was tested in the air in a Learjet 25 . It was approved by the FAA in August 1972. In the same month, the first series engines to drive the Dassault Falcon 10 were delivered.

Just one month later, the TFE731-3 engine with increased power was also selected for the four-jet Lockheed JetStar . A machine of this type with the new engines flew for the first time in June 1974. Soon thereafter, two more versions were released with the designations -3A and -3B, which received a modified inlet area and fan for improved performance at high altitude. In 1982 the TFE731-5 was approved with 19.1 kN thrust, followed a year later by the -5A version (thrust: 20 kN), in which the bypass ratio was increased, which brought a further increase in performance. The –5B followed in 1991 with a thrust of 21.1 kN and reduced specific consumption thanks to a further increased air flow from the fan. In the same year the fan of the -3A and the core engine of the -5 were combined to form the engine now designated TFE731-4 and built into the Cessna Citation 650.

In 2001 the variants –20 (Learjet 45), -40 (IAI 1125 Astra SPX), and –60 (Dassault Falcon 900EX) of the second generation of the TFE731 were in production. At -60 the thrust is 22.49 kN, the pressure ratio 22: 1 and the bypass ratio 3.9: 1.

The current version is the TFE731-50, which received its approval in 2002 and is used in the Dassault Falcon 900DX, among others .

use

Variants of the engine were also used in the following aircraft types, among others:

Technical data (TFE731-50R)

  • Air flow: 71.2 kg / s
  • Print ratio: 14.6: 1
  • Bypass ratio: 3.6: 1
  • Fan: 1-stage, titanium
  • MD compressor: four-stage, axial
  • HP compressor: single-stage, radial
  • HP turbine (for compressor): single-stage axial
  • LP turbine (for fan): three-stage axial
  • Combustion chamber: ring-shaped with twelve injection nozzles
  • Turbine inlet temperature <1022 ° C
  • Length: 1975 mm
  • Width: 847 mm
  • Height: 1027 mm
  • Weight: 443.6 kg
  • Starting thrust: 22.24 kN

Technical data of other TFE731 models

Type Thrust (kN) By-
pass ratio
at start		 Total pressure
ratio		 Blower diameter
(m)		 Length (m) Dry
matter (kg)		 Admission Use at
TFE731-20 15.57 3.1: 1 21: 1 0.72 1.547 406 1997 Learjet 40 XR / 45 XR
TFE731-40 19.6 2.9: 1 22: 1 0.72 1.547 406 1995 Gulfstream G150
TFE731-50 21.79-22.24 3.6: 1 24.2: 1 0.75 2,314 440 - Hawker Beechcraft
Hawker 750 / 850XP / 900XP
TFE731-60 22.24 3.9: 1 22: 1 0.78 2.083 448 1995 Dassault Falcon 900DX / EX

F124

A military variant with a lower bypass ratio is the Honeywell F124 (civil name Honeywell TFE1042 ). This engine variant was initially developed together with Volvo Flygmotor from 1978 . The first prototype was put to the test in August 1979. Volvo dropped out of the program in 1982 when Sweden opted for the Saab JAS-39 Gripen with the General Electric F404 . In 1983 AIDC from Taiwan was won as a partner. A total of 216 prototypes were produced. The AIDC Ching-Kuo uses the TFE1042-70 version with afterburner . The thrust is 41.1 kN. Series production began in 1989. By 1999, all 332 engines in this series had been delivered and production was discontinued.

In March 1994, Aero also opted for the TFE1042. The variant F124-GA-100 is equipped with a FADEC and is used in the Aero L-159 . The first flight took place in August 1997.

This engine was also examined for the T45A Goshawk , but was unsuccessful . The engine was also used in the Boeing X-45A technology demonstrator .

By January 2005, 460 engines of this type had been produced.

Technical data (Honeywell TFE1042-70)

  • Air flow: 43.29 kg / s
  • Print ratio: 14.6: 1
  • Bypass ratio: 0.75: 1
  • Fan: three-stage, titanium
  • MD compressor: four-stage, axial
  • HP compressor: single-stage, radial
  • HP turbine (for compressor): single-stage axial, max. Speed ​​33000 min-1
  • LP turbine (for fan): three-stage axial, max. Speed ​​21000 min-1
  • Combustion chamber: ring-shaped with twelve nozzles
  • Turbine inlet temperature 1204 ° C
  • Length: 3561 mm
  • Diameter: 590 mm
  • Weight: 616 kg
  • Starting thrust: 26.80 kN, with afterburner 41.14 kN

Web links

swell

  • Janes all the world aircraft 1979/80
  • Forecast International 7/2005
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