Snecma M88
The Snecma M88 is a turbofan engine with afterburner that was developed by Snecma for the French fighter aircraft Dassault Rafale . The engine delivers a thrust of 50 kN with a kerosene consumption (TSFC) of 80 g / Kn · s and 75 kN with the afterburner switched on (170 g / Kn · s).
history
Since 1986, Snecma has been working on the M88 engine, the M88-1 version was tested on the Rafale A from 1990 onwards and has also been available in the M88-2 series version since 1996. With a drying capacity of 50 kN and an afterburner capacity of 75 kN, it corresponds to the performance class of the F404 , but is smaller and lighter in order to enable the required small dimensions of the Rafale. It is a twin-shaft turbofan engine with three low-pressure compressor stages, six high-pressure compressor stages, an annular combustion chamber , one cooled single-stage high-pressure and low-pressure turbine each and an afterburner . The blades are made of monocrystalline , which allows higher operating temperatures. The M88 is Snecma's first twin-shaft engine for combat aircraft. This design increases the efficiency of the engine, but also its complexity and weight. The thrust-to-weight ratio of the engine is 5.7 without and 8.5 with afterburning, the bypass ratio is 0.3: 1. The total compression is 24.5: 1, the air throughput is 65 kg / s. The M88 is equipped with a redundantly designed, fully digital, electronic control system (so-called FADEC ), which increases the efficiency of the engine. To facilitate maintenance and the replacement of individual components, the engine is made up of 21 modules. A whole engine can be changed within an hour. Furthermore, all Rafale are equipped with an APU from Microturbo , a subsidiary of Snecma, which is used to supply energy on the ground and to start the engines.
The two M88-2s give the Rafale a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.04 at normal takeoff weight. Dassault states that the Rafale is supercruise-capable with a supersonic -optimized 1250-liter additional tank and four air-to-air missiles, i.e. can reach supersonic speed without an afterburner. Since this has not yet been proven and the dry thrust does not reach the values of the Eurofighter , this remains doubtful, at least with the external loads specified by Dassault.
Between 2004 and 2007, the M88-ECO program explored the potential for future improvements. On the one hand, attempts were made to reduce operating costs, for which purpose the maintenance intervals should be extended, the service life extended and fuel consumption reduced. To achieve this, the low-pressure turbine was equipped with new blisks , the high-pressure turbine was improved, with the blades in particular being cooled, and the afterburner made largely of lighter ceramic composite materials. On the other hand, the increase in performance to around 60 kN dry and 90 kN wet was tested by increasing the air throughput to 72 kg / s. Despite the around 20% increase in output, the specific fuel consumption would remain unchanged. A separate prototype was built and tested for both goals. The changes that contribute to reducing operating costs were taken into series production in 2012 as the M88-4E. The increase in engine performance will not be implemented for the time being. The United Arab Emirates are said to be interested in this variant, known as the M88-3, due to the particularly high air temperatures of the operating environment there and the correspondingly lower buoyancy.
Technical specifications
| identification number | M88-2 |
|---|---|
| First run | 1996 |
| Dimensions | 897 kg |
| length | 3,538 m |
| Max. diameter | 0.9 m |
| Fan diameter | 0.69 m |
| Weight | 897 kg |
| Thrust (dry / wet) | 50/75 kN |
| Fuel consumption | 0.8 / 1.7 kg / daN · h |
| Air flow | 65 kg / s |
| Bypass ratio | 0.3: 1 |
| Thrust-to-weight ratio | 5.7 / 8.5 |
| Compression ratio | 24.5 |
| operating temperatur | 1,850 K |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean-Noël Passieux, Snecma M88 retrieved on February 27 2011th
- ^ Flightglobal, Snecma M88 , accessed February 27, 2011.
- ^ Dassault Aviation, Rafale: Budget , accessed February 28, 2011.
- ↑ Dassault Aviation, F ox Three, N ° 8: Air Defense Mission for Flottille 12F (p. 8) (PDF; 3.3 MB) accessed on February 27, 2011.
- ^ Defense Industry Daily, India's M-MRCA Competition , accessed February 27, 2011.
- ↑ Dassault Aviation, Fox Three N ° 2: Power On! M88 Omnirole Thrust (p. 5) (PDF; 264 kB) accessed on March 1, 2011.
- ^ M88: performance and exceptionally carefree handling. In: www.safran-aircraft-engines.com. Accessed April 24, 2019 (eng).
- ↑ M88-E4