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400 COMMONWEALTH DRIVE WARRENDALE, PA 15096

830756

The TFE731-5; Evolution of a

Decade of Business Jet
Service

Karl R. Fledderjohn
Aircraft Propulsion Engines
Garrett Turbine Engine Co.
Phoenix, AZ

Business Aircraft Meeting & Exposition

Wichita, Kansas
April 12-15, 1983
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ISSN 0148-7191
Copyright 1983 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
 Downloaded from SAE International by University of Edinburgh, Monday, August 27, 2018

830756

The TFE731-5: Evolution of a

Decade of Business Jet
Service
Karl R. Fledderjohn
Aircraft Propulsion Engines
Garrett Turbine Engine Co.
Phoenix, AZ

ABSTRACT design, service-revealed problems, engine reliability,

and how these apply to the TFE731-5 engine design, is
The Garrett TFE731-5 turbofan engine was built in order.
on the extensive experience gained from earlier models
of the TFE731 family. Ten years and five million hours EVOLUTION OF THE TFE731 ENGINE FAMILY
of operating time, combined with the experience gained
in manufacturing over 4000 TFE731 engines, served as The development of the first engine in the
the basis for the new TFE731-5. This report highlights TFE731 family, the TFE731-2, was prompted by the
some of the more important elements that contributed obvious demand for a quiet, high performing, eco-
to the design and development of the -5 model. nomical, second-generation fan jet engine for the
Special emphasis is placed on subtleties of the executive jet market of the 1970's and 1980's. The
actual operational environment, the importance of a TFE731-2 received FAA certification in 1972 and
well planned and well executed continuing airworthiness shortly thereafter entered service on the Dassault
program, and the importance of timely field experience Falcon 10 and the Gates Learjet 35/36. A cutaway
feedback to the engine designers and developers. view of the two-spool geared fan engine is shown in Fig.
1. Since the introduction of the TFE731-2, over 2.5
million operating hours have been accrued in four
separate aircraft installations. There are now over
1700 engines in service, and high-time engines have
HISTORICALLY, ENGINE MANUFACTURERS have accumulated over 6500 hours.
suffered through a period when a new engine design was During the early 70's, several new aircraft and
introduced into service during which reliability prob- aircraft re-engining programs dictated the need for
lems that were never evidenced during development increased thrust and improved altitude performance on
become apparent. This, in most cases, occurs despite the medium sized business jets. These needs spawned
the stringency and length of the development testing. the development of the TFE731-3 engine. This engine,
The extent of this phenomenon is closely related to the using the basic power section from the TFE731-2 engine
actual in-service experience with the basic engine along with a new, cooled, high-pressure turbine,
components as well as the aircraft application and afforded a higher turbine inlet temperature and a 3700-
mission - - the actual engine environment. pound thrust takeoff rating. In addition, cruise thrust
With the advent of the TFE731-5 engine, Garrett was increased 11 percent at a comparable TSFC.
has taken advantage of a unique opportunity to avoid In-service experience with the -2 engine fleet
this infancy phenomenon and provide a new, highly played a major role in design of the TFE731-3. The
advanced engine which will have, to the extent possible, redesign of the outer transition liner to allow removal
mature-engine reliability concurrent with its introduc- during hot-section inspection and a more easily main-
tion into service. The basis for this statement lies in tainable LP turbine stator are examples of improve-
the over five million hours of operation accrued on the ments identified by service experience needs. Other
TFE731 family of engines in both military and civil elements include a split outer fan duct for ease of
applications and the thorough application of this very maintenance of the air/oil cooling system and internal
broad experience to the design of the TFE731-5 engine. plumbing and redesign of the rear turbine support case
This, coupled with the prudent use of service-proven to allow attachment of the core engine exhaust duct
components from the TFE731-2 and TFE731-3 engines, with a quick-connect clamp to reduce engine removal
has provided an engine with designed-in reliability. and installation time.
The TFE731-3 applications, which now include
To understand this more fully, a review of the last eight different aircraft, are primarily medium size
decade of experience with TFE731 engines covering the business aircraft ranging in size from the two-engine
0148-7191/83/0412-0756$02.50
Copyright 1983 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
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Fig. 1 - Cutaway view of basic TFE731-2 engine

IAI Westwind 1124 aircraft at 23,000 pounds gross tools developed at Garrett were employed in the design
weight to the 4-engine Lockheed Jetstar II at 44,500 of the fan. As a result, the new fan met the ingestion
pounds. The TFE731-3 engine was certified in 1974 and strength requirements without sacrificing performance.
currently has a fleet size of nearly 2300 engines and The TFE731-3A engine recently entered service
over two million operating hours. The highest time on the Lear 55 aircraft while the TFE731-3B powers the
engine has been in service for over 4500 operating Cessna Citation III.
hours. With the larger fleet size and utilization rates The HP turbine blade for the TFE731-3B engine
similar to those of the TFE731-2 engine fleet, the was developed during a NASA-Garrett research pro-
TFE731-3 engine will exceed 3.0 million hours in 1983. gram conducted in the mid-70's designated the Mater-
During the late 70's, the business aircraft market ials for Advanced Turbine Engines (MATE) Program.
required higher altitude capabilities and increased The program was initiated to develop a casting process
range for the new midsized aircraft. In response, and the material properties data for directionally solid-
Garrett developed the TFE731-3A and -3B engines. ified (DS) turbine blades. The improvement in stress-
Again, using the basic TFE731-2 and -3 power section, a rupture properties over conventional equiaxed cast
new higher-pressure-ratio fan with improved altitude blades led to design of a solid (uncooled) DS blade for
performance and several turbine improvements were testing in place of the internally cooled TFE731-3 high-
incorporated to provide a viable 51,000-ft altitude pressure turbine blade. The DS blade and its stator
engine with a significant reduction in cruise TSFC. demonstrated a 1.4 percent increase in aerodynamic
A principal element of the TFE731-3A and -3B stage efficiency. This, in conjunction with a 75-percent
engine models is the incorporation of the improved- reduction in high-pressure compressor flow used for
performance fan. Design of the fan in an engine of this turbine cooling, resulted in a significant improvement
size is complicated by today's bird ingestion require- in engine TSFC.
ments, which normally necessitate a compromise in
aerodynamic design to achieve the required fan Various applications of the current TFE731 family
strength. The latest 3-dimensional analytical/design are shown in Fig. 2.
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Fig. 2 - Various applications of the TFE731 engine

family

ENGINE RELIABILITY test program initiated the on-going engineering effort

which followed and has achieved for today's TFE731
When the TFE731 engine initially entered service, engine the degree of reliability demanded by the execu-
over 10,000 development test hours had been logged, tive jet operators.
and a rigorous certification test program had been Garrett, through its extensive field service staff
completed. To further substantiate the integrity of the and company-owned maintenance facilities, has main-
engine, a 1000-hour accelerated flight endurance test tained a high degree of visibility concerning TFE731
was performed by Garrett. The test program was reliability. This has been important in establishing the
conducted on a Falcon 10 aircraft using two TFE731-2- engine maintenance program, in providing the data
1C engines and was intended to verify the basic engine necessary for determining current and future failure
integrity as well as establish a high degree of customer rates, and in formulating the basis for engineering
confidence in the engine. Considered a "lead the fleet" programs.
program, it had the additional objective of discovering The TFE731 fleet reliability is reviewed on a
and resolving any potential service problems in monthly basis by a TFE731 Maintenance Board com-
advance. prised of managers from several key departments:
The test program spanned an 85-day period, Engineering, Customer Support, Product Line Manage-
including 16 maintenance days, from April to July 1974. ment, Airworthiness, Manufacturing, and Product Integ-
The aircraft was flown in random flight profiles from rity. It is the function of this board to establish the
sea level up to the aircraft ceiling of 45,000 feet, and maintenance, engine configuration, and engineering
the engines were operated at the maximum temper- requirements consistent with pre-established reliability
ature limits throughout the program to generate the objectives. To assist in this activity, failure rate data,
most severe thermal environment. including future rates as determined by Weibull and
The program was extremely successful since the Weibest analysis, are maintained for every major
engines performed flawlessly with no in-flight failures; component in the engines. These procedures have
yet it served to identify several potential service provided early identification of service problems and
problems with incipient distress shown on components led to timely solutions.
not seen in ground endurance. Thus, this early flight The reliability history of the TFE731 engine, as
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defined by premature or unscheduled removal rates and The TFE731 engine modular design readily per-
in-flight shutdown rates, is shown in Fig. 3. Currently, mits field disassembly of all major sections of the
the mean time between unscheduled engine removals engine. Disassembly and inspection of each module at
stands at better than 7,600 hours, and the in-flight specified intervals, with component parts replacement
shutdown rate exceeds 24,000 hours. This premature or repair as required, assures a high degree of module
removal rate is unequaled by any other modern tech- reliability with minimal operator inconvenience and
nology turbofan in business aviation. cost. Module inspection with appropriate parts replace-
ment, along with engine condition monitoring, forms
the basis of the Progressive Maintenance Program.
Analytical engineering teardown of the "lead the fleet"
(highest time) engines provides the appropriate auditing
and control of the maintenance program. Information
from this program not only fosters design improvements
for existing models but is fed directly to new engine
design.
The progressive maintenance approach is superior
to the conventional overhaul concept, wherein time
between overhaul (TBO) for the entire engine is con-
trolled only by lower life components in the engine.
The TBO approach, therefore, increases ownership cost,
downtime, and customer inconvenience by requiring
that the complete engine be removed from service to
an overhaul facility only to accommodate the service-
ability and reliability of a few low-life components.
RELIABILITY MONITORING - Given the fact that
the purpose of a maintenance program is to assure
engine reliability, it follows that accurate knowledge of
the engine's reliability is required in order to govern the
maintenance policy. Reliability data is the most impor-
tant input parameter required for the establishment and
control of the maintenance program, and therefore it
has been emphasized by careful control of timely
information, data editing, and reporting flow.
Reliability data is derived primarily from the
following:
(a) In-flight shutdowns, premature engine
removals, and malfunctions reported by
operators, field service representatives, and
maintenance facilities.
(b) Engine condition and parts replacement
factors reported at module inspection
intervals. These reports are received from
both factory and independent maintenance
facilities.
(c) Engine conditions observed at time of
inspection and repair at the factory.
Fig. 3 - TFE731 fleet reliability trends (d) Failure analysis conducted on component
parts returned to the factory.
(e) Fleet-leader high-time engine analytical
CONTINUING AIRWORTHINESS PROGRAMS inspections. These inspections are per-
formed by the TFE731 engineering organiza-
Garrett has devised a continuing airworthiness tion.
program for the various models of the TFE731 turbofan (f) In-house lead-the-fleet development testing
engine that adopts reliability control methods used of full-scale engines and components.
within the air carrier industry for many years. The The reliability and component-condition data
purpose of this program is to provide the small fleet or derived from all of the above sources are used to
single-aircraft operator the benefits of the overall continuously monitor trends as well as specific prob-
TFE731 fleet experience in establishing maintenance lems. Analytical methods are used to project future
activity so that a high degree of reliability is main- failure rates. In this manner, appropriate corrective
tained at minimum overall maintenance costs. action is taken based on current experience trends and
This program, entitled the "Progressive Mainten- future projections. The data also provides for measure-
ance Program," is currently in effect on all TFE731-2 ment of the effectiveness of product improvements
and -3 engine models. Authorization for this program is previously incorporated. The TFE731 Maintenance
implicit in FAR 33.19, which specifies, "The design Board compares this information with the established
shall minimize the development of an unsafe condition reliability goals in order to effectively guide the Pro-
throughout the expected overhaul life of the engine." gressive Maintenance Program toward the end objec-
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5
tives of increased engine reliability and reduced oper- Concurrent with the anti-rotation problem, it was
ator c o s t determined that a vibratory fatigue problem of the
FACTORY ANALYTICAL INSPECTION - The third-stage stator vane existed as evidenced by several
analytical inspection program is defined as a factory trailing-edge cracks or losses of a portion of the vane
inspection of fleet-leader engines. Special arrange- trailing edge. Subsequent strain-gauge testing of the
ments are made with high-use operators for the return airfoil in a development engine identified a resonant
of these high-time engines for inspection. frequency at specific engine speeds that produced
The primary purpose of the program is to provide potentially damaging strains in the vane root and mid-
substantiating technical data for establishing and span areas.
adjusting inspection procedures and intervals. In addi- The vane assembly rotation problems were
tion, it provides insight into potential longer term resolved by installing radial anti-rotation pins in the
problem areas which may require future engineering stators to firmly lock the vane row. The third-stage
activity and/or adjustment of the maintenance pro- stator vane resonance was resolved by redesigning the
gram. airfoil to increase the taper ratio and incorporate a
The inspection involves the total disassembly and squealer tip.
inspection of the engine and accessory components. These LP compressor design improvements fol-
Thorough dimensional inspection and nondestructive lowed the discovery of minute fatigue cracks in the
testing are used to determine potential problems and acute corner radius at the intersection of the com-
define deterioration rates. Engine components and pressor disk dovetail slot and the rim face. The cracks
accessories are subjected to functional tests along with were found only in high-time, in-house, fleet-leader
a complete engine test before and after the inspection. development engine disks and were determined to be
To date fourteen engines have been thoroughly low-cycle-fatigue indications in the highly stressed area
inspected and have provided the data base required to of the dovetail. An engineering program evolved there-
establish maintenance limits and intervals including the after which verified the disk material properties and
recently established 4200-hour core inspection interval. better defined the stress field of the dovetail slot.
MAINTENANCE SERVICE PLAN - By its nature, The required redesign of the LP compressor disk,
the business aircraft community demands more factory shown in Fig. 4, included increasing the disk rim length
support than either the air carrier industry or the and depth and a unique large root radius dovetail with
military. This is due to the relatively few engines used substantially reduced stress concentrations. The disk
by the average business operator and the limited flight web and bore were also strengthened to support the
operation and maintenance capabilities. These factors heavier rim area. The most significant of these
dictate direct involvement of the engine manufacturer changes is illustrated by Figure 5, showing the first-
not only to define and expand the maintenance program stage disk design changes.
but also to control and minimize the cost. In response
to this requirement, Garrett introduced the TFE731
Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) in 1976. The plan
provides a method of managing engine maintenance
expenses with the inherent advantage of allowing
accurate budgeting for extended periods.
MSP provides the individual operator with contin-
uous financial coverage of both scheduled and unsched-
uled maintenance and engine modernization. For this
service, the operator pays an established rate per
engine operating hour. In addition to the on-going
financial and budgeting advantages, the program is
transferable from one owner to the next, increasing the
aircraft's resale value.
The plan, coupled with the Progressive Mainten-
ance Program, offers the TFE731 operator the most
desirable support package available in business aviation Fig. 4 - Typical LP compressor dovetail modification
today. This is evidenced by its popularity since over 40
percent of all operators are currently enrolled.

SERVICE EXPERIENCE

In order to better understand the process of

identifying field problems, developing solutions, and
implementing fixes, it is worthwhile to examine some
of the more salient experiences with the TFE731.
LP COMPRESSOR - Several problems were dis-
covered within the four-stage axial LP compressor
shortly after entry into service. The first of these,
discovered after a field incident, concerned the anti-
rotation of the first- through third-stage compressor
stator vane assemblies. Anti-rotation, which was
achieved by the interference fit of the vane in the
retaining ring, proved not to be sufficient due to fret
and wear of the vane feet. Fig. 5 - First-stage LPC disk modification
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The overall LP compressor redesign, development A brief summary of some of the more important
and certification required less than two years and bearing experience follows.
resulted in a field modification program which was PLANET BEARINGS - Two roller bearings support
initiated in December of 1974. All 478 engines each of the five planetary bearings within the fan
affected were retrofitted at Garrett expense with the gearbox. The small planet bearing is located on the
new LP compressor before any serious incident could forward end of the gearshaft and the large bearing is
take place. The improved LP compressor design has affixed to the aft end.
operated flawlessly since. Incidents of roller end wear on both bearings and
HP TURBINE BLADE - Despite over 10,000 hours several failures of the large planet bearings were
of development experience without a significant HP experienced. The failure modes included roller end
turbine blade problem and rotor strain-gauge tests wear, inner race guide flange fatigue, and fret-induced
showing low vibratory strain levels, several blade fail- fatigue of the inner race (fret at the interface of the
ures on -2 engines were experienced in early 1974. The bearing flange and the gear). Design improvements to
failure mode, characterized by cracking and separation the large bearing were introduced which increased the
of the airfoil at 1/3 and 2/3 span, was identified as flange height and deleted the radial oil supply grooves
high-cycle fatigue. on the bearing inner race flange adjacent to the gear
The program that followed culminated with the face. Initial service experience with this configuration
release of the current TFE731-2 engine blade in showed a dramatic improvement in the reliability of the
November of 1976 and resulted in the development of large bearing. However, a significant increase in low
several sophisticated empirical and analytical tools for time failures of the small planet bearings was experi-
solving complex, statistically oriented mechanical enced concurrent with this change. This turned out to
problems. In addition, the materials data that was be significant during the investigation which followed.
generated significantly augmented the Garrett bank of Previous design changes to both bearings had
design data on nickel-base castings and specifically successfully eliminated roller end wear as a primary
impacted other engine blade designs and established failure cause, and since failure analysis indicated inner
requirements for the TFE731-5 engine design. The race cracking due to fatigue, an extensive fan gearbox
program was multi-faceted and included blade coating test program was initiated in February 1978 to define
evaluations, micro-structural and material property the vibration environment of the gearbox. This testing
requirements, blade quality requirements and pro- identified gearshaft resonances that induced potentially
cedures, and rigid foundry controls. harmful strain levels in the small planet bearing inner
The blade that emerged from this program was race. These high strain levels were a result of gear-
one with an increased taper ratio, controlled trailing- shaft flex modes excited by tooth mesh frequency.
edge thickness, and improved coating. Significant Following additional component and engine tests,
changes were also made to control the casting process, a configuration was selected which included a reduction
grain size and orientation, and surface finish. A in retaining nut torque, a Belleville spring washer
detailed quality plan was implemented to assure a blade between the nut and the bearing, and larger flanged
devoid of casting and surface imperfections and free of retaining nuts for support of the washer (see Fig. 6).
harmful resonant frequencies. A 100-percent visual
inspection along with an acoustical resonant frequency
check on a sampling basis was implemented to assure
that the necessary quality standards were met. All
TFE731 engines in service and development benefit
from this exhaustive product improvement program.
BEARINGS - Main shaft bearing problems have
historically been a problem of major concern for most
gas turbine engine manufacturers. Basic bearing design
and selection is a relatively straightforward and well
defined science; however, the major problem arises in
understanding precisely the bearing environment and
the bearing quality requirements. In the case of the
TFE731 engine, several problems were experienced with
bearings within the fan reduction gearbox due to
fatigue failure induced by vibratory loads and metal-
lurgical quality problems not readily detectable by
normal NDT methods. Main rotor bearing problems
were also experienced for subtle metallurgical descrep-
ancies.
The key to the successful resolution of the
bearing problems experienced in service on the TFE731
engine has been the development of a precise under-
standing of the bearing loads under all operating condi-
tions, definition of the exact dimensional and metal- Fig. 6 - Reduced torque planet gearshaft assembly
lurgical quality requirements, and the establishment of with damping washers
adequate in-process controls and non-destructive
inspection procedures to assure that the quality stan- The reduction of the retaining nut torque had the
dards are met. compound effect of reducing the steady-state stress
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levels in the inner race and dampening the resonant it was suspected that a potential field problem existed,
frequencies. The Belleville washer assured a positive and a program was initiated to define the problem and
retaining load for the bearing and provided additional effect a solution. Metallurgical investigation deter-
dampening. Repeated strain-gauge testing of the bear- mined the fracture mode to be high-cycle fatigue,
ing races, with and without the changes, along with a initiating from the backplate disk, see Fig. 8.
field evaluation program assured that the troublesome
fan gearbox bearing problem had finally been solved.
Field engine retrofit of the improved planet bearing
configuration has resulted in a dramatic improvement
in engine reliability.
NO. 5 BEARING - In 1979, the number of high-
pressure-spool main shaft bearing (No. 5) malfunctions
increased significantly. As more failures occurred, it
became apparent that the bearing problems were
weighted more heavily towards one of the two bearing
suppliers.
Only with continuous metallurgical examinations
of random failed and new bearings was the cause of
failure isolated. Two separate and distinct problem
areas were unveileds (1) outer raceways of failed Fig. 7 - HP compressor increased taper ratio
bearings contained microscopic voids and (2) thrust modification
loaded inner rings of one lot of bearings exhibited
severe grind burns 360° circumf erentially.
The voids in the bearing outer race micro-
structure were determined to be the result of over-
heating and incipient melting of the material during the
extrusion of the tube stock from which the race was
machined. Outer raceways manufactured from bar
stock exhibited no evidence of voids and demonstrated
a significantly improved service reliability. Inner ring
grind burns, responsible for the infant bearing failures,
had gone undetected by the manufacturer due to insuf-
ficient inspection procedures.
This investigative program culminated in the
implementation of several sensitive and innovative
inspection techniques now incorporated to improve the
reliability of all critical bearings. Nital etch inspection
procedures were refined and are now applied following
rough grinding operations as well as after finish grind.
The use of the tube stock raw material was prohibited,
and eddy current inspection of bearing components was
established as a requirement to further scrutinize the
quality of the bearing. Since these significantly
improved inspection techniques were implemented, the
failure rate of the No. 5 bearing as well as other Fig. 8 - Typical TFE731-3 impeller distress as a result
critical bearings has decreased dramatically. of original diffuser problem
All of the aforementioned bearing design, manu-
facturing, and inspection improvements have been
incorporated in the TFE731-5 engine and other Garrett A high-rotor rig (comprised of a high-pressure
models. spool and related structure) was the tool used to
HP COMPRESSOR IMPELLER - Several failures determine the vibratory characteristics surrounding the
of the high-pressure-compressor impeller were experi- impeller. A series of 23 high-rotor rig vibratory tests
enced in service beginning in early 1977. The failure, were conducted, which isolated the problem to the -3
normally manifested by fracture of a single blade tip engine configuration. This was supported by field
and typically discovered during routine maintenance experience in that no failures of the new design had
inspection, was identified as high-cycle fatigue. This occurred on the -2 engines. Results of the rig testing
prompted an engineering investigation which resulted in showed that high strain levels were excited at approxi-
an impeller redesign to increase blade taper ratio, mately 101 percent high-pressure-spool speed by
reduce the overall blade stress levels, and eliminate impeller disk diametral modes. The impeller excita-
harmful blade vibratory resonance. See Fig. 7. tion, in turn, was caused by the HP compressor diffuser
The modified impeller design was introduced into secondary cooling flow feature, which was unique to the
production engines in May 1978. Shortly after introduc- -3 engine. Because the -2 engine diffuser was shown to
tion, a failure was experienced after only three hours of not cause HP impeller resonance, the corrective action
operation and was believed to be the result of a was to modify the -3 diffuser to react similarly to the -
material defect. A second failure of this nature did not 2 diffuser.
occur until more than a year later, and a third failure The solution that emerged revised the secondary
occurred in March 1980. Following the second failure, cooling geometry, resulting in a significant reduction in
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the HP compressor impeller strain levels. Since imple- 1977. A cross section of the engine comparing it to its
mentation, there have been no further failures. TFE731-3 predecessor is shown in Fig. 10.
During development, the TFE731-5 has been The larger fan produces a bypass ratio of 3.3:1
tested thoroughly for this impeller resonance and found compared to 2.6:1 for the previous models. The bypass
to be free of any potential problems. ratio change combined with the improved-efficiency
fan stage and LP turbine plus a modest increase in
TFE731-5 OVERVIEW turbine inlet temperature provide for increased thrust
and reduced TSFC at all conditions. Comparisons
Having experienced the growth and maturity of showing a 16 percent increase in takeoff thrust and a
the TFE731 engine family in the general aviation 4.5 percent reduction in cruise TSFC for the TFE731-5
market, Garrett took the next logical step, which was to are presented in Fig. 11.
fill the void in the second-generation turbofan thrust Through careful design, the performance improve-
class existing between the TFE731 and Garrett's ATF3 ment offered by the TFE731-5 is attained in a frame
engine as shown in Fig. 9. size that uses precisely the same engine mount points
and configuration as the TFE731-2 and -3 engines.
While the initial takeoff rating of the TFE731-5 is 4300
pounds (4500 pounds with automatic power reserve), the
engine has growth capability to the 5000-pound class
with an accompanying 10 percent further reduction in
TSFC. Engine base weight is increased just under 100
pounds to accommodate the larger fan and LP turbine.
FAN AND COMPRESSORS - The fan section
shown in Fig. 12 was extended forward to provide a
flow path hub profile that would minimize aerodynamic
losses in the core inlet duct. The conical inlet spinner,
because of its shape, precludes the buildup of ice and
does not require anti-icing.
Fig. 9 - TFE731-5 fills current market need The dampered, multiple-circular-arc fan blade is
a mirror-image, 0.97 scaled version of the Garrett
ATF3-6 certified fan blade. A stiffening rib incorpor-
The engine designed to fill this need is the newest ated on the pressure side one inch inboard of the tip
and largest member of the TFE731 family, the TFE731- was developed through extensive bird impact testing.
5. While the proven core engine components remain The leading edge at the tip is cut back to provide
unchanged, the TFE731-5 incorporates a larger fan additional impact resistance where the blade is most
(0.97 scale of the ATF-3) and a high-work, low-pressure vulnerable.
turbine which is a derivative of that developed during Extensive aerodynamic rig testing led to the
the joint NASA/GARRETT program for the Quiet Clean design of the TFE731-5 single-span stator. The stator
General Aviation Turbofan (QCGAT) in 1975 through at the flow path inner wall was positioned close to the

Fig. 10 - Substantial similarity exists between

TFE731-5 and its -3 predecessor
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Fig. 11 - TFE731-5 offers significant power and

economy benefits

rotor and swept aft at the outer wall to influence the

rotor discharge aerodynamics. In a medium bird inges-
tion test following two 1 1/2 pound birds, the ATF3
FAN SECTION COMPARISON using a similar design continued to produce 96 percent
of the original thrust. The entire fan stage was shown
ENGINE 731-5 731-3 to be extremely rugged and, by design, the fan stator
protected the engine core by diverting bird debris to
NO. BLADES 30 30 the fan discharge duct.
NO. ONE PIECE VANES 61 — The LP and HP compressors are identical to those
NO. BYPASS VANES — 109 in the TFE731-2/-3 and have demonstrated their dur-
ability and excellent performance through over 4.5
NO. CORE VANES — 67 million hours of field experience.
TIP DIAMETER 29.7 IN. 27.8 IN. FAN GEARBOX - To provide optimum fan aero-
BLADE & DISC MATERIAL TITANIUM TITANIUM dynamic performance, the gearbox speed ratio for the
TFE731-5 was changed from 0.555 to 0.496. The
TFE731-5 fan gearbox uses five planet gears and a
"floating" ring gear concept that has proven successful
in the prior TFE731 engines. Fig. 13 compares the
TFE731-5 reduction gearbox to that of the TFE731-3.
Obviously all of the lessons learned and technology
developed during the maturing process on the TFE731-2
and -3 were applied directly to the -5 gearbox design.
The TFE731-5 gear contact ratio was increased to
smooth out vibration, and the mesh action at the sun
and ring gears was counterphased for each planet gear
to normalize the mesh stiffness. Sequential tooth
engagement was incorporated to provide more uniform
torsional stiffness at mesh frequency. The planet gear
rotational speed was reduced 24 percent, and the planet
bearing design load capacity was increased signif-
icantly.
ACCESSORY DRIVE GEARBOX - The accessory
drive gearbox of the TFE731-5 engine is identical to
those on the TFE731-2/-3 and incorporates the replace-
able spline, developed as a product improvement on the
-2 and - 3 engines, for the accessory drive gearshafts.
This system was developed to avoid the abnormal wear
on gearshaft splines caused by the inherent misalign-
ment of component accessory shafts mounted on the
gearbox pad.
The initial design configuration consisted of a
replaceable steel spline that was highly crowned on the
outside diameter to accept any misalignment. Further
refinement to reduce cost and improve wear brought
about the use of a tough polyimide material for the
Fig. 12 - TFE731-5 fan section features replaceable element. The replaceable spline concept
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10

exhibit excellent static and dynamic seal capacity

TFE731-3 TFE731-5 coupled with long life.
GEARBOX RATIO 0.555 0.4960 Carbon grade development and housing and
HORSEPOWER TRANSMITTED 3350 4337
secondary seal design optimization have contributed
substantially to the excellent seal performance.
MAX GEARBOX OIL FLOW (GPM) 5.7 5.7 COMBUSTOR SYSTEM - The TFE731-5's
SUN/PLANET DIAMETRAL PITCH 15 13.5 increased fuel flow, moderately higher combustor exit
temperature, and the legislative requirement to meet
SUN GEAR
reduced smoke emission levels have necessitated minor
• TEETH 75 63 adjustment of the airflow distribution within the proven
• RPM (100%) 20,688 20,688 TFE731-3 combustor.
PLANET GEAR Modifications in the TFE731-5 combustor are as
follows:
• TEETH 20 32 o Thermal barrier coating protecting the
• RPM (100%) 53.503 40.730 inside of the combustor liner from locally
RING GEAR high temperature gradients. This coating
was developed for and is currently in pro-
• TEETH 135 127 duction on the ATF3.
• RPM (100%) 11.493 10.263 o Thicker liner walls
o Increased dome cooling
A fuel nozzle durability problem involving
thermally induced erosion of the fuel nozzle shrouds
was encountered early in the development program.
Through the application of a thermal barrier coating,
adoption of an improved erosion resistant HS188 mater-
ial, and addition of two cooling holes per shroud, fuel
nozzle durability was restored to an acceptable level.
HIGH-PRESSURE TURBINE - The high-pressure
turbine stage consists of a single-stage, axial flow, air-
cooled turbine rotor and an air cooled stator, which is
similar in mechanical design to that of the currently
certified TFE731-3 engine. The major differences are
the incorporation of improved strength directionally
solidified Mar-M 247 blade material and the redesigned
higher-efficiency stator fabricated from Mar-M 247
equiaxed material. These material changes were made
to accommodate the moderate increase in turbine inlet
temperature and add conservatism for life and cost of
ownership considerations. Engine testing has supported
the materials selection and has demonstrated that the
desired future growth capabilities are available within
the design.
LOW-PRESSURE TURBINE - The low-pressure
(LP) turbine for the TFE731-5 engine was designed to
provide improved efficiency and longer life while pro-
viding 14 percent more work capacity. It is compared
with the current TFE731 LP turbine design in Fig. 14.
The maximum operating speed of 21,000 rpm remains
the same as for the TFE731-3.
Salient features of the new low-pressure turbine
are:
Fig. 13 - Fan gearbox comparison o The proven "Quiet Clean General Aviation
Turbof an" aerodynamic design was used.
o Materials with improved stress and creep
has been proven by extensive laboratory cyclic overload rupture properties were incorporated, and
tests, engine endurance, and field experience. the blades of the first two turbine stages
BEARINGS AND SEALS - The TFE731-5 engine were protected by a diffused aluminum-
utilizes the proven mainshaft bearings used in the other chromium oxidation resistant coating.
certified members of the TFE731 family, except for the o To reduce stress concentrations in the base
HP thrust bearing. The new No. 5 HP thrust bearing of the turbine blade firtree attachments and
has, by design, increased thrust capacity and incorpor- to simplify the attachment procedure,
ates stringent controls on material and inspection replaceable clips were selected for 731-5
requirements based on the experience gained in the blade retention.
TFE731 family. The TFE731-5 engine incorporates the o Cooling flow requirements for the LP
same mainshaft seals as the current TFE731-2/-3 turbine were minimized by incorporating
engine fleet. Seal improvements have evolved with flow discouragers to the vane and blade
field experience to produce carbon face seals that rows. This scheme not only reduces hot gas
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11

TFE731-5

STAGE 1 2 3

NO. VANES 37 59 61
NO. BLADES 64 52 56
TIP DIA., IN. 13.68 15.25 16.66
DISC SUPER-
MATERIAL WASPALOY WASPALOY WASPALOY
BLADE
MATERIAL D.S.MAR-M-247 IN100 INCO713

TFE731-3

STAGE 1 2 3

NO. VANES 67 71 77
NO. BLADES 86 84 80
TIP DIA., IN. 13.49 14.50 15.52
DISC
MATERIAL WASPALOY WASPALOY WASPALOY
BLADE
MATERIAL IN100 INCO713 INCO713

Fig. 14 - Low-pressure turbine comparison

ingestion into the disk cavity but signif- severety of the anomaly and take appropriate action to
icantly increases turbine efficiency. permit engine operation at the best available control
o All secondary labyrinth seals in the design mode.
use a durable, small diameter, stepped- In addition, all faults, including intermittent
honeycomb configuration to reduce leakages system anomalies, which are difficult to detect, are
and resonances. stored in the computer non-volatile memory for later
ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM - The basic TFE731- interrogation. Fault annunciation, as well as computer
5 engine control system remains unchanged from that schedule trim adjustment values, are displayed by an
of the TFE731 family of engines in that the engine LED readout on the front panel of the computer.
control function is accomplished by two major com- ACOUSTICS - The TFE731-5 engine retains the
ponents: the full-authority, remotely mounted elec- good acoustic characteristics of the TFE731 family of
tronic computer backed up by an engine-mounted engines made possible by careful design of the fan rotor
hydromechanical metering section. The electronic and stator. A low fan noise characteristic is obtained
computer provides for speed governing, thrust setting, by omitting fan inlet guide vanes, incorporating large
temperature limiting control, and acceleration and fan-to-stator spacing, and optimizing fan and stator
deceleration scheduling. The hydromechanical section,
which is mechanically linked to the cockpit power
lever, provides fuel metering, manual control and
overspeed protection, and fuel shutoff functions.
A significant improvement to the TFE731-5
control system is the incorporation of a digital elec-
tronic computer in place of the analog computer used
on earlier models of the TFE731 engines. The digital
computer uses state-of-the-art micro-processor tech-
nology to provide improved performance, reliability,
and a built-in test capability as well as additional
control features in the same physical envelope as the
current analog computer. The TFE71-5 digital fuel
control computer is shown in Fig. 15.
The built-in test equipment (BITE) feature of the
digital computer will yield the most noticeable
improvement to the TFE731-5 engine control system.
The computer BITE continuously monitors selected
internal and external parameters in order to identify
faults. If a fault occurs, the computer will classify the Fig. 15 - The modern TFE731-5 digital fuel control
computer
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12

blade counts. The TFE731-5 fan also features further between in-flight shutdowns of 24,000 hours. This
optimized fan-to-stator spacing inherent in the single- experience plus advanced technology developed over
span, swept stator design. Noise measurements made this period have been used in the basic design of the
during development have indicated no increase over the TFE731-5 to fill the 4,000-5,000 pound thrust void with
quiet, lower-powered TFE731-2. a mature and reliable engine.
FLIGHT TEST PROGRAM - Evaluation of a new
engine in flight is critical in development, and as has
been done in the past, Garrett is conducting a flight
test program. The first flight of the TFE731-5 was
successfully conducted on October 4, 1982.
A Garrett Falcon 20 aircraft has undergone
extensive modifications by installation of a TFE731-5
on the left side (ATF3 power on right side) and incor-
poration of comprehensive on-board flight test instru-
mentation data-acquisition and telemetry equipment.
Flight tests include mechanical and performance eval-
uation, controls development, inlet distortion, in-flight
starting, surge and certification testing. Installation of
the TFE731-5 on the Garrett Falcon 20 is shown in Fig.
16 and Fig. 17. Prior to engine certification, which is
scheduled for November 1983, 300 flight hours will be
accumulated on the test aircraft.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The TFE731 engine family has achieved considerable

maturity and growth in worldwide service during its
first decade of service in 15 aircraft installations. The
4000 engines delivered over this time have accumulated
over five million service hours. Through diligent appli-
cation of the Continuing Airworthiness Program devel-
oped for this general aviation engine and the resulting
early recognition and solution of significant problems,
these engines now enjoy an enviable mean time between Fig. 16 - TFE731-5 podded prior to first flight,
unscheduled removals of 7,600 hours and mean time October 4, 1982

Fig. 17 - TFE731-5 installed on left side of Garrett

Falcon 20 test aircraft
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