The CFM enhancements on CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines include increased wall thickness, optimized dovetail loading, and more stringent manufacturing tolerances.
CFM has revealed an upgraded High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) blade designed to improve the durability of its CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines. This new blade design incorporates feedback from millions of engine flight hours in the field. The enhancements include increased wall thickness, optimized dovetail loading, and more stringent manufacturing tolerances. These upgrades are aimed at maintaining the fuel burn benefits introduced with CFM56 Tech Insertion blade configurations in 2007.
The purpose of these upgraded blades is to provide customers with reliable OEM parts. Many customers are transitioning their narrowbody fleets, and these new HPT blades will help extend the time these engines can remain in operation, optimizing cost of ownership and enhancing the engines’ residual value. Additionally, there are attractive upgrade options available for customers operating older CFM56 configurations.
“These upgraded CFM56-5B/-7B HPT blades are designed to keep our customers flying with OEM parts they know and trust,” said Jacey Welsh, CFM executive vice president – CFM56, GE Aerospace. “Many of our customers are transitioning their narrowbody fleets and the new CFM56 HPT blade can help them to extend time on-wing to optimize cost of ownership and enhance the residual value of their engines. We are also providing attractive upgrade options to customers operating older CFM56 configurations,” he further added.
The new HPT blades are being manufactured in Greenville, South Carolina, a modern GE Aerospace facility with extensive experience in producing HPT blades for a variety of commercial and military engines. The site ships an average of 1,000 parts per day, 5,000 parts per week, and 250,000 parts per year, highlighting its efficiency and capacity.
“With more than 1.2 billion engine flight hours logged, the CFM56 engine delivers for our customers 24/7, 365 days a year,” said Jérôme Morhet, CFM executive vice president, Safran Aircraft Engines. “We continue to invest in both product and support upgrades for this fleet. With the introduction of the new HPT blade, we are focused on building inventory to support our customers’ future shop visits,” he further added.
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CFM engines, such as the CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B, are known for their high dispatch reliability rate of 99.98%. They are designed and certified at the engine operating system level, ensuring optimized system and product performance. This enhancement reflects CFM’s commitment to providing reliable and efficient solutions for its customers, as it continues to invest in both product and support upgrades for its engine fleet.
