General Electric F414
Encyclopedia
The General Electric F414 is an afterburning
turbofan
engine in the 22,000 lbf
(98 kN) thrust class produced by GE Aviation. The F414 was developed from GE's widely-used F404 turbofan for use in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
.
. After the cancellation of the A-12, the research was directed toward an engine for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
. GE successfully pitched the F414 as a low-risk derivative of the F404, rather than a riskier new engine. In fact, the F414 engine was originally envisioned as not using any materials or processes not used in the F404, and was designed to fit in the same footprint as the F404.
(FADEC), alongside the low-pressure system from the YF120
engine developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter
competition. One of the major differences between the F404 and the F414 is the fan section. The fan of the F414 is larger than that of the F404, but smaller than the fan for the F412. The larger fan section increases airflow by 16% and is 5 inches (12.7 cm) longer. To keep the engine in the F404's footprint, the afterburner section was shortened by 4 in (10.2 cm) and the combustor shortened by 1 in (2.5 cm). Another change from the F404 is the fact that the first three stages of the high pressure compressor are blisk
s rather than dovetailed blades, saving 50 pounds (22.7 kg) in weight. Furthermore, the FADEC guided F414 uses a fuel actuated system to manipulate the afterburner section rather than a separate hydraulic system.
resistance, and a reduced fuel burn rate.
The EDE program continued with the testing of an advanced two stage blade-disk (Blisk
) fan. The first advanced fan was produced using traditional methods, but future blisk fans will be made using translational friction welding
with the goal of reducing manufacturing costs. GE touts that this latest variant yields either a 20% increase in thrust or threefold increase in hot-section durability over the current F414. This version is called the Enhanced Performance Engine (EPE) and was partially funded through the federal Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology
(or IHPTET) program.
Other possible F414 improvements include efforts to reduce engine noise by using either mechanical or fluidic chevrons and efforts to reduce emissions with a new trapped vortex combustor. Chevrons would reduce engine noise by inducing mixing between the cooler, slower bypass air and the hotter, faster core exhaust air. Mechanical chevrons would come in the form of triangular cutouts (or extensions) at the end of the nozzle, resulting in a "sharktooth" pattern. Fluidic chevrons would operate by injecting differential air flows around the exhaust to achieve the same ends as the mechanical variety. A new combustor would likely aim to reduce emissions by burning a higher percentage of the oxygen
, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen available to bond with nitrogen
forming the pollutant NOx.
As of 2009, the F414-EDE is currently being developed and tested, under a United States Navy contract for a reduced specific fuel consumption (SFC) demonstrator engine.
Over 1,000 F414 engines have been delivered and the engine family has totaled over 1 million flight hours by 2010.
F414-EDE
F414-EPE
F414M
F414G
F414BJ
F414-GE-INS6
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
turbofan
Turbofan
The turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used for aircraft propulsion. A turbofan combines two types of engines, the turbo portion which is a conventional gas turbine engine, and the fan, a propeller-like ducted fan...
engine in the 22,000 lbf
Pound-force
The pound force is a unit of force in some systems of measurement including English engineering units and British gravitational units.- Definitions :...
(98 kN) thrust class produced by GE Aviation. The F414 was developed from GE's widely-used F404 turbofan for use in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
.
Origin
GE evolved the F404 into the F412-GE-400 non-afterburning turbofan for the A-12 Avenger IIA-12 Avenger II
The McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II was a proposed American ground-attack aircraft from McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics. It was to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber replacement for the Grumman A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marine Corps...
. After the cancellation of the A-12, the research was directed toward an engine for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
. GE successfully pitched the F414 as a low-risk derivative of the F404, rather than a riskier new engine. In fact, the F414 engine was originally envisioned as not using any materials or processes not used in the F404, and was designed to fit in the same footprint as the F404.
Design
The F414 uses the core of the F412 and its full-authority digital engine controlFADEC
Full Authority Digital Engine Control is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an electronic engine controller or engine control unit , and its related accessories that control all aspects of aircraft engine performance...
(FADEC), alongside the low-pressure system from the YF120
General Electric YF120
|-See also:-References:* Technology News Flight International 23/09/03 .-External links:* . Press release GE Aviation .*...
engine developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter
Advanced Tactical Fighter
The Advanced Tactical Fighter was a demonstration and validation program undertaken by the United States Air Force to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter to counter emerging worldwide threats, including Soviet Sukhoi Su-27 and Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters under development in the 1980s...
competition. One of the major differences between the F404 and the F414 is the fan section. The fan of the F414 is larger than that of the F404, but smaller than the fan for the F412. The larger fan section increases airflow by 16% and is 5 inches (12.7 cm) longer. To keep the engine in the F404's footprint, the afterburner section was shortened by 4 in (10.2 cm) and the combustor shortened by 1 in (2.5 cm). Another change from the F404 is the fact that the first three stages of the high pressure compressor are blisk
Blisk
A blisk is a single engine component consisting of a rotor disk and blades, which may be either integrally cast, machined from a solid piece of material, or made by welding individual blades to the rotor disk. The term is used mainly in aerospace engine design. The word is a portmanteau of blade...
s rather than dovetailed blades, saving 50 pounds (22.7 kg) in weight. Furthermore, the FADEC guided F414 uses a fuel actuated system to manipulate the afterburner section rather than a separate hydraulic system.
Current development
The F414 continues to be improved, both through internal GE efforts and federally funded development programs. By 2006 GE had tested an Enhanced Durability Engine (EDE) with an advanced core. The EDE engine provided a 15% thrust increase or longer life without the thrust increase. It has a six-stage high-pressure compressor (down from 7 stages in the standard F414) and an advanced high-pressure turbine. The new compressor should be about 3% more efficient. The new high pressure turbine uses new materials and a new way of delivering cooling air to the blades. These changes should increase the turbine temperature capability by about 150 °F (65.6 °C). The EDE is designed to have better foreign object damageForeign object damage
Foreign Object Debris is a substance, debris or article alien to a vehicle or system which would potentially cause damage.Foreign Object Damage is any damage attributed to a foreign object that can be expressed in physical or economic terms that may or may not degrade the product's required...
resistance, and a reduced fuel burn rate.
The EDE program continued with the testing of an advanced two stage blade-disk (Blisk
Blisk
A blisk is a single engine component consisting of a rotor disk and blades, which may be either integrally cast, machined from a solid piece of material, or made by welding individual blades to the rotor disk. The term is used mainly in aerospace engine design. The word is a portmanteau of blade...
) fan. The first advanced fan was produced using traditional methods, but future blisk fans will be made using translational friction welding
Friction welding
Friction welding is a class of solid-state welding processes that generates heat through mechanical friction between a moving workpiece and a stationary component, with the addition of a lateral force called "upset" to plastically displace and fuse the materials...
with the goal of reducing manufacturing costs. GE touts that this latest variant yields either a 20% increase in thrust or threefold increase in hot-section durability over the current F414. This version is called the Enhanced Performance Engine (EPE) and was partially funded through the federal Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology
Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology
The Integrated High Performance Turbine Engine Technology program was a project of the United States military. Its objective was to conduct science and technology research that would secure advancements in the engineering of the gas turbine engines used in military aircraft...
(or IHPTET) program.
Other possible F414 improvements include efforts to reduce engine noise by using either mechanical or fluidic chevrons and efforts to reduce emissions with a new trapped vortex combustor. Chevrons would reduce engine noise by inducing mixing between the cooler, slower bypass air and the hotter, faster core exhaust air. Mechanical chevrons would come in the form of triangular cutouts (or extensions) at the end of the nozzle, resulting in a "sharktooth" pattern. Fluidic chevrons would operate by injecting differential air flows around the exhaust to achieve the same ends as the mechanical variety. A new combustor would likely aim to reduce emissions by burning a higher percentage of the oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen available to bond with nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
forming the pollutant NOx.
As of 2009, the F414-EDE is currently being developed and tested, under a United States Navy contract for a reduced specific fuel consumption (SFC) demonstrator engine.
Over 1,000 F414 engines have been delivered and the engine family has totaled over 1 million flight hours by 2010.
Variants
F414-GE-400- This variant flies in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super HornetF/A-18E/F Super HornetThe Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft. The F/A-18E single-seat variant and F/A-18F tandem-seat variant are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm gun and can carry air-to-air...
. It was also proposed for the unbuilt naval F-117N variant of the F-117 NighthawkF-117 NighthawkThe Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force . The F-117A's first flight was in 1981, and it achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983...
.
F414-EDE
- The "Enhanced Durability Engine" or "EDE" variant, includes an improved high pressure turbine (HPT) and high pressure core (HPC). The HPT is redesigned to withstand slightly higher temperatures and includes aerodynamic changes. The HPC has been redesigned to 6 stages, down from 7. These changes were aimed at reducing SFC by 2% and three times greater component durability.
F414-EPE
- The "Enhanced Performance Engine" or "EPE" variant, includes a new core and a redesigned fan and compressor. The new engine version offers up to a 20 percent thrust boost, which increases its thrust to 26,400 pounds (120 kN), giving it an almost 11:1 thrust/weight ratio.
F414M
- Used by the EADS Mako/HEAT. Derated thrust to 12,500 lbf (55.6 kN) dry and 16,850 lbf (75 kN) wet. This version was proposed for international versions of the Korean T-50 series of trainers and fighter aircraft, but was later superseded by a new offer with a standard F414.
F414G
- This variant is produced for the Saab JAS 39 Gripen Demonstrator. It is slightly modified for use in a single engine Gripen as opposed to a twin-engine aircraft like the F/A-18. With this engine, the Gripen Demonstrator reached Mach 1.2 in supercruiseSupercruiseSupercruise is sustained supersonic flight of an aircraft with a useful cargo, passenger, or weapons load performed efficiently and without the use of afterburners ....
(without afterburner).
F414BJ
- Proposed for Dassault Falcon SSBJ. This variant would produce around 12000 lbf (53.4 kN) of thrust without use of afterburner.
F414-GE-INS6
- India’s Aeronautical Development Agency selected the F414-GE-INS6 engine to power the Mk II version of the HAL TejasHAL TejasThe HAL Tejas is a lightweight multirole fighter developed by India. It is a tailless, compound delta-wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters...
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force. The F414-GE-INS6 is the highest thrust F414 variant, and it includes a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADECFADECFull Authority Digital Engine Control is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an electronic engine controller or engine control unit , and its related accessories that control all aspects of aircraft engine performance...
) system. It will feature a six stage turbofan. The engine is to be delivered by 2013.
Applications
- Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- EADS Mako/HEAT
- Saab Gripen Demo
- HAL Tejas Mark II