CFM International has completed the second phase of testing of the Leap-X core demonstrator known as eCore 1. This means that all three major elements of the first core–the turbine, the combustor and the compressor– have undergone evaluation. The results, according to Leap program director Ron Klapproth, have matched or exceeded all the company’s early projections, leaving the program on schedule for certification in late 2014.
“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Klapproth, who explained that the company first tests each of the components separately to evaluate different design concepts and choose the configuration to use in the core. “When we get to the point of running the core we have a pretty good idea of how we think [it] should perform. The fact that we’re getting back results that are very much in line with what we expected says that whole process is working well.”
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