The GE90 turbofan has become the first GE engine to incorporate an additive-manufactured component, the company announced Tuesday. The part—known as the T25 engine sensor housing—holds the T25 sensor for the GE90-94B.
The U.S Federal Aviation Administration granted certification of the sensor, which provides pressure and temperature measurements for the engine’s control system, in February. Engineers have begun retrofitting the upgraded T25 sensor, located in the inlet to the high-pressure compressor, into more than 400 GE90-94B engines in service. The new shape of the housing, made from a cobalt-chrome alloy, better protects the sensor’s electronics from icing and airflow that might damage it, according to GE.
“Additive manufacturing has allowed GE engineers to quickly change the geometry through rapid prototyping and producing production parts, saving months of traditional cycle time for the T25 sensor housing without impacting the sensor’s capabilities,” said Bill Millhaem, general manager of the GE90/GE9X engine program at GE Aviation.
GE Aviation said it expects to use additive manufacturing in several next-generation engines under development. For example, on the LEAP engine for Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo and on the GE9X for the Boeing 777X, GE Aviation will produce part of the fuel nozzles with additive manufacturing.
Unlike traditional manufacturing methods that mill or cut away from a metal slab to produce a part, additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing, “grows” parts directly from a CAD file using layers of fine metal powder and an electron beam or laser. The method allows for the manufacture of complex, dense parts without the waste inherent in milling, and in a fraction of the time it would take using other methods.
It also allows GE to design parts with unique geometries impossible to create using traditional machining methods. Additive manufactured components can reduce parts count by replacing assemblies with a single component, helping to reduce weight and increase an engine’s fuel efficiency.