Commercial aircraft engine profile: Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1000G for Airbus A320neo

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., 18 Dec. 2011. The PurePower PW1000G engine family from Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. company (NYSE:UTX) in East Hartford, Conn., is one of two engines available for the environmentally friendly Airbus A320neo (new engine option) single-aisle passenger jet. The engine is designed for reduced fuel burn, environmental emissions, engine noise, and operating costs.The new passenger aircraft engine uses a state-of-the art gear system that separates the engine fan from the low pressure compressor and turbine, which enables each of the modules to operate at their optimum speeds, Pratt & Whitney officials say.The gearing system enables the fan to rotate at a relatively slow speed, while the low pressure compressor and turbine operate at a relatively high speed to increase engine efficiency and provide low fuel consumption, emissions, and noise. This increased efficiency also translates to fewer engine stages and parts for lower weight and reduced maintenance costs, company officials say.

The PurePower PW1000G engine also offers advances in aerodynamics, lightweight materials, and other technology improvements in the high-pressure spool, low-pressure turbine, combustor, controls, and engine health monitoring.

In 2008 Pratt & Whitney’s full-scale PurePower PW1000G demonstrator engine completed a 400-hour ground-and-flight test program. Hundreds of hours of ground testing of the first PW1500G engines for the Bombardier CSeries and PW1200G engines for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet helped validate the engine’s specifications.

Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1000G engine has been recognized by Popular Science Magazine with a 2009 Best of What’s New Award. The engine also received the 2009 Aviation Week Laureate Award for outstanding achievement in Aeronautics and Propulsion and the 2008 Technology Breakthrough Award from the China Aviation Association and AVIC Science and Technology department.

In addition to the Airbus A320neo, the PurePower engine has been selected as exclusive power for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) and the Bombardier CSeries. It has also been selected by Russia’s Irkut Corp. to power the Irkut MC-21 aircraft.

For more information contact Pratt & Whitney online at www.pw.utc.com or the Pratt & Whitney PurePower engine Website at www.purepowerengine.com.