Pratt & Whitney F100

F100
F100 for an F-15 Eagle being tested
Type Turbofan
National origin United States
Manufacturer Pratt & Whitney
First run 1970s
Major applications F-15 Eagle
F-15E Strike Eagle
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Northrop Grumman X-47B
Developed into Pratt & Whitney PW1120

The Pratt & Whitney F100 (company designation JTF22[1]) is an afterburning turbofan engine manufactured by Pratt & Whitney which powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Development

In 1967, the United States Navy and United States Air Force issued a joint engine Request for Proposals (RFP) for the F-14 Tomcat and F-15 Eagle fighters. The combined program was called Advanced Turbine Engine Gas Generator (ATEGG) with goals to improve thrust and reduce weight to achieve a thrust-to-weight ratio of 9. The program requested proposals and would award Pratt & Whitney a contract in 1970 to produce F100-PW-100 (USAF) and F401-PW-400 (USN) engines. The Navy would cut back and later cancel its order, choosing to continue to use the Pratt & Whitney TF30 engine from the F-111 in its F-14.[2]

Variants

F100-PW-100

F100-PW-100 on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center

The F100-100 first flew in an F-15 Eagle in 1972 with a thrust of 23,930 lbf (106.4 kN). Due to the advanced nature of engine and aircraft, numerous problems were encountered in its early days of service including high wear, stalling[3] and "hard" afterburner starts. These "hard" starts could be caused by failure of the afterburner to start or by extinguishing after start, in either case the large jets of jet fuel were lit by the engine exhaust resulting in high pressure waves causing the engine to stall. Early problems were solved in the F100-PW-220, and the engine is still in the USAF fleet to this day.

F100-PW-200

The F-16 Fighting Falcon entered service with the F100-200, with only slight differences from the -100. Seeking a way to drive unit costs down, the USAF implemented the Alternative Fighter Engine (AFE) program in 1984, under which the engine contract would be awarded through competition. The F-16C/D Block 30/32s were the first to be built with the common engine bay, able to accept the existing engine or the General Electric F110.

F100-PW-220/220E

Due to the unsatisfactory reliability, maintenance costs, and service life of the F100-PW-100/200, Pratt & Whitney was eventually pressured into upgrading the engine to address these issues. The resulting engine, designated F100-PW-220, almost eliminates stall-stagnations and augmenter instability as well as doubling time between depot overhauls. Reliability and maintenance costs were also drastically improved, and the engine incorporates a digital electronic engine control (DEEC). The F100-PW-220 was introduced in 1986 and could be installed on either an F-15 or F-16.[4] A non-afterburning variant, the F100-PW-220U powers the Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV. The "E" abbreviation from 220E is for equivalent. The abbreviation is given to engines which have been upgraded from series 100 or 200 to 220, thus becoming equivalent to 220 specifications.

F100-PW-229

The first -229 was flown in 1989 and has a thrust of 79 kN (17,800 lbf) (dry thrust) and 29,160 lbf (129.7 kN) with afterburner. It currently powers late model F-16s and the F-15E Strike Eagle. Using technology developed from the F119 and F135 engine programs for the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, the current production F100-PW-229 EEP (Engine Enhancement Package) incorporates modern turbine materials, cooling management techniques, compressor aerodynamics, and electronic controls.[5] Deliveries of the -229EEP began in 2009.

Applications

An F401 engine for Rockwell XFV-12 prototype supersonic VTOL fighter
F100
F401

Specifications (F100)

F100-PW-220

Data from ,[4][6][7]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

F100-PW-229

Data from [8]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also

Related development
Comparable engines
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ Designation-systems.net's Designations Of U.S. Military Aero Engines page
  2. ↑ Davies, Steve. Combat Legend, F-15 Eagle and Strike Eagle. London: Airlife Publishing, Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-84037-377-6.
  3. ↑ Fernandez 1983, pp. 241–245, 251–254
  4. 1 2 "The Development of the F100-PW-220 and F110-GE-100 Engines: A Case Study of Risk Assessment and Risk Management"
  5. ↑ "F100-PW-229 Engine Enhancement Package brochure" (PDF).
  6. ↑ http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/P&WEngines02.html
  7. ↑ http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15985
  8. ↑ Archived August 15, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing.

Bibliography

External links

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