Helicopter turboshaft engine: the specificities to meet airframer requirements and customer needs

Abstract

The helicopter turboshaft engine is not a simple equipment supplying the necessary propulsive power but a highly integrated mechanical system featuring many interfaces with the airframe structure and systems. Far beyond the airplane turboprop or turbofan engine, the helicopter turboshaft engine controls the main rotor speed and therefore directly affects the flight capability, safety and transient manoeuvers of the helicopter. The first part of this paper describes the main characteristics of the turboshaft engine with magnitude orders. We will, then, go through the specificities of the helicopter turboshaft engine. It will be shown how they impact the turboshaft engine design and how the engine manufacturer should take them into account in the early stage of the development process. In this high competitive business, the engine manufacturer has to innovate and develop new concepts and systems to continuously improve, operability, performance and availability and reduce manufacturing and ownership costs