Introducing ....... Boeing's Electric 7E7.

[lame]

Introducing ... Boeing's electric 7E7

Commercial plane will be the first with such efficiency

Thursday, May 20, 2004

By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER


EVERETT -- In twin, four-story office buildings constructed here for 777 engineers more than a dozen years ago, a new generation of Boeing Co. aircraft designers are pushing the envelope further than ever before.

Working with airlines and Boeing's partners, they are designing the world's first electric commercial jetliner -- the 7E7.

Much has been made of the new jet's composite wings and fuselage, its cabin innovations and the next-generation, fuel-efficient engines. But just as significant to the success of the 7E7 (the "E" stands for efficiency) is this pioneering approach toward a more electric airplane.

For the first time, Boeing recently allowed the engineer leading this effort to provide a detailed look at the systems that will give the 7E7 a competitive edge.

It is a plane that that will have far fewer computers than current commercial jets, miles less wiring and a revolutionary way of electrically powering some critical systems, from the brakes to the de-icing mechanism in the wings.

Even the 7E7 engines will be started electrically -- a radical change that initially concerned airlines.

"This is groundbreaking," said Mike Sinnett, Boeing's chief engineer for 7E7 systems, who formerly led the systems work on the now-canceled sonic cruiser program. "We think this is the way of the future."

"The industry has kicked this around for a long time," he said. But the state of the technology was such that designing an electric jetliner was not possible -- until now.

Jetliners are not nearly as efficient as they could be. More pneumatic power, for example, is created than is required from a systems standpoint. This power comes from huge amounts of "bleed air" diverted from the jet engines. It not only makes the engines less efficient but some of the bleed air is dumped overboard before it can be used, adding to the overall inefficiency of the plane.

Carried by a network of ducts through the plane, the bleed air must go through check values and precoolers before it can be used. Even then, it is not used as efficiently as electrical power.

"You have all this high-pressure, high-temperature air coming off the engines and the airplane can't accept air with that much energy," Sinnett explained.

On the 7E7, Boeing will eliminate this bleed air, other than a tiny amount to help with engine stability at idle settings.

As a result, there will be no need for the network of titanium ducts, which are expensive to make and add hundreds of pounds to a plane's weight.

Systems once powered pneumatically will use electricity, supplied by two 225-kilowatt generators attached to each of the 7E7's two engines. The auxiliary power unit, or APU, in the plane's tail will also have two of these generators.

"Part of the idea of going to a more electric airplane is that all these components that are used to generate pneumatic power are eliminated and ... we only create the power we need," Sinnett said.

Today's jet engines always operate at higher thrust settings to create bleed air, even if it is not used.

Engine makers, according to Sinnett, have often told Boeing: "Gee, you guys keep robbing bleed air from us and you are making it harder for us to do our jobs."

So Boeing came back, he said, and told the engine makers: "OK, if you are really serious, we will eliminate that bleed air. "

The engine makers were stunned, Sinnett said.

"They said, 'Whoa. Wait a minute. What are you guys talking about? This is a very big deal,' " Sinnett recalled

Boeing recently picked General Electric and Rolls-Royce to supply the new 7E7 engines.

The new approach is possible because of advances made in power electronics technology.

"The problem has always been that we were not able to create generators that from a size and weight standpoint are efficient enough to create the power that you need," Sinnett said.

Today's jets use a complex system on the engines that coverts variable frequency power into constant frequency. This is no different than what happens with electricity going into a home. The power must be of the same frequency.

On jets, this process is accomplished using what is called a constant speed drive. Such drives are typically complex, heavy and prone to failure.

The 7E7 will be able to take variable frequency power from the engines and "condition it" for use by the various aircraft systems. This will done in the electronics bay of the plane rather than on the engines.

"We can create four times as much (electrical) power on the 7E7, but we only create what we need," Sinnett said.

With the elimination of bleed air and pneumatic power, a range of systems will, for the first time, be powered electrically on the 7E7:


The de-icing system. The leading edge of the wing will be heated electrothermally, rather than pneumatically.


The overall hydraulic system is more electric because air-driven pumps have been eliminated. Large, pneumatic pumps are used to raise the landing gear on jetliners. This will be done electrically on the 7E7.


Boeing is evaluating the use of electric actuators for some secondary flight controls that now are powered hydraulically.


On today's jets, cabin air comes from the bleed air system on the engines. The air is hot and dry and must be cooled. On the 7E7, cabin air will come directly from the outside. Less energy will be needed to make it suitable for the cabin.


Brakes are activated hydraulically on today's jets using a complex and expensive plumbing system. On the 7E7, brakes will be controlled by electric motor driven actuators, with four on each wheel.


The auxiliary power unit on the 7E7 will be far simpler. On today's jets, the APU unit has a complex load compressor to supply pneumatic power. The compressor is eliminated on the 7E7, and the APU becomes a jet-fuel powered electrical generator.

Sinnett said the 7E7 will also incorporate a number of other advances beyond the move away from bleed air:


Hydraulic power will be distributed at 5,000 pounds per square inch, rather than the standard 3,000 psi. Less fluid will be needed and smaller hydraulic lines.


Electrical power will be distributed remotely instead of running everything from a central center. As much as 60 miles of copper wiring will be eliminated. And the wiring that is used will be smaller gauge and lighter weight.

Given how far Boeing is pushing the design envelope with the 7E7, some airlines have at times expressed concern whether this new way of doing things will be as reliable as what they have today, Sinnett acknowledged.

One concern has been with the way the 7E7 engines are started electrically.

Typically, jet engines have air turbines, one of which is started with high-pressure bleed air from the APU when it is fired up.

On the 7E7, the APU will supply electrical power to fire the generators on the engines, which will act as starters.

If an APU fails on today's jets, such as the 767, the engines can be started by ground trucks that supply pneumatic power. But some airlines were worried that if the APU on the 7E7 did not work, there would be no way to start the engines.

"We are now going through the process of figuring out how to configure the plane to accept external electrical power to start the engines," Sinnett said.

For airlines, the advantages of operating a more electric plane are enormous, Sinnett said.

The cost of overhauling brakes will drop substantially. There will be no more ducts that require periodic inspection and maintenance. Power is not wasted. Efficiency is improved. Weight is saved

And for Boeing, it means the 7E7 will have a significant advantage over the competition, Sinnett said.

The main competitor to the 7E7 will be the Airbus A330-200, which was introduced in the late 1990s and has been clobbering Boeing's 767 in sales.

Airbus has said it is not worried about the 7E7 -- it will add the more efficient engines designed for the 7E7 to the A330-200 and make other improvements as needed.

But given the significant changes being designed into the 7E7 from the start, Sinnett said, there is no way that Airbus can alter an existing plane and make it as efficient.

"You have to look at the total integrated package of an electric plane," he said. "You can't take one piece of that and put in on a non-electric plane and expect anything out of it."

[Yawn]

The concept of the high proportion of electric components is reported to equal 8 per cent efficiency gain (of the total of 20 per cent). This is a great concept.

The issue I find hard to work out is the common type rating with the 777. The basic idea between aircraft systems is totally different, so I find it difficult so see how an aircraft which is ideologically very different can have a similar type rating.

As we know Boeing has suffered at the hands of Airbus's common type ratings. Add an extra two engines – no problem as the philosophy and systems are basically the same. But totally different types with totally different systems and that’s another matter.

I assume Boeing will work to create identical pilot procedures but the ideological difference is still present.

One of the points raised by Airbus against the 7E7s stated efficiency gains has been, ‘put on engines which are 12 percent more efficient and we’ll just strap them on a A330’. However I would think the total change in system requirements will mean this cannot happen in the original form.

The thinking behind the A380 being the king of the ‘all market, hub and spoke’ airlines versus the ‘point to point, low cost airline’ is going to lead to an interesting battle for long haul aircraft sales. Sort of ‘low cost’ airline versus ‘incumbent’ but for the airliners. Will long haul strategy change to become more like the short haul business model? Great price point for the 7E7.

Personally I thank the real wake-up call for both Boeing and Airbus is the ERJ170 to 190: it’s not a better CRJ – it’s a better 737 and A320, with no middle seat.

[Capn Bloggs]

Electrically-started engines: woopy doo. The 146/RJ has been doing this for years! Are these clowns saying they haven't got an external power socket that will start the engines??!! If it's a Boeing7E7, I ain't going!
Yawn, I think the idea behind the A380 was to replace 2 747s (other misc other smaller airliners) on the same route, not necessarily optimise hub-and-spoke ops.

[druckmefunk]

Yawn

It would be very easy to CCQ the 777 and the 7E7, due to Boeings overall operating philosophy on the 777.

That is, don't do anything unless the aircraft tells you. The depth of systems knowledge required to operate the 777 is so low, that it could almost be considered background info. With the electronic checklist, you just do what it tells you and get on with job. I can't see it being any different on the 7E7. It wont make any difference whether the brakes are electric, hydraulic or steam driven, just do what the checklist says and don't second guess.


dmf

[TIMMEEEE]

Yes - have to agree that this system will only be truly effective as an integrated unit with a prupose built airframe.

Airbus must be cringing because after having spent an absolute fortune on the A380 amongst other things, this machine will put the economics of everything else out to pasture.

Imagine having fleets of these 7E7's in varying sizes and configurations - and bet your kahuna's it will be the template for things to come.

Just strapping the engines on may only go so far, but remember how helicopter engines (ie: non purpose engines) strapped onto fixed winged aircraft perform?
(Ala 146 engines ex Chinook and Nomad engines ex Bell 206).
Great on choppers but crap for fixed winged machines.

If the engine is specifically designed for that aircraft then so much the better.
Anything else is a compromise and the aircraft manufacturers know this.

As with anything that is ground breaking there will be teething problems, but once sorted out we will reap the benefits.

[DomeAir]

Great to see some changes/development in aircraft systems technology. The only area not yet getting much attention is the pointy end (or at least I haven't seen anything...:confused:).

I wonder if Boeing will introduce some type of flight envelope protection, much like the Airbus system, but with the possibility of manual reversion/pilot override if absolutely required (only to keep with the Boeing philosophy of the "pilot has ultimate authority").

Of course in order to sell such "protection", I'm sure the argument will be made that such a system will avoid any CFIT accidents (and quietly, any man made structures), assuming of course that a terrain database is part of the "protection"...

Anyway, the above is just my rambling thoughts…will certainly be interested to hear what they have planned. :hmm:

[lame]

I think it is a GREAT idea, getting rid of all that pesky bleed air. ;)

I often wondered why they had not done it earlier. :D

[Going Boeing]

I understand that the original idea came from Rolls Royce who have been playing with the concept for a few years. They plan to build two generators (which reverse into starter motors) into the N2 and N3 shafts. They will be positioned in the vicinity of the intermediate and high pressure compressors on the respective shafts and the main technological problem that they have been working on is the high temperatures in that area due to the heat produced by compressing the air. Normal generator technology would not work at these temperatures so some new materials are being developed.

This move, along with removal of conventional hydraulic systems, means that there is no longer a requirement for a driveshaft from the N3 shaft. The removal of the IDG/CSD, bleed air systems and hydraulics results in a slimmer cowl around the engine with less drag. Engine de-ice will be done electrically.

RR are trying to go one step better by using frictionless magnetic bearings which would allow them to remove the oil system completely. Talk about thinking outside the square!

[lame]

Certainly some new ideas and innovations. :D

There is also this........... :D


Building the 7E7 requires less money, fewer employees

By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter


Inside a windowless, box-shaped Boeing plant on Marginal Way, computer-controlled robotic arms this week began building prototype fuselage sections for the 7E7.

Boeing is working in Seattle with its 7E7 partners to invent and perfect new processes for manufacturing composite parts bigger than any previously built anywhere.

Yet ultimately, when mass production starts in 2008, those large composite sections won't be manufactured here in Puget Sound — but in Italy, Japan and Texas.

Bringing the 7E7 together in huge pieces from around the world will mean dramatically reduced costs for Boeing and dramatically fewer 7E7 employees than on previous programs.

An internal Boeing document obtained by The Seattle Times provides firm data on Boeing's 7E7 expectations.

The company projects a total of 1,000 employees working on the program in Everett after the initial development phase is over and the jet is being mass-produced.

That compares with more than 5,000 on the 777, the commercial-jet program that preceded the 7E7, 12 years ago.

Boeing stresses that this doesn't mean layoffs, only that the work force will not grow again as 7E7s begin to roll off the production line in large numbers.

"We won't necessarily go down in head count," said spokeswoman Yvonne Leach. "It just means the 7E7 will be done differently."

Just how differently became clearer yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with Frank Statkus, vice president of new technology, tools and processes for the 7E7.

Statkus worked most of his 32 years at Boeing on the defense side of the aviation business, most recently leading development on the company's bid for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which it lost to Lockheed Martin in 2001.

He described the unprecedented cooperation between global partners now going on in Boeing's Development Center across from Boeing Field — a facility where the company also does advanced and secret work for the military.

There, engineers from Alenia of Italy, Kawasaki of Japan and Vought of Dallas, Texas — responsible for different fuselage sections — work side-by-side with Boeing engineers.

"We walked to the edge of the technology of manufacturing composites and looked around and said, 'This industry is not ready to do all this. We've got some invention to do,' " said Statkus.

The solution to the large composites problem is taking shape.

To create the fuselage barrel in a single piece, Boeing has invented a machine with four computer-controlled robotic arms working simultaneously around a huge rotating drum.

The robotic arms are laying down strips of carbon-fiber tape impregnated with thermoset plastic in patterns precisely defined by the engineering instructions.

The epoxy-infused carbon tape builds up layer-upon-layer into a laminated sheet that is then hardened by baking in a house-sized high-pressure oven at 350 degrees.

Boeing is getting ready to move to eight simultaneous robotic tape-laying arms.

"We could do it with as many as 32 or 64," said Statkus. "We've already got that planned.

"If you want to know where the state-of-the-art in composite-technology manufacturing is, it's here," he said. "There's no one else in the world doing this kind of work."

Statkus' primary role on the 7E7 is to lead development and application of the software tools that will be used to transform every part of the process of airplane building.

Boeing has already used the software to develop tooling concepts for the fuselage work. Its partners are also using it to figure out how the 7E7 production will fit inside their factories.

On the 7E7, parts will be designed virtually, so that they fit together without holding tools.

"We can build snap-together airplanes," Statkus said, "We did that on JSF."

"Before we build a single part, we will have defined in three-dimensional solids every piece of the airplane: every bolt, every wire, every wire connector, all the kinematics — the moving parts," he said.

Each individual 7E7 airplane will have a complete digital definition that can be modified as the plane is modified during its lifetime.

"We'll put it on a disk," Statkus said. "We used to have a roomful of drawings."

The software will cut out a great deal of work that was previously necessary, along with the need for some of the workers who used to do it.

The Boeing internal document shows, for example, that the number of engineers needed to work on the program in the post-development phase is reduced to 200 on the 7E7, from 2,400 on the 777.

Statkus said the new software tools allow engineers to design and build modifications quickly on computers. When an engineer makes a design change, the software automatically propagates the change, making necessary adjustments to other affected parts.

"What used to take 50 engineers two to three weeks will take a couple of engineers a few hours," Statkus said.

"We've always had engineering out on the shop floor and around the program itself," said Statkus. "We've evolved past the stage where large numbers of those people will be required."

Charles Bofferding, executive director of Boeing's white-collar union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, said he found the projections shocking.

"Hearing those numbers alarms me," Bofferding said, "We need to investigate and better understand this. But I'm skeptical it can or should be done."

Boeing's internal analysis provides further data on why the company wants to build the new jet this way.

Both the onetime tooling costs and the recurring costs per airplane for the 7E7 are projected at one-seventh of the comparable costs on the 777.

In Boeing's competition with Airbus, those savings are powerful reasons for the course Statkus is leading.

Statkus summed it all this way: "We can do a better job with fewer folks, fewer pieces, less time, and fewer dollars."

[lame]

Boeing's 7E7 to tout technology advances

By DAVE CARPENTER AND ALLISON LINN, AP BUSINESS WRITERS


SEATTLE (AP) - The first new American commercial jetliner to be built in more than a decade won't be the biggest or fastest passenger plane in the sky.

Nor will Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner stun onlookers with a radically different appearance. Rival Airbus sneers at the "little airplane" as nothing special, and the basic design is another "cigar with wings" - the shape that has defined jets for decades.

But the mid-sized 7E7, being tweaked and simulated in Boeing design labs and three-dimensional computer design images, should offer plenty to wow airlines and the first paying passengers in 2008.

Boeing says the new plane will fly faster, higher, farther, cleaner, quieter and more efficiently than any other medium-sized jet, using 20 percent less fuel. There'll also be bigger windows, seats, lavatories and overhead bins, which the company shows off to prospective buyers and other visitors at a mock-up of the airplane's interior not far from its sprawling Seattle-area manufacturing complexes.

Analysts say further 7E7 orders, which Boeing promises will be announced soon, could signal not only a successful new plane but a renaissance for the company.

"For the first time in a while, Boeing has seized the industry initiative," said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. "When it comes to making a plane that's more economical - it's just a matter of time before everybody falls in line."

It's still a gamble. By adopting a sharply opposed strategy to that of Airbus, which thinks its superjumbo A380 will be the jet of choice following its 2006 debut, Boeing risks misgauging years' worth of demand. That's what happened with two projects it dropped in the past three years - the 747X, an enlarged jumbo jet, and the super-fast Sonic Cruiser, which was seen as pricey even before the economic fallout from Sept. 11, 2001.

"That was a case where we misjudged the market a little bit," David von Trotha, Boeing's chief engineer for product development, said this month. "What we thought would be attractive ... turned out to be different from what the market wanted."

All signs are that the 7E7 - the 'E' stands for efficient - is headed for a better fate.

Alan Mulally, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, speaks of the plane with an evangelical fervor. He told reporters Boeing was in talks for deals involving more than 400 7E7s beyond the initial, record 50-plane order from All Nippon Airways last month, including more than a dozen firm offers.

"We're getting great interest from around the world," Mulally said. "The interest in this plane is going to be absolutely a game-changer" in the industry.

Here are some of the noteworthy features planned for Boeing's 11th passenger jet series:

- Fuel savings. The 7E7 will be no slouch for speed, cruising at 560 mph - comparable to the largest jets. But the big appeal to cash-pinched airlines is Boeing's promise that it will allow them to cut fuel costs and fly long, point-to-point routes between cities that can't fill a bigger plane.

Like flying SUVs, airplanes consume an extraordinary amount of jet fuel - it takes 47,000 gallons to gas up a Boeing 747. But Boeing says the 7E7 will burn 20 percent less fuel than similar-sized planes thanks to advancements in technology.

New engines being developed for the 7E7 will be 10 percent more efficient and a supercomputer can design the plane with minimal drag, making it more streamlined. Advanced materials, a smaller wing area and improved on-board systems also will contribute to fuel savings.

- Cabin comfort. For most people, walking onto an airplane isn't exactly pleasant: You're immediately confronted by a dark metallic galley, narrow aisles and a jumble of passengers trying to cram their bags into overhead compartments and their bodies into tiny, well-worn seats.

With airlines struggling to eke out a profit, Boeing can't promise luxury accommodations on the 7E7. But it is trying to create a more welcoming environment with a completely redesigned interior.

A visit to a mock-up starts with a trick of the eye: a ceiling designed to emulate natural light and create the illusion of more height. The design boasts a front galley that looks more like a kitchen island than the traditional tiny compartment. And there's more room to see between seats, another change aimed at reducing the claustrophobic feel.

Boeing also is trying to sell airlines on jumbo-sized windows, complete with electronic shades to darken the panes more naturally.

In addition, the design calls for slightly wider seats and bigger restrooms and overhead bins.

- Better air quality. There's another reason to dread getting on an airplane: the dry, recycled air that can make your eyes sting, dry out your sinuses and add to flying fatigue.

With the 7E7, passengers will feel like they are at a maximum altitude of 6,000 feet, rather than the normal 8,000 feet. Boeing also is considering adding humidifiers to further reduce dryness. That's feasible because the 7E7 will rely more heavily on composite materials - instead of aluminum - meaning there is less risk of corrosion from the added moisture.

The company also promises the latest air filters and is considering ways to reduce odors.

- More composites. The 7E7 will go far beyond any previous commercial aircraft in its extensive use of composite materials, such as carbon and graphite, which will comprise 50 percent of its weight.

Not only will that make it 15 percent lighter than comparable planes, trimming fuel and operating costs, but Boeing expects composites to be more durable, reducing maintenance and corrosion.

Still, some prospective customers have expressed concern that composite structures could be more fragile and that damage is harder to discern than it is with metals. Boeing intends to embed structural monitoring sensors in the fuselage and elsewhere to assuage such worries.

"Composites are used extensively on military aircraft but ... airlines want to see it proven out before they take a leap, because of liability concerns," said JSA Research analyst Paul Nisbet. "But if they can withstand the rigors of fighter aircraft, they certainly would not be extended in a commercial aircraft."

- Less Noise. Anyone who's flown on an older Boeing 747 knows how annoying a noisy airplane engine can be. Boeing is isolating certain loud functions with the 7E7, such as pumps and motors, and using sound absorption technology to further reduce the noise to the cabin.

But it turns out just damping out the roar of the engine isn't the answer. While most people might think they want an airplane that's library-quiet, Boeing researchers have found there are certain noises people like. These include sounds that make people secure the airplane is operating normally, such as the reassuring clunk of the door closing.