In 1982, Detroit Diesel Allison (DDA) prepared a new engine design to enter the United States Army's Modern Technology Demonstrator Engine (MTDE) competition, which was expected to be developed into the powerplant for the United States Navy's JVX experimental tiltrotor aircraft program (which would eventually become the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey).[3] After this engine, which DDA called the Model 580,[4] lost the competition to Pratt & Whitney and General Electric in 1983, Allison was separated from Detroit Diesel as a separate division within General Motors, and Allison's new management decided to pursue the V-22 engine contract anyway.[3]
On 24 December 1985, the U.S. Navy selected Allison's engine for full-scale engine development and production on the U.S. Marine Corps's V-22 Osprey.[5] Before the engine was given its United States military aircraft engine designation of T406, it was known as the Model 501-M80C.[6] The Navy and Allison signed a formal contract on 2 May 1986, and the first engine to test ran six months after.[7]
Production continued by Rolls-Royce after it acquired Allison in 1995 to establish a North American subsidiary. In 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the engines failed after less than 400 hours of service, as compared to the estimated life of 500–600 hours.[16] Multiple updates to the engine platform in 2012-2013 have increased the lifespan significantly.
Rolls-Royce introduced a Block 3 turbine upgrade, which replaced the old turbine design with sturdier and more efficient components. The upgrade increased engine power by at least 17 percent, and the engine achieved a power output of over 8,800 shp (6,600 kW) during ground testing.[18] The Block 3 turbine became standard in July 2012 for new production models. By September 2012, all older engines that were undergoing regular maintenance were systematically upgraded to the Block 3 turbine.
Engines with a future planned block 4 upgrade would be expected to deliver nearly 10,000 horsepower (7,500 kilowatts).[19]
An ongoing problem with the engines was their propensity for surging or stalling with 68 incidents reported between 2003 and October 2016 though this rate had reduced after the introduction of the Block 3 engine version. The US Naval Air Systems Command intends to award Rolls-Royce two contracts to examine the effectiveness of proposed reliability improvements, the first is a software tweak to the engine management software for the compressor guide vanes that internal testing showed could improve surge margin by 0.8% at sea level and 3% at altitude. The second is the discovery that a temperature sensor at the inlet of the compressor sends incorrect readings leading to 2.5% out of 4% steady power shortfall at the compressors correct rotational speed again correctable with a software fix. In addition, Bell Boeing is developing an inlet barrier system to reduce the power loss from the engine ingesting dust and sand particles to supplement the engines existing centrifugal based particle separators as they can only do so much to improve the quality of air they receive.[20]
In October 2021, Bell and Rolls-Royce jointly announced that the Bell V-280 Valor powerplant would switch from the General Electric T64 turboshaft used on the prototype to a derivative of the 1107C used on the Osprey which would be named the 1107F. At the same time as increasing power from 5,000 to 7,000 horsepower, the 1107C is a known element in tiltrotor aircraft with its two decades of prior use which lowers sustainment costs and de-risks the project.[21]
Design
The V-22's T406 powerplants are housed in wing-tip tilting nacelles, allowing the distinctive flight characteristics of the V-22. For take off and landing the nacelles are directed vertically (90° to fuselage), while for forward flight they are rotated parallel to fuselage. The engine has been considered as a cost-effective upgrade for existing heavylift helicopters such as the CH-47 Chinook and the CH-53.[22]
Turbine: 2-stage high pressure turbine with air-cooling in the first and second-stage vanes and the first-stage blade; 2-stage shrouded power turbine with uncooled vanes and blades[9]
Korn, Jim (13 November 1987). Gas turbine engine development partnerships. International Pacific Air and Space Technology Conference and Exposition. SAE Technical Papers. Melbourne, Australia: SAE International. pp. 119–132. doi:10.4271/872410. ISSN0148-7191. OCLC5817974566.