MTU Aero Engines is adding a new chapter to the success story of the turbine center frame for the GEnx engine: In the past four years, Germany's leading engine manufacturer has moved from one milestone to the next in quick succession, and has now shipped the 200th module. “We've accomplished this milestone in record time,” states Egon Behle. MTU's CEO emphasizes the importance of this module for MTU: “The GEnx powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and is the sole engine for the Boeing 747-8, and we supply all of the turbine center frames.” The order book, too, shows the significance of the project: So far, around 1,400 orders, including options, have been received for General Electric's new propulsion system. The total demand is estimated at about 4,400 GEnx engines.

Since 2009 the GEnx turbine center frame (TCF) – the transition duct between the high-pressure turbine and the low-pressure turbine – has been playing a significant role at MTU: The company holds a 6.65 percent stake as a risk- and revenue-sharing partner in the GEnx program and is responsible for the TCF module. In early 2009, the company began to modify the design, which had originally been developed by GE, and optimize it from a technical point of view, reducing its weight, for example. In late August 2011, the first production module was handed over to GE. A mere nine months later – in May 2012 – the first Boeing 747-8F freighter incorporating MTU's TCF was delivered to customer Cargolux. In August 2012, MTU supplied the 100th module to GE, which is now followed by the 200th just a short period later. Besides, the aircraft grounding of the Dreamliner had no influence on the delivery of MTU engine parts.

The TCF is manufactured in MTU's Munich shops on two highly advanced production lines. The module needs to satisfy the highest of standards, since it is exposed to extreme conditions in operation, due to its position in the engine. The TCF ducts the hot gases exiting the high-pressure turbine at a temperature of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius along structural components and pipes towards the low-pressure turbine, keeping aerodynamic losses at a minimum.