“Advanced

 Turboprops”,  “Unducted  Fans”,  “Propfans”,    

and  “Open  Rotor  Propulsion  Systems”  
 
AEE  463  /  MAE  598  
 
Classical   propellers   of   the   types   shown   on   the   left   below   have   long   been   used   in   turboprop  
and  reciprocating  engine  propulsion  systems,  but  newer  turboprop  propulsion  systems  are  
increasing  using  more  advanced  designs  such  as  those  shown  on  the  right.      
 

             
 
Traditional   propellers   (left   column)   are   limited   by   their   maximum   feasible   tip   speeds,   since  
as  tip  speeds  become  increasingly  supersonic  the  resulting  shock  losses  and  noise  generated  
become   unacceptably   large.     Modern   propeller   designs   (right   column)   use   highly   swept  
blades  that  reduce  shock  losses  and  noise  (as  swept  aircraft  wings  do),  and  in  some  cases  
even   use   two   coaxial   sets   of   contra-­‐rotating   blades   as   in   the   Progress   D-­‐27   engine   (top  
right)  on  the  Russian  Antonov  An-­‐70  aircraft.  
 
Turboprops  have  always  been  limited  in  the  maximum  flight  speeds  they  can  be  used  for,  
due  to  the  fact  that  as  their  tip  Mach  number  –  which  combines  the  aircraft  speed  and  the  
rotating   speed   of   the   propeller   tip   –   becomes   increasingly   supersonic,   these   propellers  
create   unacceptably   large   shock   losses   and   generate   excessively   high   noise   levels.     These  
propellers  often  have  a  “scimitar”  design  with  variable  pitch,  but  are  ultimately  limited  by  
their  tip  Mach  number.    
 
There  has  been  research  for  many  decades  on  various  forms  of  highly  swept  propellers  that  
would  allow  substantially  higher  tip  speeds  while  maintaining  reasonable  performance  and  
acceptable  noise  levels.    Such  “advanced  turboprops”  are  sometimes  called  “unducted  fans”  
or  “open  rotors”,  but  marketing  studies  indicated  that  these  names  can  cause  fear  in  at  least  
some  customers,  so  the  term  “propfan”  was  coined   –  which  focus  groups  apparently  found  
more  acceptable.    Today,  all  of  these  terms  are  used  to  refer  to  various  types  of  turboprop  
propulsion  systems  that  use  advanced  propeller  designs.      
 
The  progress  in  developing  and  fielding  such  advanced  propellers  since  the  1970s  has  risen  
and  fallen  with  oil  prices  over  the  years,  but  they  are  finding  their  way  onto  at  least  some  
types  of  aircraft  and  will  likely  do  so  increasingly  over  the  next  few  decades.  
 
The   Airbus   A400M   (shown  below),   just   now   entering   service,   uses   highly   swept   propeller  
blades   in   a   unique   counter-­‐rotating   arrangement.     The   Russian   Antonov   An-­‐70   aircraft  
(next  page)   uses   something   closer   to   a   true   propfan,   with   two   coaxial   rows   of   highly-­‐swept  
propeller   blades   on   each   engine   that   rotate   in   opposite   directions;   the   contra-­‐rotation  
allows  the  swirl  induced  by  the  two  propellers  to  largely  cancel  out,  increasing  propulsive  
efficiency.   The   An-­‐70   is   powered   by   four   Progress   D-­‐27   engines,   developed   in   the   early  
1990s,  though  there  are  variants  for  international  customers  that  use  other  engines.  
 
 

 
 
Highly-­‐swept   variable-­‐pitch   propeller   blades   on   the   four   Europrop   TP-­‐400-­‐D6   engines   that  
power   the   Airbus   A400M   military   transport   aircraft.     Each   Hamilton   Sundstrand   propeller   on  
the   A400M   has   eight   scimitar   blades   made   of   composite   material,   with   each   blade   having   a  
highly-­‐swept  design  that  reduces  its  shock  losses  and  noise.    Each  of  the  two  propellers  on  each  
wing  rotates  in  opposite  directions,  advancing  from  above  toward  the  midpoint  between  the  two  
engines.    This  counter-­‐rotating  configuration  allows  the  aircraft  to  produce  slightly  more  lift.  
  
Two  coaxial  contra-­‐rotating  scimitar-­‐shaped  propellers  are  used  on  each  the  four  Progress  D-­‐27  
engines  that  power  the  Russian  Antonov  An-­‐70  military  transport  aircraft.    This  aircraft,  which  
has  been  under  development  since  about  1980,  is  currently  still  undergoing  flight  testing  –  the  
collapse  of  the  Soviet  Union  caused  Antonov  to  self-­‐fund  most  of  the  remaining  development  on  
its  own.    This  medium-­‐range  airlifter  is  meant  to  be  a  direct  competitor  to  the  Airbus  A400M  in  
the  international  military  sales  market.  
 
The  American  propulsion  system  market  got  an  early  start  on  true  propfan  engines  in  1981  
when   NASA   contracted   Hamilton   Standard   to   develop   a   full-­‐size   test   engine.     In   1983   GE  
began   developing   its   GE-­‐36   UDF   (unducted   fan)   engine,   which   was   to   be   larger   than   the  
NASA  engine  and  scheduled  to  enter  service  sooner,  by  1986.    In  response  Pratt  &  Whitney,  
Hamilton   Standard,   and   Allison   teamed   up   to   develop   the   578-­‐DX   propfan   based   on   the  
NASA   research   engine.     Both   teams   used   high-­‐swept   variable-­‐pitch   propellers   with   two  
rows  of  coaxial  blades  that  rotated  in  opposite  directions  to  reduce  decreases  in  propulsive  
efficiency  due  to  swirl.      
The  P&W-­‐led  team  used  an  indirect  drive  approach  that  required  a  gearbox,  while  the  GE  
design   used   contra-­‐rotating   turbines   that   directly   drove   the   blade   rows   –   this   involved   a  
high-­‐risk   innovation   that   eliminated   the   stators   between   successive   oppositely-­‐rotating  
rotors  in  these  two  “interlaced”  turbines.    Noise  was  a  problem  for  both  designs,  since  the  
rear  row  of  blades  must  “chop  through”  the  blade  wakes  from  the  front  row  of  blades.     The  
GE  UDF  engine  first  flew  in  1986,  and  the  P&W-­‐Allison  engine  flew  in  1989.      
Both   engines   were   pitched   to   Airbus   and   Boeing   in   the   late   1980s   and   throughout   the  
1990s,   but   platform   introduction   decisions   and   risk   perception   prevented   either   from  
being   accepted   for   production.     Relatively   low   fuel   costs   during   this   period   also   reduced  
pressure  to  accept  further  development  risks.    When  aviation  fuel  prices  rose  in  the  mid-­‐
2000  timeframe,  interest  in  propfans  temporarily  grew  again,  but  has  since  subsided  with  
the   drop   in   fuel   costs.     During   this   time,   improvements   in   fuel   efficiency   of   conventional  
turbofan  engines  also  reduced  interest  in  propfans.    Technology  development  continues  at  
a   relatively   low   level,   with   improvements   in   noise   and   other   factors,   but   market   conditions  
have  not  yet  aligned  to  make  propfans  –  which  are  best  thought  of  as  unducted  turbofans  –  
a  viable  commercial  option  to  modern  ultra-­‐high-­‐bypass  turbofans.  
 

True  propfan  engines  have  to  rows  of  contra-­‐rotating  and  highly  swept  propeller  blades  that  act  
as  a  unducted  turbofan  propulsion  system.    In  principle,  they  offer  a  high  effective  bypass  ratio  
and   thus   high   propulsive   efficiency.     Noise   is   a   key   factor   since   the   back   row   of   blades   must  
continually   “chop   through”   the   blade   wakes   produced   by   the   front   row.     Conventional   geared  
propfan  approaches  have  been  developed,  as  well  as  highly  innovative  ungeared  approaches  like  
the  GE-­‐36  UDF,  which  eliminated  stators  in  the  contra-­‐rotating  rotors  within  its  turbine  section  
(see  diagram  at  lower  left).