Highlights of Roy Smith’s Career

at General Electric
C. C. Koch Dr. Leroy H. (Roy) Smith, Jr. of General Electric (GE) was honored at a special session
GE Aircraft Engines,
of the ASME Turbo Expo 2009 in recognition of his 55 years of contributions to the gas
Evendale, OH 45215
turbine industry. Although best known to his ASME and International Gas Turbine Insti-
tute (IGTI) colleagues for his many publications on compressor aerodynamic design
theory, analysis methods, and research, he has made equally impressive contributions to
GE’s jet engine product line. This paper gives a brief chronology of his career, then
focuses on the many outstanding fan and compressor aero designs he has created for sev-
eral major GE engine families. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4007209]

1 Introduction compressor aero design leadership on several major GE engine

families will be described. Space does not permit an exploration
This paper was written for presentation at a special session of
of his contributions to other aero technologies for which he had
the 2009 IGTI Turbo Expo, in honor of the exceptional career
managerial responsibility, such as turbine aero design, but his con-
accomplishments of Dr. Leroy H. (Roy) Smith, Jr. Roy’s career
tributions here were also significant.
now spans 55 years of contributions to the gas turbine engine
industry, all of which has been spent with GE’s aircraft engine
operation in Evendale, Ohio. It is a great privilege for the author 2 GE Career Outline
to have worked for and with Roy for a substantial portion of his
career and to be asked to present this paper giving a summary of Roy Smith’s career at GE began in 1954, and from then to 1969
his product design and development achievements. he held a succession of individual contributor and then management
Shortly after receiving his doctorate from Johns Hopkins in positions in the compressor aero design section at the Evendale air-
1954 he joined GE and worked as an individual contributor, man- craft engine operation. Most of his early work centered on improv-
ager, and senior consultant in the turbomachinery aerodynamics ing analysis and design methods and on the design and test of
field until his retirement in 1994. Since that time, however, he has research compressor and fan stages. His first major aero design and
continued to make significant contributions as a part-time consul- development work on GE products was on the TF39 and CF6 fans.
tant to GE. From 1969 to 1972 Roy was the section manager for virtually
He is perhaps best known to his colleagues in ASME for his all Evendale fan and compressor aero design and development
many published papers on turbomachinery aero design theory, projects plus analytical design methods development. Projects
analysis methods, and research topics. However, it is also the case included product line engines such as the TF39 and CF6, proto-
that his reputation within GE for creating outstandingly successful types such as the YF101 engine for the B-1 bomber, plus NASA
fan and compressor designs for major jet engine products equals and United States Air Force (USAF) sponsored research pro-
his reputation outside the company. Perhaps what has made Roy grams. There were about 40 people in this group.
Smith’s professional career so exceptional, beyond simply its lon- In 1972, with the expansion of GE’s military and commercial
gevity, is that he excelled in so many aspects of engineering prac- product line, the compressor aero function was divided into two
tice. After joining GE Aircraft Engines, he quickly became known groups: a product design, development, and support section headed
for leadership in developing improved analysis and design meth- by Jack Klapproth and an advanced technology section headed by
ods for axial-flow compressors and then for expert experimental Roy Smith. During the period from 1972 to 1983 Roy’s section was
work using the GE Low Speed Research Compressor he con- expanded to include other aero-thermo functional groups like tur-
ceived and designed in 1957. As manager of Evendale aero tech- bine aero design and engine acoustics. Roy’s major projects
nology teams, he led the design and development of many included NASA’s Quiet Clean Short-Haul Experimental Engine
innovative product lines and prototype jet engine fans and com- (QCSEE) and Energy Efficient Engine (E3), plus the USAF/United
pressors. As chairman of GE Aircraft Engines’ Compressor Aero States Navy (USN) Advanced Turbine Engine Gas Generator
Design Board he was able to institute standardized design meth- (ATEGG) and Joint Technology Demonstrator Engine (JTDE)
ods and design practices throughout the GE Corporation, at the designs.
Lynn, Massachusetts, small aircraft engine operation, and the In 1983, following Jack Klapproth’s untimely death, Roy took
Schenectady, New York, industrial gas turbine operation, as well over leadership of a recombined Evendale turbomachinery aero
as in all aero design teams at Evendale. He was also an outstand- technology section, consisting of compressor aero, turbine aero,
ing motivator, teacher, and developer of the people that worked heat transfer, aero design methods, and the Aero Research Lab.
for him. Finally, as a high level consultant, he continues to de- This section of about 130 people was responsible for all Evendale
velop improved methods, review and suggest improvements to products such as CF6, CFM56, F101, and F110; prototypes such as
new designs, and also to act as senior design consultant for proj- the YF120 fighter engine; advanced technology USAF/USN dem-
ects done by other related GE gas turbine businesses. onstrator engines; and NASA research projects. Especially notable
This paper will focus on Roy Smith’s career at GE, with partic- during the latter years of this period was his role in the launch of
ular attention to his contributions to the GE aircraft engine prod- the GE90 engine.
uct line. Following a brief chronology of his career, Roy’s In many of the designs done under his direction, Roy played a
very hands-on role: He would work with a small team of engineers
and review the progress daily–often personally specifying details of
Contributed by International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of ASME for publica-
tion in the JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY. Manuscript received July 22, 2011; final
the flowpath, design intent vector diagrams, and blade shapes. Fre-
manuscript received July 25, 2011; published online September 14, 2012. Editor: quently, he would personally direct the aerodynamic testing, includ-
David Wisler. ing refining variable stator settings as the test progressed. This was

Journal of Turbomachinery Copyright V

C 2012 by ASME NOVEMBER 2012, Vol. 134 / 060901-1

Downloaded From: http://turbomachinery.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?url=/data/journals/jotuei/926080/ on 04/06/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/ab

 particularly true of his involvement in the early CF6 engine proj-
ects, the E3/GE90, and the YJ101 fan. In all design projects done in
his shop, he paid special attention that the most advanced, yet well
calibrated, design tools were used, and used according to GE’s
established design practices, some of which he wrote.
In 1992, with the design and development of the GE90 nearly
complete, Roy stepped down as manager of his large section and
became consulting technologist for turbomachinery aero reporting
to the head of the Advanced Engineering Technology Department.
His focus was on developing an improved turbomachinery 2D
throughflow aero design code for use with newly perfected single
bladerow 3D viscous Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes.
This improved throughflow code incorporated new loss, blockage,
secondary flow, deviation angle, and spanwise mixing models [1]
that produced spanwise distributions of flow properties in exception-
ally close agreement with the circumferential average of the CFD.
Roy retired as a full-time GE employee in1994 but has contin-
ued to consult for GE on a part-time basis since then. He still con-
tributes his extensive aero design experience, development
judgment, and creative design ideas during design reviews and
other special consulting projects.

3 Contributions to the CF6 Engine Family

One of the first product designs directed by Roy Smith was the
aero design for the fan and booster of the CF6-6 turbofan used on
the DC-10-10 transport (Fig. 1). Design work began in 1967,
using 2D methods described in Roy’s 2002 ASME paper [2]. The
fan rotor design was based on his experience in designing an ex-
perimental rotor under NASA contract that had similar tip speed Fig. 2 Cross-section of GE CF6-50 fan and booster stages
and pressure ratio [3]. He consistently used this approach to a new
design throughout his career: to base a new design on prior suc-
cessful experience, making departures from the base machine’s to accurately estimate the booster rotor’s deviation angles and
technology only when justified by test data or solid analysis. achieve the desired exit pressure profile. The booster also had a
The single-stage booster was designed to allow the fan rotor to novel swept and leaned Outlet Guide Vane (OGV), selected to
have a reduced hub loading and yet to produce a uniform inlet lower the hub Mach number in the high curvature region at the en-
pressure profile (and a higher average inlet pressure) to the core trance to the duct leading to the core compressor. The creative use
compressor. The booster rotor had a very nonuniform radial distri- of swept and leaned airfoils was an innovative feature frequently
bution of work input, creating significant secondary flows. Roy used in Roy’s later designs. Smith [5] gives a fairly complete
made use of earlier research he had done on secondary flows [4] description of this fan and booster design. The success of the
CF6-6 fan and booster design led to Roy being presented GE’s
Perry T. Egbert Award in 1969, given for the year’s most out-
standing technical achievement at the Evendale operation.
Development of higher-thrust CF6-50 engines for the growth
DC-10-30 and the A300 followed and required that a new three-
stage booster replace the original one-stage design (Fig. 2). This
was the first multistage booster to be designed at GE, and Roy
was given the challenge of developing this new technology. The
first booster rotor’s challenges had already been met on the origi-
nal one-stage design, but the difficulty of achieving the required
stall margin with a group of stages having unusually high flow
coefficients was a concern. Roy’s prior work on correlating com-
pressor stage stall limits versus various design characteristics [6]
gave him the insight on how to account for the high flow coeffi-
cient of the booster stages and produce a successful design with
only moderate development effort. There was also the challenge
of developing analytical and experimental methods to assess the
effect of bypass ratio variations on booster performance.
Fans and boosters for the later CF6-80A and CF6-80C2 models
were designed by members of Jack Klapproth’s product aero design
section, but the technological basis for these remained Roy Smith’s
aero designs for the earlier engines. When the two compressor aero
design groups were merged under Roy’s leadership in 1983, the
new CF6-80C2 growth engine was just entering full scale engine
development. Early tests showed that both its larger fan and new
four-stage booster (Fig. 3) would require some hurried modifica-
tions to achieve their required flow and stall margin. Here Roy
showed his development skill by rapidly diagnosing the aero prob-
lems and specifying the appropriate modifications to achieve design
Fig. 1 Cross-section of BE CF6-6 fan and booster stage requirements and successful certification. This engine was used in

060901-2 / Vol. 134, NOVEMBER 2012 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://turbomachinery.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?url=/data/journals/jotuei/926080/ on 04/06/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/ab

 Fig. 3 General Electric CF6-80C2 fan, booster and HP compressor

many wide body transports such as the 747-400, 767-300ER, to be explored. These studies led to the design and test of the
A300-600, and A310-200. NASA/GE Energy Efficient Engine (E3) and its ten-stage, single-
Starting in 1985, Roy Smith had the opportunity to work on the spool, axial-flow core compressor (Fig. 4). Its 23:1 pressure ratio
CF6 core compressor by leading an efficiency improvement effort was a record high level for this type of compressor. A good sum-
in support of the CF6-80C2 application on the MD-11 growth ver- mary of the challenging development program for this machine is
sion of the DC-10 transport. The high Mach number blading was contained in Roy’s 1994 IGTI paper [8].
redesigned using a newly developed 3D Euler code. “Custom In 1983, following the completion of E3 testing, Roy was given
tailored” airfoils derived from Low Speed Research Compressor GE’s Perry T. Egbert Award for the second time in recognition of
testing were specified for the compressor’s later stages. These his aero design leadership on the compressor and fan for this
changes succeeded in giving valuable performance improvement. engine. It was the first time that anyone had received this award
Wisler [7] describes several instances where Roy and his team twice. Other honors followed, recognizing (among other accom-
used the Low Speed Research Compressor to evaluate improved plishments) his work on E3 as a significant factor in the awards.
core compressor airfoil designs before these were committed for He was given GE corporate’s Charles P. Steinmetz Award for out-
use in a product. standing technical contributions to the company and to society in
The most powerful member of the family, the CF6-80E, was 1987, and in that same year received the ASME/IGTI R. Tom
designed in the late 1980s for the Airbus A330. For the first time Sawyer Award for important contributions to the gas turbine
in a product design, Roy’s team was able to use newly- developed industry. Probably of equal satisfaction, however, was that the E3
3D viscous CFD codes for the design of the new larger fan. Again, compressor was selected to be used in the new GE90 turbofan
excellent performance was achieved with minimal development. engine for the Boeing 777.
He also made important contributions to the development of the
new, high pressure ratio booster that was designed by GE’s French
partner SNECMA.
In the early 1990s Roy made another significant contribution to
GE’s compressor technology by leading the early aero design
work on two new versions of the CF6 core compressor. In these,
an additional “zero stage” was added to the front, and three or
four additional stages were added to the rear of the existing CF6-
80C2 core. This gave compressors having 18 or 19 stages, produc-
ing a pressure ratio of over 23:1. These were designed for use, in
a greatly scaled up size, in high-output industrial gas turbines built
by GE Power Generation in Schenectady, New York. Rig tests
conducted in CF6 size showed outstanding efficiency and oper-
ability. These compressors are now being produced for GE’s
MS7000H and MS9000H machines.

4 Contributions to the GE90 Engine Family

Beginning in 1975, Roy Smith directed a series of NASA con-
tracted analytical and experimental Low Speed Research Com-
pressor studies to identify an optimum core compressor for a new
turbofan engine that would have significantly lower fuel consump-
tion than current production engines. Very high bypass ratio, cycle
pressure ratio, and component efficiencies were key technologies Fig. 4 GE/NASA E3 core compressor (GE90 prototype)

Journal of Turbomachinery NOVEMBER 2012, Vol. 134 / 060901-3

Downloaded From: http://turbomachinery.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?url=/data/journals/jotuei/926080/ on 04/06/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/ab

 1970s. The initial CFM56-2 used the core engine from GE’s F101
engine (for the B-1 bomber) with a new fan, booster, and low
pressure turbine designed by SNECMA. At the time, the core’s
component aero design and support were the responsibility of
Jack Klapproth’s product aero technology section. Roy Smith’s
main involvement was primarily as a design reviewer through his
participation in the Fan and Compressor Aero Design Board.
Work began on the CFM56-3 for the second generation of Boeing
737s in 1980, and Roy’s team was given the task of designing its
new fan and three-stage booster compressor. This aero design drew
on GE’s experience with the boosters for the CF6-50 and the CF6-
80A. Rather little development of this design was thus required, and
the engine went on to become a great commercial success.
In the middle 1980s, when Roy became responsible for all
Evendale compressor aero work, he was able to lend valuable
input in the development of the SNECMA fan design for the
CFM56-5A engine for the Airbus A320. His team also designed
fairings for the main fan frame’s struts that greatly smoothed the
flow around the engine pylon and reduced local back pressure on
the fan rotor.
Roy made another key contribution to the CFM product line in
the middle 1990s when the CFM56-5B engine for the A321 was
in search of technologies to reduce fuel consumption. In his role
as senior technology consultant, he was able to persuade GE man-
Fig. 5 General Electric GE90 fan, booster and core compressor agement that a substantial gain in core compressor efficiency was
possible by reblading it with modern 3D airfoils. This was suc-
cessfully carried out and resulted in nearly two points increase in
The GE90 project was launched in 1990, and the (scaled up) E3
efficiency measured in back-to- back engine tests. The redesigned
compressor was assigned to partner SNECMA of France to make
core compressor was also used in the CFM56-7B model for the
the necessary mechanical design changes while retaining Roy’s aero
Boeing 737 NG series, and with further 3D aero improvements, is
design virtually unchanged. Roy had extensive involvement as a
now used in most current versions of the CFM56. The new 3D
consultant during the GE90 core compressor design to assure that
design methods and airfoil concepts used in this project gained
the successful performance of the E3 would be achieved in the more
great credibility and led to their use in all subsequent GE multi-
severe mechanical environment of the GE90 engine. The machine
stage compressor designs.
has seen successful service in the 777 since the early 1990s.
The latest version of the engine, the 511.52 kilo-newtons thrust
GE90-115, has a higher flow, higher pressure ratio booster, and 6 Contributions to GE Military Engines
utilizes a nine-stage compressor in which the last stage has been
The first GE military product line engine that Roy Smith played
removed from the original design. This latest version also has sig-
a major role in designing was the YJ101 low bypass turbofan for
nificantly higher compressor efficiency, resulting from a redesign
Northrop’s prototype YF-17 entry in the lightweight fighter com-
of the airfoils that drew heavily on research into low-loss 3D aero
petition of the early 1970s. Although its core compressor was
blade shapes directed by Roy Smith’s team.
derived from that of the F101, its very high speed, high pressure
The 3.124 meter diameter, shroudless, composite fan (Fig. 5) for
ratio fan (Fig. 6) represented a new technology level for a GE
the initial GE90-85B model was also a Roy Smith aero design. Its
product. Roy was chosen to lead the aero design of this very chal-
low speed, moderate pressure ratio fan rotor and its low-loss vane-
lenging three-stage machine, and he drew upon experience gained
frame gave a record high efficiency for GE fans. Roy made extensive
from leading several USAF and NASA research programs on
use of the latest 3D viscous transonic CFD codes for this fan design.
highly loaded stages. The fan design proved quite successful,
The E3/GE90 compressor has become the base core technology
especially in its ample stall margin, resistance to inlet distortions,
for an entirely new family of GE commercial engines. In a scaled
and low distortion transfer. Although the YF-17 and YJ101 did
size it is now used in the GE/P&W GP7200 engine for the Airbus
not win this USAF competition, the aircraft and engine were cho-
A380, and another version is used in the new GE nx turbofan for
sen by the USN as the basis for a new carrier based fighter, the
the Boeing 787. All of these advanced cores owe much of their
F-18. The F404 and F414 engines, used in various models of the
successful aero performance to Roy’s pioneering work on the very
F-18, have fans that are in effect growth versions of Roy Smith’s
high pressure ratio E3 core compressor.
original YJ101 fan design.
Later in the 1970s GE began development of the large F110
fighter engine as an alternate for use in the F-16 and in the F-14D.
5 Contributions to the CFM56 Engine Family The F101-X Derivative Fighter Engine prototype had a three-
The CFM56 family of commercial turbofans, a joint venture stage fan of somewhat lower speed and loading than the F404. It
between GE and SNECMA of France, was launched in the early was designed by Jack Klapproth’s product aero technology group,

Fig. 6 Cross-section of General Electric YJ101/F404 engine

060901-4 / Vol. 134, NOVEMBER 2012 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://turbomachinery.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?url=/data/journals/jotuei/926080/ on 04/06/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/ab

 using the transonic blading design approaches developed by Roy commercial engine families. He also led or advised the aero
Smith for the YJ101/F404 fan. The growth versions of the F110 design teams responsible for the high pressure ratio, low bypass
fan that are used in later increased thrust F110s and in the F118 ratio, multistage fans for the J101/F404, F110, and F118 military
engine for the B-2 bomber were designed by Roy Smith’s team in turbofans. In many cases he led the development of advanced aero
the early and middle 1990s. design and analysis tools, and established the formal design prac-
Although it did not enter production, the YF120 prototype engine tices for use of these new methods. He also pioneered in the use
that flew in the late 1980s during the USAF’s advanced tactical of the multistage GE Low Speed Research Compressor to prove
fighter competition serves as the technology baseline for a new gen- the feasibility of new airfoils and design features and then utilized
eration of GE military engines. Both the fan and core compressor these concepts in his product designs. His expertise in combining
for the YF120 were designed by Roy’s advanced technology aero theory and experimental research with sound practical design
design group. The fan was a very high speed unit with very low as- sense advanced the compressor state-of-the-art and made his ca-
pect ratio airfoils that produced nearly as much pressure rise in two reer the outstanding success that ASME and IGTI honored at the
stages as the F404 fan does in three. Similarly, the five-stage core 2009 Turbo Expo.
compressor in the YF120 was also very highly loaded, producing
nearly the same pressure ratio as the F404 core compressor does in References
seven stages. Much of the aero technology for these designs came
[1] Adkins, G. G., Jr., and Smith, L. H., Jr., 1982, “Spanwise Mixing in Axial-Flow
from Roy’s experience on USAF and USN funded JTDE and High Turbomachines,” ASME J. Eng. Power, 104, pp. 728–746.
Tip Speed Compressor (HTSC) experimental programs. The GE/ [2] Smith, Leroy H., Jr., 2002, “Axial Compressor Aero Design Evolution at General
Rolls-Royce F136, currently under development as an alternate Electric,” ASME J. Turbomachin., 124, pp. 321–330.
engine for the F-35 fighter, uses a core compressor that is a further [3] Gostelow, J. P., Krabacher, K. W., and Smith, L. H., Jr., 1968, “Performance
Comparison of High Mach Number Compressor Rotor Blading,” NASA
evolution of that in the YF120. If the F136 reaches production, it CR-1256.
will be yet another GE product whose technology owes much to [4] Smith, L. H., Jr., 1955, “Secondary Flow in Axial Flow Turbomachinery,” Trans.
Roy Smith’s design expertise and creativity. ASME, 77, pp. 1065–1070.
[5] Smith, L. H., Jr., 1974, “Some Aerodynamic Design Considerations for High
Bypass Ratio Fans,” Second International Symposium on Air Breathing Engines,
Sheffield University, UK, March 24–29.
7 Conclusions [6] Koch, C. C., 1981, “Stalling Pressure Rise Capability of Axial Flow Compressor
Roy Smith is one of GE’s most renowned and longest serving Stages,” ASME J. Eng. Power, 103, pp. 645–656.
[7] Wisler, D. C., 1985, “Loss Reduction in Axial Flow Compressors Through
technical experts. Beginning in the 1960s he personally led the Low-Speed Model Testing,” ASME J. Eng. Gas Turb. Power, 107, pp. 354–363.
detailed aero design of many of the fans and compressors for [8] Smith, L. H., Jr., 1994, “NASA/GE Fan and Compressor Research Accom-
the new generation of CF6, GE90, and CFM56 high bypass plishments,” ASME J. Turbomachin., 116, pp. 555–569.

Journal of Turbomachinery NOVEMBER 2012, Vol. 134 / 060901-5

Downloaded From: http://turbomachinery.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/pdfaccess.ashx?url=/data/journals/jotuei/926080/ on 04/06/2017 Terms of Use: http://www.asme.org/ab