Although understandably coy before Airbus’s Farnborough announcement that it was launching the A330neo, Rolls-Royce was by July quite far along the path of finalising the design for the Trent 7000, the 72,000lb (320kN) thrust engine that will exclusively power the re-engined widebody. Rolls-Royce already has a more than 50% share of engines on in-service A330s, with its original Trent 700.
The 7000 is based on the latest iteration of the Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787, the Trent 1000-TEN, and includes features such as weight-saving blisks in the compressors and a system that integrates engine dressings into composite raft-like structures. The first engine will be built and ground tested next year. Flight test engines will follow in 2016 ahead of the first actual flight test in 2017, with entry into service slated for late 2017.
Other changes compared with the original Trent 700 for the Airbus A330 – launched in March 1995 – include a 2.84m (112in) fan, rather than a 97in one that helps double the bypass ratio to 10 and improve specific fuel consumption by 10%. “For us, basing it on the TEN makes it a very low-risk programme,” says Peter Johnston, head of customer marketing.
The bigger fan means the engine and Aircelle-designed nacelle have to be moved forwards and upwards, compared with the Airbus A330’s Trent 700, to retain the same level of ground clearance and avoid “sucking in too much dirt”, says Johnston. The big architectual difference with the TEN is a new external gearbox because Airbus’s system is different to Boeing’s.
The engine manufacturer has a full dedicated project team in place for the 7000, which can pull in expertise from both the Ten and the Trent 700 teams, he says. The engine gives R-R itself a foot in two camps too, with a competitive position – against General Electric’s GEnx – on the Boeing 787, as well as an exclusive arrangement on the Dreamliner’s new direct competitor.
Source: Flight International
