Rolls-Royce has completed the first rig tests of an advanced, low-weight fan-containment system for the Trent 900, destined for the Airbus A380.
Tests, although conducted on a 2.47m (8.1ft) Trent 500-sized fan assembly and containment unit, effectively served as a good proof-of-concept test of the scaled-up Trent 900 system, says chief engineer Rob Savidge. A second full-scale rig test with a 2.94m diameter Trent 900 fan set is due for mid-2003, with the final full engine containment test in February 2004.
The revised containment design, adopted around a year ago as part of weight-saving efforts, "is lighter than the standard aluminium/Kevlar size-for- size, so we can transport it in a [Boeing] 747", says Savidge.
The first full Trent 900 engine run is due in mid-March, while flight tests are planned for May 2004 on the same Airbus A340 testbed that was used to evaluate the Trent 500 in 2000.
Source: Flight International
