Rolls-Royce has revealed new details of the Trent XWB engine, which will be baseline on all variants of the recently launched Airbus A350 XWB.
The new centreline, three-shaft engine will have a 3m (118in) diameter fan, making it the largest ever produced by the UK engine maker.
The fan blades will combine the sweep of the Trent 900 developed for the A380, with the low speed/low tip ratio design of the 2.94m diameter fan on the Trent 1000.
For the original A350, R-R offered the Trent 1700, developed from the Trent 1000 with a 2.86m fan and a thrust range up to the mid-70,000lb (310kN) level.
In contrast, R-R plans to certificate the XWB engine at 95,000lb thrust, but says it will enter service at a rating of 87,000lb on the initial A350 XWB-900 in 2013.
The engine will later be derated to 75,000lb thrust for the smaller, lighter XWB-800 and operated at 95,000lb for the -1000.
The ensuing two-year gap between the introduction of the XWB-800 and -1000 will be used to "apply additional materials and coating technologies to improve margins", says R-R director of Airbus programmes, Ian Crawford. Technology for the XWB engine family will be derived from research and development programmes supporting the European and R-R-adopted Vision 5/10/20 technology roadmap.
"This will be sixth-generation Trent technology," says Crawford. "This will be a Vision 10 technology engine and the timetable fits very comfortably for delivering technology towards the end of the decade."
R-R plans to solidify the design in late 2008 or early 2009, and expects to begin cutting metal for the first developmental Trent XWB in 2009.
The engine will make its first test run in 2010.
Source: Flight International
