This article is published in Aviation Week MRO part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Jan 29, 2025. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
Rolls-Royce says it has competed certification testing of a major upgrade to the Trent 1000 to address durability problems and is now looking to secure the delayed certification of the so-called Durability Enhancement.
Boeing in December appeared to have wrapped up flight tests of the upgraded Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 following an intense series of flight and ground evaluations of the package using the company’s development 787-8. The British aircraft engine-maker on Jan. 22 confirmed that “certification testing of our new Trent 1000 Durability Enhancement package has now been successfully completed.”
The new high-pressure turbine design is intended to help double the Trent 1000’s time on wing in a bid by Rolls-Royce to restore market share lost on the 787 to rival GE Aerospace’s GEnx.
“We're now looking forward to certification and availability for both in-service and new production engines,” Rolls-Royce said in a statement.
The high-pressure turbine redesign at the core of the package upgrade boosts cooling airflow by 40% and increases blade life by reducing sustained operating temperatures by 45C. Changes include additional and larger cooling holes in the mid-chord section of the blade, as well as a bigger passage for cooling flow in the root of the blade.
Rolls-Royce originally hoped to gain certification for the package that entered flight trials this past summer by the end of 2024. In early November the company acknowledged that regulatory approval would slide into early 2025.
Related Content
