Rolls-Royce Trent XWB achieves test milestone

Rolls-Royce has passed a major milestone in the development of its Trent XWB engine, which will support the first flight and entry into service of the Airbus A350 XWB.

The Trent XWB is specifically designed for the Airbus A350 XWB and is the fastest selling Trent engine ever, with more than 1100 already sold. It is also the exclusive powerplant for the longer range A350-1000.

The engine has completed a 150-hour endurance type test at INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial) in Madrid. Based on the internal condition of the engine, speeds and temperatures were increased from the original target during the test.

The engine has now been sent back to Rolls-Royce in Derby in the UK for a complete strip down and analysis to confirm durability and component performance predictions following the test. The engine will also be available for examination by existing and potential customer airlines.

“This is a challenging test, the successful completion of which builds confidence in the maturity and reliability that we have designed into the engine right from the start of the Trent XWB programme,” Chris Young, Rolls-Royce Chief Engineer – Trent XWB, said.

“The turbine entry temperatures we were able to demonstrate during the testing deliver substantial margin at the full 84,000lb rating for the A350-900, providing further confidence in the on-wing life of the engine. It’s a great result.”

At Derby another engine has successfully completed a bird strike test, continuing to run without incident after ingesting four 2.5lb birds at maximum take-off power.

Rolls-Royce currently has eight Trent XWB engines in its test programme, one of which was recently delivered to Airbus in Toulouse for flight testing on an A380 flying test bed later this year.