Contributor - Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith

Rolls-Royce has entered the final build phase for the UltraFan turbine engine, which it claims is the world’s largest aero-engine technology demonstrator. The company hopes the engine program will provide a suite of technologies to support sustainable air travel for “decades to come.”

 


Roll-Royce is completing the demonstrator engine, which has a fan diameter of 140 inches, at the company’s Derby, UK facility, in preparation for the&nbsp;first run, which will take place using&nbsp;100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)&nbsp;later this year. According to Rolls-Royce, the engine offers&nbsp;a 25 percent fuel efficiency improvement when compared with the first generation of the Trent engine.

 


Considered key to the engine OEM’s sustainability strategy, the UltraFan program offers opportunities to transfer technologies&nbsp;to current Trent engines to achieve greater fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. In the longer term, the engine’s thrust range, from 25,000 to 100,000&nbsp;pounds, will allow it to power narrow- and widebody aircraft not anticipated to enter service until the 2030s.

 


Rolls-Royce designed the UltraFan to accommodate fossil-based&nbsp;jet fuel and 100 percent SAF.&nbsp;The engine&nbsp;carries the potential for adaptation to&nbsp;hybrid-electric and hydrogen-based platforms.&nbsp;When the UltraFan undergoes testing at Rolls-Royce's new £90 million ($107 million) Testbed 80 facility, data will be captured from more than 10,000 parameters, detecting the tiniest of vibrations at a rate of up to 200,000 samples per second.

 


“Rolls-Royce has long been synonymous with British excellence in engineering,” said UK business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. “Building the cutting-edge UltraFan demonstrator shows there’s no sign of this reputation slowing down, with Rolls-Royce playing a central role in our plans to capitalize on the global shift to cleaner, fuel-efficient flight.”

 


“Our UltraFan engine technology demonstrator is arriving just as the world is seeking transformative technology to deliver sustainability,” said Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce president for&nbsp;civil aerospace.&nbsp;“This program is a significant investment in the future and I am delighted that the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, Germany’s LuFO [Federal Aviation Research Program], and the EU’s Clean Sky programs have all recognized the benefits of UltraFan and provided their support.”

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