ROLLS-ROYCE IS celebrating another milestone in the development of its next generation of civil aerospace engines as it prepares to run its Advance3 demonstrator for the first time. Initially, the company is testing a new engine core that will, it says, deliver maximum fuel burn efficiency and lower emissions. The core forms a key part of the Rolls- Royce Advanced and UltraFan engine designs, both of which are fundamental to its future technology programme. The demonstrator is being readied for testing at its Derby facility. Initial running will confirm operational performance, before further testing to gather data across more than 2,800 parameters.
Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce President-Civil Aerospace, said: “We are about to take another step towards making our future technology strategy a reality. The new core architecture being tested in this demonstrator is a critical part of this strategy and will help us to deliver even better economic and environmental performance.”
The Advance3 core features a new ‘work split’ with a two-stage high-pressure turbine and single-stage intermediate pressure turbine. This has been attached to a Trent XWB fan system and a Trent 1000 low-pressure turbine to create the demonstrator.