Rolls-Royce Achieves Major Milestone, Running UltraFan Demonstrator at Full Power

Rolls-Royce recently crossed a significant milestone in its UltraFan technology demonstrator program, successfully running the innovative powerplant to its total power capacity.

The British engineering firm completed initial testing using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), demonstrating the engine’s sustainability credentials. The fan boasts advanced features and impressive efficiency gains.

UltraFan is a next-generation turbofan engine demonstrator featuring new architecture and cutting-edge components. With a 140-inch fan diameter, it is the largest engine ever constructed. UltraFan utilizes a geared design that enables a bypass ratio of over 14:1, far exceeding current machines. This configuration promises to deliver significant improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions reduction.

Specifically, Rolls-Royce states that UltraFan will achieve at least a 10% fuel burn improvement compared to its Trent XWB engine. Overall, this amounts to a 25% efficiency gain since the original Trent turbofan models were introduced. The company highlights UltraFan’s potential to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 40% and cut noise levels by 35%.

Rolls-Royce has incorporated several technologies into UltraFan’s design to enable these performance leaps. This includes lightweight carbon composite fan blades augmented with titanium edges. The fan casing also utilizes composites to decrease weight. The engine employs an advanced lean burn combustion system and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components in the high-pressure turbine.

The most conspicuous feature is UltraFan’s gearbox, which allows the fan and turbine shafts to rotate at optimal independent speeds. Weighing approximately 2,600 pounds, this bespoke power gearbox handles an immense 64 megawatts of power.

With its final assembly completed earlier this year, the first example of UltraFan entered an intensive trial phase focused on proving the technology. Rolls-Royce constructed a dedicated $130 million test facility, Testbed 80, to accommodate the demonstrator.

Engineers gradually increased the engine’s power output over multiple months, monitoring its performance using various digital sensors and instruments. This progressive testing regime evaluated the functionality of UltraFan’s subsystems individually and as an integrated unit.

In early November, the team oversaw the demonstrator achieving its designed maximum power, surpassing 85,000 pounds of thrust. All test objectives were successfully met, with UltraFan’s behaviour aligning closely with simulated models throughout the process. Rolls-Royce conducted the initial high-power test runs using 100% SAF. This underscored the engine’s readiness to utilize sustainable fuel from the outset, which will be essential for meeting emissions reduction targets.

So far, the UltraFan demonstration engine has accumulated over 70 hours of runtime during testing and underwent key verification points, including maximum power accelerations and operability at extreme settings. With testing completed, Rolls-Royce technicians will examine the engine to gather additional performance data.

Looking ahead, Rolls-Royce is positioning UltraFan as a pivotal platform for long-term engine development and sustainability. The company states that the engine architecture can scale up or down to produce variants from 25,000 to 110,000 pounds of thrust. This makes the tech suitable for narrowbody and widebody aircraft models expected to enter service in the 2030s.

Although UltraFan remains a technology demonstrator, Rolls-Royce sees promise in applying its advancements to commercial engines. The firm claims several technologies implemented in UltraFan, such as the materials and lean burn combustion system, could transfer to in-production turbofans like the Trent XWB. This would deliver incremental efficiency gains in the near term, complementing the revolutionary strides expected from future UltraFan derivatives.

These latest maximum power tests on the UltraFan demonstrator cement Rolls-Royce’s reputation as an aviation technology pioneer. Successful ground tests have now qualified all Rolls-Royce commercial engine models to operate using 100% SAF.

These advancements in aerospace tech are vital as the aerospace industry continues to pursue radical decarbonization. Milestones like UltraFan’s full-power run highlight that the necessary technologies already exist to drive aviation into a new era.