The Rolls-Royce RB.203 Trent was a British medium-bypass
turbofan
A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...
engine of around 10,000lb thrust designed for production in the late 1960s, bearing no relation to the earlier
Rolls-Royce RB.50 Trent turboprop or the later high-bypass
Rolls-Royce Trent
The Rolls-Royce Trent is a family of high-bypass turbofans produced by Rolls-Royce Holdings, Rolls-Royce. It continues the Turbofan#Three-spool, three spool architecture of the Rolls-Royce RB211, RB211 with a maximum thrust ranging from . Lau ...
turbofan.
Design and development
The RB.203 was a private venture engine built on the core of the
Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour
The Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour is a two-shaft low bypass turbofan aircraft engine developed by Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Limited, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce (UK) and Turbomeca (France). The engine is named after the Adour, a river in s ...
turbofan used in the
SEPECAT Jaguar and the later
Hawker Siddeley Hawk.
The first
three-spool engine, it was intended as a civilian replacement for the earlier
Rolls-Royce Spey
The Rolls-Royce Spey (company designations RB.163 and RB.168 and RB.183) is a low-bypass turbofan engine originally designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce that has been in widespread service for over 40 years. A co-development version of the ...
.
The RB.203 Trent was a member of an Advanced Technology Engine family of engines with thrusts covering a range from the RB.203 of just under to the
RB.207 of up to . The engine designs were launched at the
SBAC Farnborough Airshow
The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...
in September 1966. The Advanced Technology Engine RB.203 embraced the new scalable technologies such as the three-spool architecture, a high pressure
annular combustor, the extensive use of composites throughout the low pressure compressor and engine casing, air-cooled turbine blading, squeeze-film bearings and a structurally integrated duct, the
gearbox
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
driven from the high pressure shaft and located in the nacelle.
The Trent RB.203 design objectives were:
* Lighter, more compact powerplant
* Improved fuel consumption
* Reduced number of parts, resulting in cheaper manufacturing costs and ease of overhaul
* Use of established turbine entry temperatures
* Adequate growth potential.
The engine was aimed primarily at the short-haul market as a Spey replacement. Specific fuel consumption was projected to be better than the then current engines and noise reduction was also a design feature. The Trent was expected to better FAA noise proposals by a considerable margin. Advanced components, which had between 15 years and 10 million service hours, promised long life, reduced weight, reduced vibration and a reduction in manufacturing costs.
The RB203 successfully ran for the first time on 18 December 1967.
As the first in the family of Advanced Technology Engines the RB.203 Trent led the testing and the development of the RB.207 and the
RB.211. The Trent was ordered by Fairchild Hiller to power the
FH-228 short haul airliner.
A key technology introduced on the RB.203 Trent was its structurally integrated
nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...
, also referred to as a
power plant
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
.
Specifications
See also
References
{{Rolls-Royce Trent series
RB203 Trent
1960s turbofan engines
Medium-bypass turbofan engines
Three-spool turbofan engines