Rolls-Royce released their next-generation large aviation engine in 2014, in which titanium alloy hollow fan blades are one of Rolls-Royce's core technologies.
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It took them ten years to finally get a stable production process that could meet the precision requirements, and the result was a very light but extremely strong design. Recently, Rolls-Royce officially released the fan manufacturing process.
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Making a fan blade involves more than 80 process steps
Here are just a few of the steps
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In a furnace at a temperature of nearly 1,000°C, argon gas is used to expand and precisely shape three connected titanium plates.
As the outer two titanium plates expand, the middle layer stretches into the core structure, giving the hollow blade extraordinary strength.
Observe millions of data points with a measurement accuracy of 40 microns, which is equivalent to half the diameter of a human hair.
The robot polishes and scans the 3D virtual model to detect any differences in the blade.
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Carbon/titanium alloy composite fan system
After so many years of development, we know that the space for optimizing aircraft aerodynamic performance is very limited, and everyone has shifted their focus to how to further improve the propulsion and combustion efficiency of the engine.
By carrying out the Advance and UltraFan projects, Rolls-Royce is expected to achieve major technological breakthroughs in civilian engines in the next few years.
Advance project
Under the Advance project, Rolls-Royce plans to use a newly developed high-pressure core engine with a boost ratio of over 60 to build the next generation turbofan engine series. The Advance engine, which is expected to be put into use in 2020, will have a bypass ratio of more than 11 and a fuel consumption rate that is at least 20% lower than the current Trent 700.
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UltraFan™ Fan
UltraFan will further improve the medium-pressure turbine design based on the Advance core machine and drive the fan through a gear system.
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The UltraFan engine, which is expected to be put into use after 2025, adopts a gear-driven variable pitch fan. Its total boost ratio will reach 70, the bypass ratio is expected to reach 15, and the fuel consumption rate will be at least 25% lower than that of the Trent 700.
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How awesome is the UltraFan engine?
The CTi fan system of the UltraFan (translated as: super fan) engine uses carbon fiber/titanium alloy fan blades and composite material hood, which can reduce the weight of each aircraft by 1,500 pounds (680kg), which is equivalent to carrying seven more passengers without increasing costs. .
The variable-speed design of the super-fan engine will provide effective power for future high-thrust, high-bypass-ratio engines.
"Green" is not only reflected in the material base color of the carbon fiber/titanium alloy fan blades, but also means its energy-saving and environmental protection effects: fuel saving, emission reduction, and noise reduction.
The fuel consumption and emissions of the super fan engine will be 25% lower than the current Trent 700 engine, and it is also the basic technology of the Environmentally Friendly Engine (EFE) verification program.
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Since the fan boost ratio is very low, variable pitch control is used to prevent stall and flutter at non-design speeds, and inclined and swept exit guide blades are used along with sound absorption treatment, which can effectively reduce noise.
The super-fan engine nacelle is a cantilever nacelle with exit guide blade supports. This design eliminates the thrust reverser device and greatly reduces the weight of the engine.
Removing the thrust reverser can also reduce intake and exhaust losses, further reducing noise levels.
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One of the core designs of the super fan engine, the "power gearbox", has recently completed a bench test in Germany, with the output efficiency reaching 70,000 horsepower. This is another important milestone for the project.
The design output of the power gearbox will reach 100,000 horsepower, and the world's largest geared turbofan engine will soon be available.
UltraFan completed its first flight test in 2014 at the test base in Arizona, USA, on the Trent 1000 engine of the Boeing 747-200 flight platform.
Trials in the United States showed the fans performed well, marking the first major milestone for the project.
Fiber optic sensors are installed at the fan blade tips to monitor the health of the fan.
Rolls-Royce invests £1.2 billion to £1.3 billion in R&D each year.
The Superfan engine is planned to be put into use in 2025. Currently, Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan engine GTF has provided power for Airbus A320neo, Bombardier C Series, Mitsubishi Jet MRJ, Russian MC-21 and Embraer EJet-E2. Civil aviation engines A revolutionary era is coming.
