The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 is a high-bypass-ratio turbofan engine, developed from the RB211
and is one of the family of Trent engines. It was designed to be used on the Boeing 777.
Design and development In the late 1980s, Boeing was investigating
an enlarged development of its 767 model dubbed the 767X, for which Rolls-Royce proposed the
Trent 760. By 1990 Boeing abandoned its planned 767X and instead decided to launch a new,
larger aircraft family designated 777 with a thrust requirement of 80,000 lbf or more.
The Trent 700's 2.47 m diameter fan would not be big enough to meet this requirement,
so Rolls proposed a new version with a 2.80 m fan diameter, designated Trent 800. Rolls
brought in Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries as risk and revenue sharing
partners who between them took an 11 per cent stake in the Trent 700 and 800 programmes.
Testing of the Trent 800 began in September 1993, and certification was achieved in January
1995. The first Boeing 777 with Trent 800 engines flew in May 1995, and entered service
with Thai Airways International on 31 March 1996. 180 minutes ETOPS approval was granted
by the FAA on 10 October 1996. Initially Rolls-Royce had difficulty selling
the engine: British Airways, traditionally a Rolls-Royce customer, submitted a large
order for the competing General Electric GE90 engine. The breakthrough came when the company
won orders from Singapore Airlines, previously a staunch Pratt & Whitney customer, for its
34 Boeing 777s; this was soon followed by large North American orders from American
Airlines and Delta Air Lines for their 777 fleets. British Airways announced in September
1998 that it was returning to Rolls-Royce for its second batch of 777s, and did so again
in April 2007. The Trent 800 has a 41% share of the engine market on the 777 variants for
which it is available. Rolls-Royce Trent 800s are now commonly used on the Boeing 777 series.
Major airlines such as Air New Zealand, British Airways, American Airlines, Kenya Airways,
Emirates, and many other airlines now operate Boeing 777's with Trent 800s on a regular
schedule. As of 2014 Rolls-Royce is offering an upgraded
version of the engine – Trent 800EP. It incorporates technology from Trent 1000 and
TrentXWB engines including elliptical leading edges on intermidiate- and high-pressure compressor
blades. Rolls-Royce claims that it provides a 0.7% fuel-burn benefit.
Accidents and incidents On 17 January 2008, a British Airways Boeing
777-236ER, operating as flight number BA038 from Beijing to London, crash-landed at Heathrow
after both Trent 800 engines lost power during the aircraft's final approach. The subsequent
investigation found that the cause was ice released from the fuel system which accumulated
on the fuel-oil heat exchanger leading to a restriction of fuel flow to the engines.
Rolls-Royce has developed a modification to prevent the problem recurring.
Applications The Trent 800 family powers the Boeing 777.
It is available on the 777-200, 777-200ER and 777-300 variants, with thrust ratings
spanning 75,000 to 93,400 lbf. The engine is the lightest in its class; a Trent-powered
Boeing 777 weighs up to 3.6 tonnes less than General Electric and Pratt & Whitney-powered
versions. The Trent 800, however, is not available on
the longer-range and freighter 777 variants; these variants are exclusively powered by
the GE90-115B engine. Specifications
General characteristics Type: Three-shaft high bypass ratio turbofan
engine Length: 4.37 m
Diameter: 2.79 m Dry weight: 16,500 pounds
Components Compressor: Eight-stage IP compressor, six-stage
HP compressor Combustors: Single annular combustor with
24 fuel injectors Turbine: Single-stage HP turbine, single-stage
IP turbine, five-stage LP turbine Performance
Maximum thrust: 93,400 lbf Power-to-weight ratio:
See also Related lists
List of aircraft engines References
Notes
External links Rolls-Royce plc – Trent 800
"A Coming of Age" a 1996 Flight article on the Trent 800