Rolls-Royce has developed the Trent family of large turbofans. These Trent engines carry advanced technology features and are designed to have a minimum impact on the environment.

Power
The power a Trent engine generates at take off is about 90,000 horsepower. This is equivalent to the power of 1,200 family-sized cars and the same amount of energy used as 250,000 people jogging at the same time.

The total power generated by the turbines in order to drive the fan and compressors is about 250,000 horsepower. There are 92 high pressure turbine blades in a Trent 800 engine. Each of these generates about 800 horsepower, which is equivalent to a Formula 1 racing car.

Efficiency
The Boeing 777, which is powered by two Trent 800 engines, carries around 330 passengers and gives about 120 passenger-miles to the gallon. This is equivalent to a family-sized car travelling at 40 miles per hour. However, the Boeing 777 travels 10 times faster.

Reliability
The Trent achieves around 13,000 flying hours between major overhauls, demonstrating the reliability typical of big Rolls-Royce engines. This is equivalent to 7 million miles or flying around the world 250 times.

Airflow
While generating its 92,000lb thrust, the Trent sucks in more than 1 ton of air per second at about 350 miles per hour. This is equivalent to emptying a squash court of air in less than one second. By the time the air leaves the nozzle at the back of the engine, it has been accelerated to a speed of 1050 miles per hour.

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Extremes of temperature
Fuel burns in the Trent engine's combustion chamber at temperatures up to 2,000°C, which is well above the 1,300°C at which some component metals used would start to melt, so a very sophisticated cooling system is needed. The heat transfer rate achieved by the cooling air system in each High Pressure Turbine blade is equivalent to a domestic central-heating boiler or air-conditioning unit.

Strength
Components in the Trent are subject to extreme forces which make high demands on the special alloys used in their construction.

The force on a fan blade at take-off is equivalent to a load of almost 100 tonnes. This is equivalent to hanging a main-line diesel locomotive or a Boeing 757 on each blade.

The force on the small first stage turbine blade is about 10 tonnes. This is equivalent to hanging a double-decker London bus on each blade.

Speed
The tip speed of the Trent fan blades and first stage turbine blades is about 1,500 ft per second or over 1,000 miles per hour.