Trent 1000 service management update

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Trent 1000 service management update

In April this year Rolls-Royce provided an update on the management of a durability issue affecting the Intermediate Pressure Compressor in a population of Trent 1000 engines, known as Package C engines. An update on the company’s operational response to this issue was provided on May 30.

Since identifying this issue, we have undertaken a wide range of engineering analysis and engine tests to further our understanding of the cause. While this work has focused on Package C, we have also considered whether the same durability issue may occur on other Trent 1000 engine variants.

A similar Intermediate Pressure Compressor durability issue has now been identified on a small number of high life Package B engines and we have therefore agreed with the relevant regulatory authorities, with concurrence from Boeing, to carry out inspections of our Trent 1000 Package B fleet. The Package B standard has been in service since 2012 and consists of 166 engines.

These inspections are supported by an EASA Airworthiness Directive and engines will be inspected on-wing using existing techniques.

We are committed to eliminating this Intermediate Pressure Compressor durability issue from the Trent 1000 fleet and we have already successfully run a redesigned Package C IPC in a development engine. As a precautionary measure we have also launched a redesign of the relevant part in the Package B engine as well as in the Trent 1000 TEN engine, where, although currently a young fleet, we have not seen any examples of reduced IPC durability.

Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce, President – Civil Aerospace, said: “We are working closely with our customers to minimise any operational impact of these inspections and we deeply appreciate their continued co-operation. We remain absolutely committed to eliminating this issue from the Trent 1000 fleet.”

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Q&A

What has happened?

In coordination with Boeing, airworthiness authorities and our customers we are implementing additional precautionary inspections, service management actions and flight operation guidance for Trent 1000 Package C engines, as well as one time inspections on Trent 1000 Package B engines.

How many engines are affected?

The additional inspections and service management actions apply to 166 Trent 1000 Package B and 386 Trent 1000 Package C engines.

Why are you now inspecting Trent 1000 Package B engines too?

While there have been no in-service IPC durability events on Package B engines that have affected flights in its six years of service, we have been considering whether durability issues affecting Package C engines could also affect other Trent 1000 variants. A similar Intermediate Compressor durability issue has now been identified on a small number of high life Package B engines. We have therefore agreed with Boeing and the relevant regulatory authorities to carry out a one-off inspection of our Trent 1000 Package B fleet, to further inform our understanding. The Package B standard has been in service since 2012 and consists of 166 engines.

What does high cycle mean?

A cycle may broadly be described as one take-off and one landing. Engines with high cycles, while not necessarily older by date, can be considered to be more mature and therefore more relatively likely to see durability issues.

How many Trent 1000 engines are there in total?

There are over 500 Trent 1000 engines in service across Package B, Package C and Trent 1000 TEN standards.

Is the engine safe to fly?

Travelling by aircraft is the safest form of travel and safety will always be our first priority. All of these service management actions have been fully supported by Boeing and the airworthiness authorities. They are precautionary measures that we are taking to ensure the engines continue to remain safe to operate.

How many aircraft are affected?

It’s difficult to give a clear indication of how many aircraft might be affected. For example, engines can be moved around across airplanes. It will depend on the specific operations of the airline and the specific age and condition on their engines.

Which airlines are affected?

We are unable to comment on specific airlines or their operations. They will make their own arrangements and announcements as appropriate.

How many aircraft will be left on the ground as a result of these inspections?

It depends whether an individual inspection shows that a part requires replacement, how quickly that part can be replaced and whether a spare engine is available.

How long will this disruption last for?

We are developing plans with each airline but we expect there to be a period of increased inspection activity followed by more frequent inspections across the rest of 2018. We recognise that this will result in additional disruption for airlines which we sincerely regret.

Ultimately, we must eliminate this problem all together and we are already redesigning specific parts of the compressor and early parts are already in manufacture. Following validation and certification new parts will be available for engines in maintenance early next year.

What financial impact will this have?

The requirement for more regular inspections will lead to higher than previously guided cash costs being incurred during 2018. We are reprioritising various items of discretionary spend to mitigate these incremental cash costs and our guidance for 2018 free cash flow remains unchanged at Group free cash flow for 2018 of around £450m (plus or minus £100m).

Are you responding to an in-service event?

No. What we’re doing here is looking at the parts to ensure there aren’t any issues. This is a form of proactive maintenance to catch any issues before they become issues that would affect airline operation and cause them to report problems. The guidance we’re expecting is not driven by any particular in-service issue.

What does the compressor do?

The Intermediate Pressure Compressor is a set of spinning discs with small blades which squeezes the air drawn in by the fan at the front of the engine, preparing it for further squeezing in the high pressure compressor and eventually being mixed with fuel and ignited in the combustor. There are 8 rotor stages within the Intermediate Pressure Compressor, each of which features a number of blades. The blades are manufactured from a titanium alloy.

How do you do inspections?

The required inspections take a few hours to complete and can be completed without the engine being removed from the aircraft. It involves placing a probe within the engine and can usually be done between flights.

If an issue is found and a part needs replacing, how quickly can you do that?

Each inspection takes a number of hours to complete, but if an issue is identified with a part, the engine would need to be removed and taken to one of our facilities. The time each engine spends in overhaul depends on the improvements we need to incorporate into that engine. We are using all techniques available to us to accelerate engine overhaul and have been investing in increased capacity to support the increased requirement for inspections.

Will this also affect the latest version of this engine, the Trent 1000 TEN?

To date we have not seen any examples of durability issues with the Trent 1000 TEN engine, which is a younger fleet, but we are taking precautionary action to design and introduce a new standard of blade to this engine type. We expect this part to be available in 2019. It will also be built in to Trent 7000 engines.

Trent 1000 durability: an illustrated guide

See exactly which areas we’ve made the improvements to and learn new details about each innovative solution.