Rolls-Royce explains problem with Trent 1000

Talking to journalists at a recent media presentation event, Rolls-Royce civil aerospace chief customer officer Dominic Horwood shed light on the causes of turbine blade cracking in the Trent 1000 gas turbine engine, which powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Cracking problems in the intermediate pressure (IPT) section of the turbine have plagued the engine since early 2016, five years after its launch. Unscheduled groundings of Trent 1000-powered aircraft cost Rolls-Royce some £450m last year, and Horwood said that addressing the problem was "the single most important issue" currently facing the company.

One of Rolls-Royce's most important potential customers for Trent 1000, Air New Zealand, recently announced that it has opted for General Electric power-plants for a new batch of 787-10 airliners, although its 787-9 fleets still fly with Trent engines.

According to Horwood, the problem was caused by sulphurisation; a chemical process affecting the nickel alloy which comprises the IPT blades. "We are very confident that this problem will not occur in any of our other engines," Horwood said. "This is confined to component level in the Trent 1000."