Charles Pitcher, MOD ACET Programme Manager, Jim Ball, Vice President, UK Capability, Defence Aerospace and John Hayers

Blisk technology for Joint Strike Fighter

As part of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter team, Rolls-Royce is developing and producing the LiftSystem for the F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off and Vertical Landing) variant. The shaft-driven, counter-rotating LiftFan, developed by Rolls-Royce Defence, can generate more than 20,000lb of thrust and is the culmination of many years of research and development in blisk technology.

The integrated bladed disc, ‘blisk’, is produced when individual hollow blades are joined to the disc by a metallic bond through linear friction welding. This allows production of a lighter bladed disc because there are no mechanical fixings. Hollow blade blisk technology in the LiftFan gives significant weight reduction in the JSF STOVL propulsion system.

Rolls-Royce ACET Programme Manager, Roy Pentecost, says: “This highly successful, jointly funded collaboration with MOD in a highly integrated research and technology project team is crucial in maintaining a world-class capability in military fan technology in the UK. It is a great example of the work Rolls-Royce carries out on a range of technology research programmes in close cooperation with the DE&S Future Business Group, Defence Technology and Innovation Centre, the individual Project Teams and Dstl.”

Rolls-Royce wide-chord fan blade

The hollow, titanium wide-chord fan blade, pioneered by Rolls-Royce and introduced into airline service in the 1980s, set new standards in aerodynamic efficiency and resistance to foreign object damage. Designed specifically for high-bypass turbofans, the breadth of these blades sets them apart from the narrow and less efficient equivalents of earlier times.

The wide-chord blade is made from three layers of titanium which are bonded together after being heated to a superplastic state, the metal “sandwich” then being inflated with gas. In earlier versions of wide-chord blades this resulted in a honeycomb centre being formed. More recent developments produced a girder structure at the centre of the blade. In both cases the blades are exceptionally strong, durable and lightweight.

The smallest wide-chord blade (a solid titanium version) is used on the Rolls- Royce Tay. Hollow wide-chord fans are used on the V2500, later versions of the RB211-535 and RB211-524, and on all Trent engines. The scimitar-shaped “swept” blade was used in production engines for the first time when the Trent 900 entered service on the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

Rolls-Royce wide-chord blades are made at the company’s Barnoldswick facility in the north of England which is a centre of excellence for this specialist component.

MOD and Rolls-Royce sign engine research contract

The MOD and Rolls-Royce have signed a three year, jointly funded research and technology contract for Engine Technologies for Aircraft Persistence and Survivability (ENTAPS).

Aimed at maturing key propulsion technologies for future Deep Persistent Offensive Capability concepts, the research programme will mature the highest risk areas of the engine to the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) required for Initial Gate. It will also contain studies which address the integration of these technologies within the engine.

Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, Director of Engineering and Technology, Graham Hopkins believes that the contract is important to the continued development of UK military engine technologies: “It enables us to work on areas such as distortion-tolerant fans and high temperature combustion and turbine systems, which will potentially bring big capability benefits for UK defence operations in the future.

“Attributes such as low radar signature, high endurance and low specific fuel consumption are key attributes for the military aircraft of the future. The ENTAPS research programme allows us to develop engine core technologies that will enable Rolls-Royce to satisfy these demands through our Integrated Power Systems,” explains Hopkins.

Through-life support for Harriers

A Harrier landing at RAF Wittering

A new ten year £198m support contract has been signed with Rolls-Royce to support the Harrier’s Pegasus engine which provides the aircraft with its unique (until JSF enters service) Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing capability.

The aircraft is operated in the close air support role by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy as part of Joint Force Harrier. Harrier GR9A aircraft, with upgraded Pegasus engines have been operating from Kandahar Airbase in Afghanistan for some time in support of NATO forces conducting operations against the Taliban.

In the UK Harriers are based at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland and RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, as well as operating as required from Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace will manage the contract from its Bristol site, with some work being carried out at RAF Wittering and the main repair and overhaul being carried out at the Rolls-Royce site at Ansty in Warwickshire.

The company now provides a guaranteed level of availability for all engines powering the UK’s Typhoon, Tornado and Harrier aircraft.

Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce Group has a broad customer base comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries. They are the world’s number two defence aero engine company with 160 customers in 103 countries.

It employs around 39,000 people worldwide in manufacturing and service facilities in 50 countries and has businesses headquartered in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia and China.

www.rolls-royce.com/defence