Rolls-Royce Trent 500

The Rolls-Royce Trent 500 is a high-bypass turbofan produced by Rolls-Royce to power the larger A340-500/600 variants. It was selected in June 1997,^[1] first ran in May 1999,^[2] first flew in June 2000, and achieved certification on 15 December 2000.^[3] It entered service in July 2002 and 524 engines were delivered on-wing until the A340 production ended in 2012.

Trent 500
A Trent 500 turbofan mounted on an Airbus A340-600 of Lufthansa.
Type	Turbofan
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce
First run	May 1999
Major applications	Airbus A340-500/600
Produced	2001–2012
Developed from	Trent 700 fan, Trent 800 core
Developed into	Trent 900

Keeping the three spool architecture of the Trent family, it has the Trent 700's 2.47 m (97.5 in) fan and a Trent 800 core scaled down.^[4] It produces up to 275 kN (62,000 lbf) of thrust at take-off and has a bypass ratio up to 8.5:1 in cruise.^[3]

Development

In 1995, Airbus began considering an engine for two new long-range derivatives of its four-engined A340, the A340-500/600. The existing A340-200/300 was powered by CFM International CFM56 engines. However, the CFM56 was at the limit of its development capability, and would be unable to power the new A340-500/-600. In April 1996, Airbus signed an agreement with GE Aviation to develop a suitable engine, but decided not to proceed when GE demanded an exclusivity deal on the A340.^[5][1]

Certification was applied for on 9 February 1998,^[3] and first ran in May 1999.^[2] By July 1999, Rolls-Royce had secured $5 billion worth of Trent 500 orders.^[6] Flight testing began in late June 2000 on a modified A340 testbed. By July 2000, the test program had amassed 1,750h and 2,00 cycles, and aimed for 15,000h and 4,000-5,000 cycles before introduction.^[4] It achieved certification on 15 December 2000.^[3]

The Trent 500 entered service on the A340-600 with Virgin Atlantic in July 2002 and on the ultra-long range A340-500 with Emirates in December 2003. Air Canada had been expected to be the launch customer for the A340-500 in May 2003, but just before this on 1 April 2003 the airline filed for bankruptcy protection which resulted in delivery of its two A340-500s being delayed. This allowed Emirates to be the first airline to operate the type.^{[citation needed]} After production of the Airbus A340 ended in 2011, a total of 131 A340-500/-600 have been delivered with 524 Trent 500 engines altogether; Lufthansa is the largest operator, with 24 delivered A340-600.^[7]

Design

The Trent 500 is a high bypass turbofan with three spools: the fan is powered by a 5 stage Low Pressure turbine (nominal speed: 3,900 RPM), the Intermediate pressure spool has an 8-stage axial compressor (9,100 RPM) and the High Pressure spool has an 6-stage axial compressor (13,300 RPM), both driven by a single turbine stage. It has an annular combustor and is equipped with an Electronic Engine Control System.^[3]

It is flat rated at ISA + 15°C for 248.1–275.3 kN (55,800–61,900 lbf) net thrust at take-off and has an 8.5:1 bypass ratio in cruise.^[3]

The Trent 500 is essentially a scaled Trent 800, with a 2.47 m (97 in) fan with 26 unswept blades like the Trent 700. The IP and HP compressors and scaled-down by 20% from the Trent 892, while the turbines are scaled-down by 90% and are made of single crystal CMSX-4 alloy with thermal barrier coatings. Fuel burn is 1% lower because of 3D aerodynamics. It was tested up to 68,000 lbf (300 kN) to establish limits.^[4]

The Trent 500 powers the A340-500/600.^[8] It was certificated at 60,000 lbf (270 kN) thrust, but derated to 53,000 lbf (240 kN) as the Trent 553 to power the A340-500, and to 56,000 lbf (250 kN) as the Trent 556 for the A340-600 and A340-500HGW. However, a 60,000 lbf (270 kN) version is installed in the A340-600HGW (High Gross Weight), a higher-performance version of the A340-600. The Trent 500 has the same wide chord fan as the Trent 700, together with a core scaled from the Trent 800.

Applications

• Airbus A340

Specifications

Trent 500 engines on the left wing of an Iberia A340-600

Data from EASA^[3]

General characteristics

• Type: Three-shaft high bypass turbofan
• Length: 468.9 cm (184.6 in)
• Diameter: 247 cm (97 in)^[9]
• Dry weight: 4,990 kg (11,000 lb)

Components

• Compressor: Single-stage fan, eight-stage intermediate pressure compressor, six-stage high pressure compressor
• Combustors: Tiled annular with 20 fuel injectors
• Turbine: Single-stage high pressure turbine, single-stage intermediate pressure turbine, five-stage low pressure turbine

Performance

• Maximum thrust: 248.1–275.3 kN (55,780–61,902 lbf)
• Overall pressure ratio: 35:1^[10]
• Bypass ratio: 7.5–7.6^[9] to 8.5:1 in cruise^[3]
• Air mass flow: 860–880 kg/s (1,900–1,900 lb/s)^[9]
• Specific fuel consumption: 55.3 g/N/h (0.542 lb/lbf/h) at cruise^[11]
• Thrust-to-weight ratio: 5.07–5.63

Type designators

Rolls Royce RB211 Trent 500 variants^[3]

Variant	Certification	Max T/O	Max Cont.
RB211 Trent 553-61	9 February 1998	248.1 kN (55,775 lbf)	197.3 kN (44,355 lbf)
RB211 Trent 553A2-61	21 April 2002	248.1 kN (55,775 lbf)	197.3 kN (44,355 lbf)
RB211 Trent 556-61	9 February 1998	260 kN (58,450 lbf)	197.3 kN (44,355 lbf)
RB211 Trent 556A2-61	21 April 2002	260 kN (58,450 lbf)	197.3 kN (44,355 lbf)
RB211 Trent 560A2-61	21 April 2002	275.3 kN (61,890 lbf)	197.3 kN (44,355 lbf)

See also

Related development

• Rolls-Royce Trent

Comparable engines

• General Electric CF6
• Pratt & Whitney PW4000

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines