Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGY 125 Rolls Royce Engine Technologies and Programs Since the beginning of the jet-powered commercial transport era in the 1950s, Rolls Royce has been recognized by the U.S. engine manufacturers as serious competition. Until the advent of the wide-bodied commercial transports in the late 1960s, Rolls Royce engines mainly powered European-built aircraft such as the Comet, Caravelle, BAC-111, and Trident. In 1968, Lockheed selected the Rolls Royce RB211 engine to power its L-1011 Tristar wide-bodied commercial transport. Until the termination of L-1011 production in 1983, Rolls Royce remained the exclusive supplier of engines to the L-1011 program. Rolls Royce was nationalized by the British government in 1971, following bankruptcy resulting from expenses incurred in the development of the RB211. In 1973, Rolls Royce achieved a position on the Boeing 747 with an uprated version of the RB211, and thus placed itself in direct competition with Pratt and Whitney and General Electric. Rolls Royce has been unsuccessful to date in achieving a position on the Airbus Industrie's A300 and A310 airplanes, while both U.S. manufacturers supply engines for these aircraft. Figure 5-7 indicates that the Rolls Royce RB211 engine family has near parity in terms of thrust and specific fuel consumption against the two U.S. manufacturers. However, as shown in Figures 5-7 and 5-8, Rolls Royce has lagged behind Pratt and Whitney and General Electric in thrust-to-weight ratio and turbine temperature. Thrust growth within an engine family is usually achieved by increasing turbine temperature, and the deficiencies of Rolls Royce in high turbine temperature technology placed it at a competitive disadvantage especially during the early 1970s. Rolls Royce has acted to bring its turbine temperature technology up to the state of the art of the two U.S. engine manufacturers. In 1968 Rolls Royce established a High Temperature Demonstrator Unit (HTDU) and an associated ongoing research and development effort. Rolls Royce is seeking to extend its technology in the areas of turbine blade and nozzle guide vane cooling, turbine aerodynamics, and application of advanced manufacturing techniques and new materials to turbines. While Rolls Royce did not keep pace with Pratt and Whitney and General Electric through the 1970s, Figure 5-9 indicates that Rolls Royce will achieve parity in turbine temperature technologies by the mid-1980s. The length of time needed for Rolls Royce to catch up is indicative of the long lead times required for research, development, and the introduction to production of engine technological advancements. Rolls Royce recovery efforts in this area demonstrate its determination to remain a viable competitor with Pratt and Whitney and General Electric.
