Rolls Royce The Magazine 145

the magazine ISSUE 145 JUNE 2015

for customers

Full thrust

50 years of marine thruster technology

Spanish specialist ITP is a key Trent partner

Ramstein workhorse Powering the USAF’s C-130J airlifters

Kiwi wonder Air New Zealand’s winning ways

Rolls-Royce is a global company providing integrated power solutions for customers in aerospace and land & sea markets. We support our customers through a worldwide network of offices, manufacturing and service facilities.

Welcome to the June issue

How the Trent 1000 is helping Air New Zealand grow its reputation in the southern hemisphere, how marine thrusters deliver remarkable manoeuvrability and, how MTU engines keep an Austrian steelworks right on track.

The June issue takes you right around the world as Rolls-Royce supports its customers on land, at sea and in the air.

For over 30 years the magazine has been highlighting how Rolls-Royce works closely with customers all over the world.

Providing power systems for use on land, at sea and in the air.

Seeking to be ‘trusted to deliver excellence’ in all we do.

We hope you find this latest issue both informative and entertaining.

David Howie Editor

rolls-royce.com

the magazine CONTENTS

inside the magazine

Editorial Board Tom Bell, Ian Craighead, Lawrie Haynes, Mikael Makinen, Peter Morgan, Colin Smith, Tony Wood Editor: David Howie david.howie@rolls-royce.com Design & Production: Hubert Burda Media UK LP Print: Pureprint Group Printed in England ISSN 0142-9469 © Rolls-Royce plc 2015 the magazine June 2015 Rolls-Royce plc 62 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AT England www.rolls-royce.com

2 Back in black

New Zealand’s national airline is soaring, with strong finances and a new fleet. As the launch customer for the new Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787-9, ANZ is entering a new era.

8 Put your trust in thrust

For 50 years Rolls-Royce has led the way in designing and producing marine thrusters. These highly efficient units power and position some of the world’s largest vessels.

12 Big sister

At 97,000lbs thrust, the new Trent XWB-97 will be the most powerful engine Rolls-Royce has certified. Outside it looks the same as the Trent XWB currently in service, but inside this ‘big sister’ has some important differences.

16 The Ramstein workhorse

From Germany, the 86th Air Wing of the USAF frequently flies its C-130J airlifters into risky or unprotected landing zones, but the aircraft and the crew take it all in their stride.

22 Martina – strong as steel

At a steelworks in Austria, the shunting locomotives use MTU diesel engine power for transporting materials around the site. It’s heavy work in a compact environment for the train crews. We spend a day with them.

27 Keep it fluid

How do you predict the power requirements of a vessel that may be expected to do its job in high seas and gale force winds? Ship designers need complex hydrodynamic and fluid modelling to help them.

30 Spain’s turbine specialist

From modest beginnings 25 years ago, Spain’s ITP has grown to become an important partner on a number of Rolls-Royce programmes. The company is now fundamental to the design and production of Trent low-pressure turbines.

34 Land, sea and air – MTU engines

It all began with developing engines for Count von Zeppelin’s airships, but now MTU is an important part of the Rolls-Royce future on land and sea with its advanced range of reciprocating engines.

Front cover: The unmistakable livery of Air New Zealand on a Boeing 787-9.

the magazine ISSUE 145 1

Back

2 rolls-royce.com

the magazine AVIATION

in black

From the distinctive livery and striking interiors of its aircraft, to its latest strong financial results, air new Zealand (anZ) is in the black.

J

ust like its formidable and world famous ‘all-blacks’ national rugby team, new Zealand’s airline has found a winning formula in a highly competitive environment. Different fields – same determined approach. new Zealand is a long way from anywhere else, with a small population of a little over four million people but as with the rugby team, the national airline is up for any challenge. anZ knows that it can be outfought in scale of marketing budget, or fleet size, by bigger competitors, but it can’t be out thought. it has a growing reputation for not just doing things differently but doing things that make it distinctive, innovative and memorable. in short, delivering a customer experience that gets noticed.

High profile marketing agreements over the past decade with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ film trilogies have helped showcase the country and the airline has been able to capitalise on that. new Zealand is certainly a beautiful place, with scenery that is both picturesque and dramatic. The feature films were undoubtedly successful – beyond even what anZ or Tourism new Zealand could have imagined – but that’s only part of the story, the airline has been making strategic decisions on aircraft, routes and partnerships that are continuing to grow the business.

anZ is simplifying what was a mixed fleet and bringing in newer and more efficient aircraft.

They are now concentrating on developing a combination of Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft for long-haul operations, underpinned primarily by the airbus a320 family for regional and domestic routes. as a result, passenger numbers are up and so are profits. anZ committed to the Dreamliner back in 2004 – when it was initially being marketed by Boeing as the 7E7 – and as Boeing’s programme firmed up, so did anZ’s resolve. They selected the larger 787-9 version of the Dreamliner

Rolls-Royce was really collaborative in allowing our people to actually work on the engines rather than just observe.

Bruce Parton, Chief Operating Officer for ANZ

the magazine

ISSUE 145

3

family in an initial order for ten aircraft. The airline has subsequently increased that to 12 with deliveries running through to 2018.

The airline says it is not risk averse in making fundamental decisions about its future. as an end-of-line carrier it cannot operate as a hub for onward travel, so anZ took the decision in the early 2000s to focus on a point-to-point network, serving the Pacific Rim as the core of its international long-haul business. They believed the new Boeing 787 with its gamechanging economics fitted perfectly with the business plan. Here was an aircraft that anZ felt was sized appropriately and efficient enough to make direct connections, to and from new Zealand, profitable. in 2014, ten years after selecting the Dreamliner, anZ successfully put the 787-9 with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines into service as

billion – anZ is an airline transformed. The government had to step in to save its flag carrier that year and a new cEO, Ralph norris, was appointed. at that time, one of his criticisms was that the business seemed to focus on ‘flying planes rather than people’ and he set about changing that. His observation still resonates within the airline today.

“We start all our decision-making processes by thinking about our customer and what we can do for them. We know that on long-haul about 65 per cent of our customers are visitors.

We are predominantly flying leisure rather than business customers and so that drives our product decisions on the aircraft to make their experience the best it can be,” says David Morgan, chief Pilot for anZ. it was cpt David Morgan who was at the controls for the delivery flight last July of the

Left Captain David Morgan, Chief Pilot for ANZ. Right The Trent 1000, powerplant for ANZ’s Boeing 787-9s.

Top right Preparing the aircraft for flight and welcoming you at check in.

It flies beautifully, we are thrilled with the 787 and the Trent 1000 engines. It’s a great working environment. the aircraft’s launch customer. it also celebrated the 75th anniversary of the airline; a new chapter had begun in the development of anZ. They declared record earnings of $332 million and a net profit of $262 million for 2014. This year it is on track to do even better with estimates focusing around the $490 million annual earnings mark. if so, it will be the fourth consecutive year of growth.

From a desperate position of bankruptcy in 2001, when the impact of SaRS and the 9/11 terrorist attacks contributed to the airline calling in the administrators and declaring the biggest loss in the country’s history of $1.4

4 rolls-royce.com

first 787-9 from Boeing in Seattle to auckland.

He knew that the arrival of the 787-9 was a major event for the airline, but it was also a big deal for the country. When you are an isolated island nation, then aviation plays an important role in linking the communities, and the nation, to the rest of the world.

That delivery flight may have felt like the start of an era, but in some ways it was the culmination of a great deal of work led by chief Operations Officer Bruce Parton and cpt Morgan in the run up to the introduction of the aircraft to the airline. This was a significant technical and engineering challenge for anZ;

the aircraft was the first of its type to go into service. Bruce Parton takes up the story.

“We took it incredibly seriously. We felt an enormous responsibility and obligation to the airline and to our partners, Boeing and Rolls-Royce. We had to ensure that the 787-9 entered service well. We were also working with the regulators, the Faa and new Zealand caa to obtain regulatory approval for the new 787-9,” he says.

The airline held a number of intensive working sessions over a six month period prior to entry into service (EiS), where it brought all the suppliers down to auckland. They would go through the EiS programme piece by piece to see where each company was relative to the plan. Boeing supported anZ with its EiS experts giving advice and imparting their experience.

“We have a long relationship with Boeing and that helped because we needed them to be open and frank with us on the progress and the issues – trusting in that openness was vital – everyone’s reputation was on the line,” adds Bruce.

Most of the flight proving was done in north america, thereafter in new Zealand the airline spent a month trying and testing every aspect of it before beginning revenue service. They

the magazine

ISSUE 145

5

The harbour front at downtown Auckland, ANZ’s home base.

checked it fitted at the gates, changed tyres, rehearsed engineering processes and even had over 200 volunteers sit on the plane (while it was on the ground) to role-play as customers, trying out the in-flight entertainment (iFE) system and customer service on board.

“We also had great cooperation from Rolls-Royce, in the months before receiving the aircraft,” says Bruce. “Just as with Boeing, we have enjoyed a long relationship with Rolls-Royce over many decades. We had anZ engineers working with the Rolls-Royce team in Seattle for around three months and that was incredibly valuable. Rolls-Royce was really collaborative in allowing our people to actually work on the engines rather than just observe.

Bear in mind that at this point the engines were not owned by us. Our guys worked with the Trent 1000 on the stands, in the test bed and really got familiar with the engine.

Knowledge

“i saw that as a great facet of our relationship with Rolls-Royce. We shared our airline/ operators experience with them and the Rolls team shared their deep engineering knowledge with us. it meant that by the time we received the aircraft our engineers were familiar with the engine and we knew we were in pretty good shape.

“The whole plane and the engines have performed really well in service,” says Bruce. “it’s also good for us to see that Rolls-Royce is now committing more into Singapore and that adds a lot of value for us in areas like maintenance and support as we have decision makers in Singapore that we can now talk to in the same time zone.

“The 787 is already a customer friendly aircraft with a great environment created by Boeing inside the cabin in terms of humidity

6 rolls-royce.com

and pressurisation. People love the touch control windows and the sense of space inside the 787, so we already had an excellent palette on which to build our offering. We took that forward by installing our distinctive black seating and adding some creative touches inside the aircraft such as chandeliers in the toilets and bookshelf wallpaper. it’s quirky, we want people to enjoy the flight and see we have a sense of humour. We also worked really hard Ready to fly, the Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787 at Auckland airport.

with our iFE partner, Panasonic. We have enhanced the iFE with apps so that, for example, a person coming to new Zealand from america can go onto Tripadvisor and start to plan their visit while they are actually flying en route.”

So inside the 787-9 cabin, anZ has made its mark and the passengers get a real feel for the personality of anZ, but what’s it like to fly? “it flies beautifully,” says cpt Morgan. “We

are thrilled with the 787 and the Trent 1000 engines. it’s a great working environment, it’s quiet; the pressurisation improvements mean that physiologically it’s better for the crew. The finance team like it too because of the economics of the aircraft, but what really matters is what our customers think and there is no doubt that they love it,” says cpt Morgan.

To highlight the economics, he relays the story of an anZ 777 flying to Shanghai with 29 tons of payload that used 82 tons of fuel to complete the journey. The next day says cpt Morgan, a 787 made the same trip carrying 29.1 tons of payload and used 62 tons of fuel. “You are looking at a fuel saving of over 20 per cent – it’s massive,” he adds.

The airline currently has three 787-9s in service plying key routes to Shanghai, Tokyo and Perth, and the airline says it is ‘exceeding expectations’. as well as the Trent 1000-powered 787s, anZ is also operating eight refurbished 777 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800s.

Making the right decisions on the fleet is paying dividends and another aspect of the airline’s current ‘Go Beyond’ strategy is to link with like-minded partners to develop additional

growth and revenue. anZ describes these partnerships as fundamental to achieving better penetration of markets where it feels it may not have the scale, or finances, to do so alone.

The airline is careful to choose partners that it believes have similar approaches to providing the best customer service, in some cases outside the Star alliance. agreements are in place with cathay Pacific for example (a OneWorld member), Virgin australia and, at the start of 2015, a new partnership was implemented with Singapore airlines.

Collaborate

Bruce Parton explains: “We have a responsibility to our country to work with our partners and increase the number of visitors coming to new Zealand. We have to represent the nation well and collaborate in a sensible way to increase business on behalf of new Zealand. So the recent Sia deal for example is all about helping to get more people to commit to coming here from Singapore.”

That arrangement began in January with anZ operating a 777 and Singapore airlines

flying a Trent 900-powered a380 between auckland and Singapore. in addition, there is a Singapore to christchurch route using a Singapore airlines Trent 800-powered 777. The carriers aim to increase capacity by up to 30 per cent year-round over time.

“We set up these partnerships very carefully to ensure that both sides are aware of how we will grow business, look after our customers and develop relationships for the future. These are revenue alliances and they must work for both parties, the focus has to be on increasing the number of passengers for our partners and for anZ. importantly though, you must first of all find a partner you know you can work with.

That’s not as simple as it sounds. Some airlines may be big and successful but just not right for us and our philosophy may not suit them either,” says Bruce.

“However, when we get it right, it has benefits beyond revenue and growth. We feel we are open-minded enough to learn from others – particularly about understanding what works well for asian customers. We all like to think we have great products but you need to be willing to change if customers are telling you what they want – we think we are,” says Bruce.

Listening to customers is what the management of anZ are determined to stay focused on, believing that the minute you start paying attention to your own publicity and admiring your awards, you start to get a feeling of self-importance. That could mean losing sight of the fact that you are there to serve customers and that they have options. Remember the ‘we fly people not planes’ mantra?

“This is a brutal industry, we take our work seriously but we try not to take ourselves too seriously as a management team,” says Bruce.

“We remain constructively dissatisfied,” agrees cpt Morgan. “We are seeking to build an airline that continues to grow profitably, that is resilient to the shocks that often affect our industry and that is always customer centric.

We want to be focused on serving the new Zealand and the Pacific Rim with a world-class product and on providing a proper return to our shareholders.” if the airline takes on the competition in the same way that the ‘all-blacks’ do on the rugby field, who would bet against them?

Author: David Howie is Director of Brand for Rolls-Royce. He joined the company from a marketing consultancy and prior to that was a press officer.

the magazine

ISSUE 145

7

Manufacture and testing of thrusters at the Rolls-Royce Rauma facility in Finland.

8 rolls-royce.com

the magazine MARINE

Put your trust in thrust For half a century, Rolls-Royce has pioneered a series of technological breakthroughs in marine thrusters, transforming the early mechanical designs of 1965 into today’s sophisticated, powerful and highly efficient units which power and position some of the largest floating objects on the planet.

T

raditional propulsion for ships involved a simple system of a rudder located directly behind the propeller. This was fine for steaming straight ahead, and for gentle turns to port or starboard, but quite limited for complex manoeuvres and position keeping.

To enhance manoeuvring, thrusters were added, typically in the bow or stern of a ship to provide transverse thrust, especially useful when docking. Today, thrusters come in a variety of designs, including azimuth thrusters, which rotate on a vertical axis, providing thrust in which direction the captain wants it.

Azimuthing means the ability to rotate through 360 degrees, and being able to direct thrust, means rudders can be dispensed with.

Today, this type of propulsion is now essential in the operation of a growing number of marine vessels and offshore structures including semi-submersible rigs and drillships, where position keeping is vital.

Fingertip control on the bridge means thrusters are highly responsive to the demands of the crew, enabling rapid change in direction and the ability to counter strong and unpredictable currents.

Rolls-Royce is celebrating a full half century of azimuth thruster development this year and things have come a long way since the first unit was delivered to a small barge called the Palko back in 1965. It was largely made up from tractor and vehicle components and, while advanced for its time, bears little resemblance to the giant azimuth thrusters produced today.

Azimuth thrusters are now in constant use on board offshore support vessels, ice-breaking cargo ships and offshore oil platforms of various types. But other members of the family include electric podded propulsors, units where the propeller blades rotate within a nozzle helping to provide more thrust at low speeds; tunnel thrusters which assist ship manoeuvring by providing transverse thrust; and retractable thrusters which can be deployed from a housing within a ship’s hull when more thrust is required or for emergency propulsion.

The very latest thruster developments at Rolls-Royce are a growing range of electrical thrusters powered by permanent magnets.

The new designs comprise a permanent magnet motor in a rim, which drives the propeller in the centre. The permanent magnet motor consists

the magazine

ISSUE 145

9

The first permanent magnet azimuth thrusters have recently been trialled aboard the RV Gunnerus research vessel.

Impressive manoeuvrability, courtesy of bow and azimuth thrusters.

Thrusters offer a flexible, fuel-efficient and maintenance-easy propulsion system for many vessels.

of two main parts – a stator that carries a number of electrical coil windings, and a rotor fitted with a number of very strong permanent magnets.

A rotating magnetic field is created by the stator which interacts with the fields of the permanent magnets on the rotor, which generates force to drag the rotor around, providing the mechanical power.

Initially launched as a tunnel thruster version, for offshore support vessels, and soon a cruise ship, permanent magnet thrusters give improved propulsive efficiency, immediate response to changing load demand, reduced noise and vibration and, of course, low emissions, thanks to the use of electrical power.

They have fewer moving parts, and there is less resistance due the absence of gearboxes affecting the water flow.

This year, Rolls-Royce has applied this technology to its first azimuth units. Two development units have been installed on board the research vessel RV Gunnerus, for detailed testing and evaluation.

In a project jointly funded by Rolls-Royce and the Norwegian Research Council, two all-electric azimuth thrusters using permanent magnet technology now provide the ship’s main propulsion. Early indications point to significant efficiency savings and reduced noise and vibration.

Challenges

Thrusters have themselves enabled new marine applications. Azimuth units, for example, are essential for the growing number of ships and rigs operating in “dynamic positioning” or DP mode.

Rune Garen, Rolls-Royce Research and Technology Director, Propulsion, has been closely involved in thruster development for more than three decades. He knows more than most about the engineering challenges along the way but also the benefits that azimuth propulsion now offers.

A naval architect and hydrodynamicist by background, Rune is enthused about the scope for potential thruster applications in the marine and offshore sectors. Thrusters, he says, “offer a flexible, fuelefficient and maintenance-easy propulsion system for many vessels,

10 rolls-royce.com

particularly now that they incorporate the latest developments in underwater electric power, and the fact that many types can be serviced and maintained without docking.”

He outlines some key developments along the 50-year pathway. Early on came the challenge of bevel gear design. This type of gear enables the direction of power created by a motor to be altered through 90°, with a hand-drill perhaps providing one of the simplest ways of describing how it works.

“Bevel gears existed in land-based markets in the early 1980s,” Rune explains, “but in those days, it was new to have such big ones. The size of the required gears was daunting to engineers at the time.

“Two sets of bevel gears were needed to transfer power from a horizontal motor above water to a vertical shaft, and then from the shaft to the propeller under water. And bear in mind that all of this system was

Manoeuvring the big and the small

operating in a different environment – at the interface between ship and sea … in salt water,” he adds.

Then there were hydrodynamic issues. “The most effective propulsion in a seaway is provided by a large propeller turning slowly,” says Rune, “but thruster technology is based on small propellers turning quickly. This can generate tip vortices and risks cavitation which, in turn, can damage propellers and result in lost efficiency”.

Two recent thruster installations represent world firsts for Rolls-Royce and illustrate the company’s leading position in the sector. On board Shell’s floating liquefied natural gas production unit Prelude, the world’s largest-ever floating structure that will operate off the coast of Western Australia, three electrically-powered 5.2MW (6,975hp) USL 455 Rolls-Royce azimuth thrusters will ensure that the unit stays head on to the weather at all times.

Since the 600,000-ton Prelude is designed to remain on station 200km offshore and continue to produce and liquefy gas constantly for at least two decades, reliability and scope to service the azimuth thrusters at sea are vital. Each thruster is housed at the base of a shaft with its own dedicated crane linked to a workshop above, within the hull.

The Pioneering Spirit.

Talented

Over time, Rune and his colleagues overcame these challenges, and today there are numerous benefits besides manoeuvrability, fuel economy and improved efficiency.

“Thrusters were a gift to talented ship designers,” he says. “Naval architects could adopt a completely new approach to the aft design of vessels. There was no shaft line to drive a propeller and no requirement for a conventional engine room. Thrusters could be located at the very stern of a vessel, enabling more space for cargo and potential revenue generation.”

The flexibility of thrusters in operation has transformed the fuel efficiency and emissions profile of many ship types. They enable vast cruise ships to manoeuvre and berth in small spaces, and facilitate the station-keeping of huge offshore energy assets operating in deep waters and harsh conditions, to an astonishing accuracy of less than a metre.

Today, azimuth thrusters are already essential components in the operation of many ship and offshore assets. Tomorrow, they will become even more important. “Safety and component redundancy lie at the heart of tomorrow’s technology, so we have to keep innovating,” Rune suggests, specifically in the quest for deep-water energy and floating oil and gas production.

Thruster technology has come a very long way since 1965, but Rune explains: “That desire to innovate is as much alive today as it was 50 years ago, and we continue to adapt to the changing needs of the market and through decades of operating experience, and a wealth of technology to draw upon. This combined, gives us the vision to lead the industry where we think it should go.”

Author: Paul Bartlett has spent more than three decades in international shipping.

Today he runs his own shipping consultancy specialising in ship finance and technological innovation. He contributes regularly to a range of international shipping publications.

Another notable thruster installation has taken place on board the world’s largest vessel, the 403,342 gross ton Pioneering Spirit, a giant platform installation, decommissioning and pipe-laying ship which is currently being mobilised in Rotterdam prior to deployment in the North Sea later this year.

In addition to a total 94MW of power generated from her nine main engines, no fewer than 12 Rolls-Royce UUC 455 thrusters, each of 5.5MW, will ensure that the Pioneering Spirit can remain accurately on station at all times. She has the highest grade of dynamic positioning notation, DP3.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, relatively small azimuth thrusters enable harbour tugs to turn on their own axis. As integral components of highly sophisticated dynamic positioning systems, they also enable the precise station-keeping of a wide range of offshore vessels including anchor-handlers, wind turbine installation ships, pipe- and cable-layers, seismic survey ships and offshore accommodation vessels.

the magazine ISSUE 145 11

Big

HIGH-POWERED TRENT XWB-97

World-leading technology is being harnessed by the team working at the forefront of science and engineering to produce the new highthrust Trent XWB-97 aero engine.

12 rolls-royce.com

sister

the magazine AVIATION

S

ince the beginning of this year, the Trent XWB-84 – the world’s most efficient large aero engine – has been providing exemplary service on the new Airbus A350 XWB airliner.

However, the forthcoming larger version of the aircraft – the A350 XWB-1000 – will employ a different version of the Trent family.

The -97, as its designation suggests, is a 97,000lb thrust Trent and is the more powerful sister engine of the -84. It is undergoing a rigorous test regime right now as it prepares for first flight later this year on an Airbus A380 flying test bed (FTB) and subsequent entry into service on the A350-1000 in 2017.

One man who has been intimately involved in the development of both the Trent XWB-84 and -97 is Simon Burr, most recently Director of Trent XWB Programmes and now COO for Civil Large Engines in Rolls-Royce.

Simon took over his role on the Trent XWB in 2014 and the priorities then were to get the -84 certified with a full 420 minutes Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) rating and to deliver it on time for A350 XWB service entry. Both of these were achieved and launch customer Qatar Airways received their first A350 XWB before the end of 2014.

Now the challenge is on for Simon to drive the -97 development to its successful conclusion.

And if you are thinking that this is just an upgraded version of the -84 and so does not require the same amount of development work, testing and proving, then think again.

The -97 does of course have many attributes that are similar to its sister Trent, but it is also very different in some of the advanced technologies it employs to produce the extra thrust and optimum aircraft performance.

combustor and turbines run hotter than in the -84.

Another difference in the -97 is the wider use of blisks (bladed disks) across both the high-pressure and intermediate compressors. Blisks improve aerodynamic efficiency, whilst having a reduced weight over conventional assemblies. The first stage intermediate compressor blisk of the Trent XWB-97 is the largest that Rolls-Royce has produced to date on a civil application.

The innovations don’t stop at the compressor though, the high-pressure turbine gets additional technology too. “To get the performance and efficiency from this machine we need to grow the turbine temperature capability to a level higher than we have with any large aero engine in the past,” says Simon. “Maintaining thermal efficiency at those higher temperatures is critical, so we’ve invested in new materials and coatings for the high-pressure turbine blades, but also employed an intelligent cooling system that provides the right amount of cooling air to the blade throughout the flight cycle. Modulating the cooling air means we can always operate at maximum efficiency, whilst protecting the turbine blade and maximising its on-wing life. We have undertaken very, very aggressive endurance testing on the turbine to make sure this happens.

“You are always balancing durability against efficiency in designing aero engines but we have over 80 million hours of Trent experience behind us. This is a robust engine built on

Cooling

According to Simon: “The Trent XWB-97 will be the highest thrust engine we have ever certified, the highest operating temperatures and the most advanced cooling systems we have ever designed in a civil engine. We are working at the leading edge of technology but that is what you do to produce the world’s most efficient engines.”

For the engine operators’ point of view there is deliberately very little visible difference, or indeed operating difference, between the -84 and -97. They are designed so that the pilot flying experience is the same.

All the mechanical systems are the same for both engines, so from a basic maintenance point of view, the airlines will find that 80 per cent of the replacement line items and tools are identical. Physically the engines look the same; in fact you may need to look at the nameplate to tell the difference from the outside.

However, look inside the -97 engine and the changes are notable. The front fan has the same number of blades and is the same diameter at 118 inches but it runs around six per cent faster. The engine core has been scaled up in size to cope with the consequential increased airflow into the compressor and, in this engine, the

We are working at the leading edge of technology but that is what you do to produce the world’s most efficient engines.

Simon Burr, COO for Civil Large Engines

the magazine

ISSUE 145

13

decades of 3-shaft engine design understanding. The Trent XWB programmes have really demonstrated our multi-step process for design, manufacturing and testing. That holistic thinking has got us to where we are today and that makes us really confident in this engine.

“You also need to bear in mind the job it is being asked to do. The -97 will power a long-haul aircraft with a range of over 8,000 nautical miles. So it will spend a lot of time at cruise and do fewer take-off and landing cycles than shorter range aircraft,” he adds.

The -97 development programme has also featured components produced by additive layer manufacturing (ALM, or sometimes commonly known as 3D printing).

Rolls-Royce claimed a world record for the largest aero-engine component assembly ever manufactured in this way with a 1.5m diameter front bearing housing for the -97.

The ring of ALM vanes form the inlet to the engine’s core and each vane has an intricate series of heating passages inside them that can be used by an anti-icing system to protect the engine during adverse weather conditions.

Freedom

“We did it as a demonstration of our capability,” says Simon.

“There are two real benefits to ALM,” he says. “The lead time in engine development is dramatically reduced and the design freedom it offers as opposed to conventional casting or machining, both could be significant. Pure design freedom with ALM means that you can now design complex components that could only be made by this manufacturing technique. So for example, we could have complex internal paths and passages now that would have been impossible to make with traditional manufacturing methods.

“However, there are real considerations to be overcome.

Once you have productionised a component via this method then you are committed, as it can only be made in

14 rolls-royce.com

The -97 will power a long-haul aircraft with a range of over 8,000 nautical miles.

According to Airbus

• Measuring nearly 74 metres from nose to tail, the A350-1000 –

scheduled to enter service in 2017 – is the longest fuselage version of Airbus’ all-new family of widebody jetliners, which is designed for high efficiency, maximum reliability and optimised performance.

In a typical two-class configuration, the A350-1000 seats a total of 369 passengers with a range of 8,000 nautical miles.

•

Increased efficiency

• Trent XWB-97 engines will provide additional payload capability

and range, along with 97,000lbs of thrust on take-off – making it the most powerful engine ever developed for an Airbus aircraft. With these specially-tailored Trent XWB powerplants, the A350-1000 will be capable of supporting the development of long-haul routes for emerging markets such as Shanghai-Boston or Paris-Santiago.

Above A Trent XWB-97 arrives in Canada for cold weather testing.

Bottom left Assembly of a Trent XWB-97.

Left It’s tough work in freezing temperatures for the test engineers.

this way. You also need to have enough machines that are fast enough for the production process. Lastly, you need a stable and adequate source of atomised metallic powder that you can trust. I think there is more work to be done on ALM but it is an enticing technology.”

So, although the ALM-produced front bearing housing will be in the development -97 engines, it won’t be in the initial production engines.

Endurance

As of today, there are four engines running in the development programme for the -97. The first development engine conducted proving runs up until September of 2014.

It provided a lot of useful data to the development team and that engine will now go on and do major tests such as ‘bird strike’.

A second engine is in Canada completing its cold weather and icing running. A third engine has been performing endurance work and has also been x-rayed on a test bed in Derby, UK. Dynamic x-rays show the behaviour of the components inside the engine as it operates, which can help prove the design theories by effectively giving the engineers ‘eyes-on’ the inside as the engine runs. The fourth engine in the development programme will be used for performance work.

All of this is in the build up to the fifth engine being employed on the Airbus A380 FTB. “We are doing no simulated altitude testing on this engine programme, all altitude work will be done by the FTB. You can argue that this has advantages. Airbus get to see the extended testing as it’s on their aircraft and it de-risks the subsequent flight testing on the A350-1000 airframe.

“On the -84 there were five flight test aircraft but on the -97 programme there are three. Airbus will still have a lot of tests to do on the A350-1000 though. They will conduct around 75 per cent of the tests on this airframe that they did on the previous A350 version, but by that time we will have flown the engine so much on the A380 FTB that we should have completely de-risked the propulsion system.”

Airbus is due to fly the first A350-1000 for the first time in 2016. Rolls-Royce is currently building the first flight engines for that event.

“Our focus at the moment is to get all the regulatory ground testing done on the engine that we need to in order to begin flight testing on the A380 FTB later this year,” says Simon.

Author: David Howie is Director of Brand for Rolls-Royce.

He joined the company from a marketing consultancy and prior to that was a press officer.

the magazine ISSUE 145 15

The Ramstein

workhorse 16 rolls-royce.com

the magazine DEFENCE

Ramstein Air Base, Germany – the C-130Js of the 86th Air Wing may be the most productive, versatile “jack of all trades” aircraft in the US Air Force fleet.

the magazine ISSUE 145 17

T

he airlifters can train and deploy paratroops, transport a fire truck, helicopter, boat or other vehicles, evacuate wounded as a flying hospital, or serve as a troop carrier, cargo aircraft or humanitarian responder. The speedy crews can switch tasks in mid-mission, flying cargo in, and troops out, for example, transforming their aircraft from one mode to another in 45 minutes or less.

They do all of that with a minimal flight crew of three or four, managing a geographical responsibility that spans much of Europe and Africa from their base in southern Germany.

without hesitation.”

C-130Js will unload personnel or cargo from the back ramp, then take off again and head to the next stop on their journey. A tour can last up to several weeks before returning to Ramstein.

But for all the missions the 86th performs, one of them tops all – air evacuation of wounded soldiers on the ground, said Colonel Raymond E. Briggs, commander of the 86th Maintenance Group.

“We might be down in Africa hauling stuff or doing a mission. All of a sudden, we have to do an air evac,” he explained. “We have to get them out.”

The new “J” models added length to the cargo hold, it carries more weight, takes off quicker and lands shorter with reverse propeller capability. Its cargo compartment is designed for quick reconfiguration, making it an ideal platform for anything from palletised-cargo movement to emergency medical evacuation.

For the men and women of the 86th Air Wing, aeromedical evacuation is considered job No. 1.

But that was not the original mission of the 86th – which was created during World War II as a light bomber group and transitioned to

It allows our mechanics to train ‘hands on’ with the tech rep. They are helping us out every day, giving us capability I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Col Raymond E Briggs, Commander of the 86th Maintenance Group And that’s not all. With a rugged airframe and four powerful Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprop engines, the 86th’s C-130Js get in and out of places that other larger airlifters simply can’t. Short, unimproved air strip? No problem – let a little air out of the tyres to soften the landing, and the C-130Js will get the job done.

Missions

The 37th Airlift Squadron, also located at Ramstein Air Base, is responsible for flying missions on the C-130Js for the 86th Airlift Wing.

Pilot Brian Shea of the 37th Airlift Squadron, comments: “The “Herc” is an iconic aircraft, and we are still exploring its capabilities. This plane is such a beautiful mix of technology and time-tested reliability. Our squadron has tackled airdropping entire army units across Europe, hauled massive amounts of cargo across Africa, and fulfilled the varied niches in between

18 rolls-royce.com

several different duties with fighter aircraft, before becoming an airlift wing in 1993.

The new airlift unit began flying with C-130E aircraft and at one point, had 19 of the type in its fleet. The legacy warhorses, powered by Rolls-Royce T56 engines, performed well for years. The new C-130J aircraft began arriving at the 86th in 2009 – and the bigger, faster, stronger Super Hercules brought a definite upgrade in power. Its four Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines provided the equivalent of adding a fifth T56 engine to a legacy C-130.

That extra power is appreciated on many of the 86th’s missions, which are frequently into risky, unprotected landing zones.

Tech. Sgt. Francis Gilson, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, a flying crew chief, recalled one mission, to an undisclosed location, where no one wanted to stay any longer than necessary.

“We unloaded all our stuff and said, ‘Bye, we

Left Paratroops leap from the C-130J rear door.

Below The loadmasters have plenty of space to work with.

the magazine ISSUE 145 19

Maintaining the AE 2100 turboprop.

their engines every day. They don’t want to think about them or worry about them. They just want to start up the engines and go fly whatever and wherever they are assigned – and then return safely.

Unique

are out of here.’ I can’t tell you any more than that,” he said, recalling how grateful they were for a rapid departure. “The C-130J is the most versatile aircraft, especially the places we go to,” explains Tech. Sgt. Gilson, “We go to places in the middle of forests, a little dirt air strip. You’re flying around and you see this little strip and you say, ‘we’re going to land there?’

But in addition to military operations, the

Ready for action, a C-130J.

20 rolls-royce.com

86th has assisted with humanitarian efforts in several countries, including the Ebola response in western Africa, Nigerian elections and earthquake relief in Haiti.

“We were the second flight down there to open up the base. It was a great experience to help the people of Haiti, who were devastated by the earthquake,” Tech. Sgt. Gilson said.

Whatever the mission, the crews count on

To maximise engine readiness, the Air Force has contracted with Rolls-Royce through the MissionCare™ maintenance programme to keep a company technical representative (tech rep) on the base at Ramstein, working alongside the Air Force engine maintainers. Col. Briggs explained that it is “part of the really unique relationship we have. It allows our mechanics to train ‘hands on’ with the tech rep. They are helping us out every day, giving us capability I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Having a tech rep on site also means an extra pair of eyes monitoring engine data from the aircraft’s computerized control system – Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC).

That means upcoming issues can

often be predicted and avoided before they become a problem.

It also brings constant teaching to the service’s new maintainers as they learn about the engines and how they operate.

“He’s always on call for us. He comes in on short notice. He’s always there to answer questions. We can pick his brain on how the engine works,” explains Senior Airman Jesse Taylor, 86th Maintenance Squadron. “I personally learned a lot from him.”

Rolls-Royce Field Services Representative Jorge Mireles is the man in question and he says it was all part of his job - making sure the customer gets the best possible service and their aircraft are ready.

“I absolutely think that we are vital to their mission and I also believe that they recognise it.

Their goal is to have all aircraft mission-ready and that can only be done when issues can be resolved quickly,” Mireles said.

“The 86th is an amazing organisation that is all about team work. Everybody does

Laptop technology assists the engineers to do repair and overhaul work.

their part in order to ensure that the mission gets done. They really went out of their way to ensure that I not only felt like I was part of the team, but rather part of the 86th family,” he added.

Last word goes to 37th Airlift Squadron commander Lieutenant Colonel Barry A. King II who said: “We operate daily throughout diverse theaters, providing the world’s greatest tactical

airlift expertise to the U.S., its allies, and those in need…and the C-130J is our chariot!”

Author: George McLaren is a Communications Manager for Rolls-Royce, based in Indianapolis, US. Following a lengthy career as a journalist, he joined Rolls-Royce in 2005 and manages communications for the company’s defence business in the US and Canada.

the magazine ISSUE 145 21

STRONG AS STEEL

Martina Nearly six million tonnes of steel a year is produced by the Voestalpine steelworks and it all needs to be transported.

22 rolls-royce.com

the magazine industry

These locomotives, made by Gmeinder, are powered by Type 12V 1600 R50 MTU rail engines.

the magazine ISSUE 145 23

A

t the Voestalpine steelworks rail yard in the Austrian town of Linz on the River Danube they need powerful partners. Proper heavyweights like the Gmeinder shunting locomotives. They shift trains loaded with all sorts of goods and raw materials.

Inside their engine bays are the hard-working MTU Series 1600 rail engines from Rolls-Royce. These were first introduced in 2013 and now play a big part in the distribution of Voestalpine’s products to end users all over the world. The shunters are operated by Voestalpine’s own logistics provider, LogServ.

As many as 28 locomotives are in service at the Linz works of Austria’s leading steelmaker. The company produces 5.8 million tonnes of crude steel a year. One of the locomotives is called Martina. She and her sister shunting engines shift empty wagons as well as trains loaded with steel, scrap or iron ore.

Martina is the first D60 C Class shunting locomotive produced by the South German train-maker Gmeinder, she was named after the wife of the company’s owner. This small red and grey shunter now hauls around as much as 3,000 tonnes of steel on every trip. No mean feat for the petitely proportioned Martina, who measures only 10.76m long and 3.08m wide. And it is precisely because of her size that the three-axled locomotive is so well loved. “We need shunters that are shorter than the standard locomotives so that they can be used in the area of the blast furnaces where space is restricted,” explains Thomas Leitner, radio-control engine driver at LogServ. He has been working as a train driver for two years and today is the first driver assigned to Martina.

“As a supply driver, I am posted to a different part of the Voestalpine works every day,” the young Austrian explains.

“That means every day is always different and I have new challenges all the time.” Martina, like the other identically powered Gmeinder locomotives, works every inch of track at the steelworks. They shunt fully laden and empty wagons back and forth between the various sheds for loading and unloading. All four of the shunting engines are decked out in the LogServ livery with just the cab and a few borders in red and the rest in grey. “The distinctive red and grey markings make them easily distinguishable from the Austrian Federal Railway locomotives,” points out Dietmar Schall, Head of

Design and Development at Gmeinder. The Voestalpine branch line in Linz has three connections to the national rail network, one heading towards Salzburg, one for Vienna and one to an Austrian Federal Railway marshalling yard.

Thomas Leitner has been working through the wide variety of tasks on his job schedule together with his shunter Johann Ortner and apprentice shunter Christian Mijokovic since 5.15am. Today they have been on the early shift. The Voestalpine steelworks is in operation 365 days a year with a The main square of Linz in Austria.

four-shift working day. Despite their early start, the three are in good spirits. At 6°C the temperature is relatively warm on this particular morning. That is one thing they can be thankful for. “I have been standing on the footplate at minus 30°C with icicles hanging from my chin before now,” recalls Johann Ortner. The three colleagues are all wearing conspicuously padded neon-yellow jackets and gloves. In the driver’s cab the heating is on full blast. “Having to deal with all sorts of weather conditions, fog and the dark are the biggest challenges for us. We are often battling against poor visibility, Leitner recounts. “And the noise and the dirt are not to be underestimated either, but it’s all part of the job.”

Left In the dock shed, steel is consigned for shipping by rail, river or road.

Right The MTU 1600 diesel rail engine.

24 rolls-royce.com

Thomas Leitner already gives the impression of an old hand.

He scrutinises the small screen on the control panel. It shows the upcoming jobs. He can see precisely how many wagons need to be moved and how many of them are empty or loaded. That is important because the heavier the payload, the longer the train’s stopping distance. Leitner knows these tracks like the back of his hand. He skilfully moves Martina to the next group of empty wagons using his radio remote control. Very few of the train drivers at Voestalpine actually work from inside the cab. The remote control allows them to be mobile. That means they can stand outside the cab or even at the side of the track to get a better view of the situation. Precisely what Leitner is now doing. Martina has to shunt a total of 13 empty wagons into a shed. The locomotives are allowed to travel at speeds of up to 40kph in the factory grounds.

Leading

Shortly before they reach the empty wagons, Ortner gets off the locomotive. As shunter he has to couple and uncouple the wagons. Martina is hooked up to the wagons at the back.

For this job, Johann Ortner stands on the track between the buffers of the leading wagon. Then everything happens very quickly. Thomas Leitner carefully drives Martina up to the buffers of the wagon and Johann Ortner couples the two together. “In the beginning you feel rather uneasy having to stand on the track, but eventually it becomes routine,” Ortner reveals. “When you’ve been doing it for a few years you can judge quite well whether a locomotive is approaching too fast. If it is, you don’t stand in between. Trust is very important.” Added to that, all shunters and engine drivers have to be able to work together because they could be working with different people every day.

It is only when hooked up to a train that Martina is able to show her real strengths. “The engines play a big part in our work,” explains Leitner. “It’s like with cars, the more power they have, the more fun they are to drive.” Large numbers of load changes and long hours of duty – those are precisely the conditions that the MTU Series 1600 was designed for, and that makes them ideal for shunting locomotives. So it is quite likely that in the coming years more of the Gmeinder locomotives at the Voestalpine works will be fitted out with

The engines play a big part in our work.

It’s like with cars, the more power they have, the more fun they are to drive.

Above Shunter Johann Ortner’s job is not without risks – he has to couple and uncouple the wagons on the tracks.

Below The Gmeinder locomotives shift trains loaded with raw materials weighing up to 3,000 tonnes.

the magazine ISSUE 145 25

The end of a shift for a train crew at Voestalpine.

MTU engines. To be passed for duty at the steelworks, all locomotives – and that means their engines as well – have to complete a load capacity test. “The tracks of the ‘iron ore elevated line’ go right up to the blast furnace transfer bunkers. That is a 1 in 50 gradient, after all,” says Mario Pointner, the man in charge of works railway transport at LogServ. The locomotives and engines are not allowed onto the rest of the rail system until they have passed that load capacity test.

Surrounded

It is now 1.15pm. Thomas Leitner and his two colleagues have reached the end of their shift. But not Martina. In the middle of the steelworks rail yard, surrounded by empty wagons and other locomotives, she is already waiting for her next two assistants. A couple of tracks over from Martina another red and grey Gmeinder locomotive is just passing. It is on its way into what is known as the dock shed to pick up a set of wagons loaded with steel where ships can be loaded here as well as trains. As the steelworks is right on the banks of the Danube, ships can sail straight into the shed from the river in a specially built dock. Variously sized rolls of thin sheet steel known as coils and steel plates are stored there.

Martina is on her way again with her new shunting team, Markus Klopf and Andreas Müller. The first challenge is to move 30 wagons to the dock shed. With that many trucks the train is all of 400m long and so substantially bigger than the ones she was handling earlier this morning. The fastest runners in the world can cover that distance in about 45 seconds, whereas the man acting as shunter today, Andreas Müller, requires a little longer. From the locomotive cab, you cannot even see the end of the train. So Markus Klopf has to rely entirely on his colleague, who is now standing on the step of the leading wagon. Martina shunts the wagons from

town within a town

behind. “Because I have a remote control, I can step outside the cab,” explains Klopf. “So I can walk alongside the train to be able to see more.” Müller issues instructions via walkietalkie. Each two-man team has to pick a separate walkietalkie channel so as not to get interference from other people’s communications. “If I don’t hear or don’t follow the instructions from Andreas it could have dire consequences,” Klopf consciously states. Instructions such as telling him when a signal is showing ‘shunting limit’ or ‘shunting limit lifted’; or later on in the shed when the train has reached the end of the track. Teamwork is absolutely the top priority. The long shunting train moves carefully into the shed. For the last few centimetres very precise control is called for. Once the last wagons come to a halt, Martina is relieved of her heavy burden. Then it is off to her next assignment while her crew changes over again.

Author: yvonne Wirth is a member of the Mtu Communications team in Friedrichshafen.

The Voestalpine steelworks is almost a town in its own right within the city of Linz. With 160km of track, its railway system is as large as the system for the whole state of Vorarlberg. Altogether there are 600 different loading points. Three-lane roads in the factory

26 rolls-royce.com

grounds, traffic lights and a factory gate like a motorway toll barrier in Italy are some of the more remarkable features. The 11,000 employees produce 5.8 million tonnes of crude steel a year. As many as 265,000 railway trucks pass through the Voestalpine steelworks every year. That is 730 wagons in 24 hours.

the magazine PROFILE

Keep it fluid

Kjell Magne Gjerde Associate Fellow Fluid Mechanics Hydrodynamics and Thermo-Fluid Modelling the magazine ISSUE 145 27

A

ship delivering critical supplies to an offshore drilling create the model to be broken down into lots of separate small parts. A platform battles gale force winds and six metre high waves very powerful computer then solves the relevant calculations for each and still holds its position steady, to an accuracy of within individual part of the mesh and its neighbours. The results from each set two metres. In such demanding conditions how can the of calculations are combined until a complete picture is obtained of how captain be certain he has the right propulsion systems and the right air and water flow around the ship as it moves through the water. amount of power to do the job?

Sophisticated Kjell Magne Gjerde knows. He is a Rolls-Royce Associate Fellow in Fluid “Historically,” Gjerde says, “this has been an obstacle. It has been Mechanics and Hydrodynamics. He and his team’s calculations have difficult to model the complexity of the domain because a ship has played a significant part in predicting the power the ship will need. Using various appendages such as rudders, tunnel very powerful computers they have modelled the openings, propellers etc.” The development complex forces: wind conditions; current; waves; of increasingly sophisticated meshes has all interacting with every aspect of the vessel.

Kjell Magne Gjerde has a Degree allowed the modelling of very complex And when he says they model every aspect, in Hydrodynamics and joined geometry and allowed non-specialist ship he means it, right down to the smallest detail.

Rolls-Royce in 1997 when the designers to perform calculations that According to Gjerde: “If you were sitting in a Ulstein Group was acquired. would once have been the domain of experts. chair on the deck we would have included you He has worked with Thanks to Gjerde’s software, a ship designer in the model.” hydrodynamics throughout his can log onto a secure Rolls-Royce website, “Power predictions,” says Gjerde, “are the main career working first on rotating anywhere in the world, type in a small number of parameter for determining the engines on a machinery in water and (marine) input values; for example, speed and range of the vessel. Knowing this at an early stage can have a gas turbines before specialising in vessel and a couple of draughts. At the push of a significant impact on the build and operating cost rotating propellers. button, overnight powerful computers generate a of the vessel.”

He heads a small team, based in report simulating results and containing Automated Ulsteinvik, responsible for delivering information about flow detail, pressure detail, The ability to create such complex models comes CFD across Rolls-Royce marine sites. velocity, turbulence and wave pattern. as a result of an advanced approach to the use of The same web based automatic process has been computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Gjerde and adopted to model the performance characteristics of his team of experts have created specialist computer software that has all the propulsion/thruster range in Rolls-Royce. The software for this automated some of the more standard CFD calculations allowing automatic design process has been named Propulsion template and Ship designers to perform them for themselves and freeing up CFD specialists template respectively. The ultimate goal is to merge the templates into a to undertake ever more advanced projects. single design template. The template components are modularised in “The first step to creating such software is to model the domain you order to be vendor independent and thus the most suitable component want to study. In terms of hull resistance, for example, the complex can be selected for specific tasks. interaction of water and the air with the vessel.” To do this a “This is groundbreaking. I don’t think anyone else has moved this kind ‘computational mesh’ is constructed. This allows the calculations used to of task from specialists to the designers in a fully automated way like we

Career

• • •

CFD analysis of a UT755 vessel.

28 rolls-royce.com

have done. That makes the whole process much cheaper, much faster.

Previously designers would have to go to a specialist for each design, now they can go through a lot of design iterations in search of the optimum design. This frees up specialists to do more advanced modelling.”

Exploring

Above Vortex structures generated from a UUC thruster operating at 12 knots.

Below Thrusters being designed for installation on a vessel.

One area where such advanced techniques are needed is modelling the interaction of multiple thrusters, such as the 12 found on the Rolls-Royce powered vessel Allseas “Pioneering Spirit.” Gjerde and his team are exploring how the thrusters interact with the hull, the vibration and noise which can be created by pressure pulses and the flow conditions into the thruster to identify the best alignment and orientation of the thrusters to maximise power.

With a wider range of vessels now using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel, modelling the behaviour of LNG in fuel tanks is another increasingly important area of advanced research.

Whether creating “ground breaking” software to allow non-specialists quickly and efficiently to arrive at the optimum hull design for a customer, or modelling the extreme conditions encountered delivering supplies to North Sea oil platforms, computing power is critical. Increased computing power allows more complex studies to be done better, earlier and faster than ever before, helping to push the boundaries of ship design and performance.

Author: Simon Kirby consults and lectures in marketing communications with a particular interest in technology. He has worked in communications roles extensively in both the public and private sector.

the magazine ISSUE 145 29

Spain’s turbine

SPECIALIST Who designs and manufactures the low-pressure turbines for the Trent aero-engine family? Wrong – not Rolls-Royce, but our partner company, ITP of Spain.

Originally a supplier of manufactured parts, ITP is now responsible for design and production.

30 rolls-royce.com

the magazine TECHNOLOGY

ITP Chief Executive, Ignacio Mataix.

E

arlier this year, Rolls-Royce further strengthened its contractual agreement with Spain’s ITP. It is the latest stage of this 25-year old partnership as the two companies look forward to developing the next generation of aero-engine technologies together.

Under the new agreement, ITP becomes the supplier of low-pressure (LP) turbines and high-speed low-pressure turbines for the new generation of Rolls-Royce engines. It will see them working alongside Rolls-Royce on the company’s latest advanced technology programmes such as ‘UltraFan™’ and ‘Advance’.

“Engine makers have a number of challenges today which include delivering on the current and neo platforms.

However, we are also starting work on the technology for the next generation of engines,” says Ignacio Mataix, Chief Executive of ITP. “There is a view that we have just about extracted the maximum from current designs in terms of sfc, noise and other parameters, it is clear the market is going to demand much more for the future.

“We are looking into technology developments that will be an extension of our existing partnership and a natural development for both us and for Rolls-Royce. This latest agreement cements that. It also increases the capacity and capability of both.”

It is certainly a mark of how the relationship between

We are looking into technology developments that will be an extension of our existing partnership and a natural development for both us and Rolls-Royce.

Ignacio Mataix, Chief Executive of ITP both companies has grown. ITP is now fully embedded in the current and future plans for Rolls-Royce civil aero engines.

ITP is a joint venture of Sener Group de Ingeneria SA (53%) and Rolls-Royce (47%). These have been parent companies since ITP’s very beginnings in 1989, when the Spanish government also had a stake in the company.

Then, ITP and Rolls-Royce were both part of the consortium to manufacture the EJ200 engine for the new Eurofighter aircraft. It was humble beginnings for ITP. They were originally contracted to make a pipe for the engine. The newly-formed company had a handful of engineers transferred from Sener and no production facilities.

The first factory was built in 1991 and, as well as fulfilling its EJ200 commitments, within eight years ITP was delivering its first whole LP turbine for the Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engine.

That is a remarkable achievement in a time period that the aerospace industry would regard as no more than the blink

the magazine ISSUE 145 31

of an eye. Ambition and growth have been evident throughout the life of ITP, the company has since designed and made LP turbines for the Trent 900, 1000, 1000-TEN, XWB-84 and XWB-97 engines.

On the Trent family, ITP’s association began in 1992 with the manufacture of the IP compressor case and assembly of the IP and LP turbines for the Trent 700 and Trent 800. Its first involvement in engineering design on the LP turbine was on the Trent 500 programme. ITP has had design responsibility on all the Trent LP turbines ever since then.

“In the early days it was a big decision for Rolls-Royce to transfer the responsibility for design technology to ITP. And it was not an obvious decision because ITP was young. We got significant support from Rolls-Royce in those early days and we were able to gain capability as a result. A great responsibility was placed in our hands and we needed to deliver, but we did and now the relationship between our companies has matured completely in my view,” says Mataix.

He adds that when you look at R&D investment as a percentage of sales, ITP is in the top three of Spanish companies in relation to this expense. “We invest around €60-80 million which is 10-12 per cent of revenue and that is well above the average of our peers in Europe too. Why? Well because we are younger and smaller than most of our peer group, but we are also ambitious,” says Mataix.

“We need to continue to invest in R&D in order to be present in the next generation of aircraft. It is thanks to the investments that we have been making over the last few years in a number of programmes, together with the positive outlook of the global aerospace industry, that we are able to say that the future of ITP is inextricably linked to profitable growth.”

Spain’s economy and that of the EU has suffered significantly in the last five-six years. Snr Mataix believes that ITP has shown itself to be a solid company in a time of shifting fortunes for his country. He is keen for the Spanish government to recognise that investment in engineering and technology is a good decision and does pay long-term dividends.

“Our base is Spain but I feel we need to reindustrialise our economy to some degree. I understand it is difficult for the government to invest for the long-term when there are so many short-term challenges that they face but in my view they must do it. We were helped a great deal by the Basque and Spanish governments in our early days and I think we are a great example of long-term investment paying off,” he says.

Another result of that investment and consequence of ITP’s stability in recent years is that the business has established itself as an attractive and reliable employer in Spain. It has strong relationships with Spanish universities in the fields of mechanical and aerospace engineering, even though it competes for engineering talent with much bigger employers such as the automotive industry.

Last year the business recorded a four per cent increase in turnover of €650 million and a profit after tax of €64 million.

ITP has over 3,000 employees and 17 production centres across Spain, the UK, Malta, the US, India and Mexico.

The main plants in Spain are near Bilbao and Madrid.

Zamudio, near Bilbao, is the major manufacturing centre and the company’s headquarters.

Madrid has two locations, one at Alcobendas housing engineering and some central functions and another site at Ajalvir where LP turbine module build and R&O work is

This is about developing breakthrough technology for the next generation of aircraft.

32 rolls-royce.com

Above left An LP turbine module in build at the Ajalvir facility.

Above The Guggenheim Museum in central Bilbao – ITP’s main facility is just outside the city.

Right Trent LP turbines are designed and manufactured by ITP.

undertaken. Ajalvir was one of the earliest bases for ITP; it was originally the engine shop of the Spanish aircraft company CASA (now part of EADS). When the government created ITP in 1989 they wanted all aero-engine activities centred in the same company and so the facility became part of the newly formed ITP. A few years ago, the business established a presence in Mexico with the intention to obtain the benefits of a country with a good aerospace experience, close to the US and with stronger dollar links. Today, it’s producing high-value components for engines, pipes and fittings.

In the UK, ITP brought the Alstom Aerospace facility near Lincoln which employs around 200 people. From here they produce smaller components and products which ITP feels are difficult to integrate into a facility such as Bilbao for example, where large casing and discs are primarily produced.

In addition to its main sites in Spain, ITP also has an 80 per cent share in a casting company, PCB, which is also based in the Basque Country. As well as supplying to ITP, it sells commercially to other customers, including directly to Rolls-Royce.

“Right now I think we are comfortable with the scale of our operations,” says Mataix. The new agreement with Rolls-Royce builds on our design, engineering and technology resources but has no effect on our current manufacturing footprint. This is about developing breakthrough technology for the next generation of aircraft.

“At the moment we have the

challenge of meeting our commitment on major production programmes like the Trent XWB and Trent 1000.

However, over the next decade we will make progress on the new generation engines and we will need to consider future production capability in parallel with the development work.”

As well as the work on the Trent programmes, the association with Rolls-Royce extends to some European military engines too. Both companies are part of the consortium building the TP400 turboprop for the Airbus A400M airlifter, MTR 390 helicopter engine and, of course, work on the EJ200 fighter engine continues.

ITP’s development from tiny component maker to major design and manufacturing partner has been extraordinary in such a short period. Last year the company celebrated its 25th anniversary and its list of achievements probably amazed its own employees as much as the guests and dignitaries that attended. Snr Mataix admits that few people would have imagined what the business would become when it set out on its journey in 1989 – let’s see what imagination and ambition can do in the next quarter century of ITP’s life.

Author: David Howie is Director of Brand for Rolls-Royce.

He joined the company from a marketing consultancy and prior to that was a press officer.

the magazine ISSUE 145 33

The legendary Count von Zeppelin needed airship engines that were more reliable. MTU was born.

A

t the turn of the 19th century the skies were still largely the preserve of birds.

Airships had gained a significant lead over aeroplanes. In southern Germany, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917) had been experimenting with a rigid airship for years and had invested a large part of his fortune in the concept.

In July 1900 he finally attained his goal when the first Zeppelin airship took to the skies.

Nevertheless, the achievement did not bring the complete technical and financial breakthrough that was needed and Zeppelin had to wait another eight years before this appeared to come within his grasp. The German

military authorities raised the prospect of funding and orders for Zeppelins but they also imposed a condition: the airship had to be capable of remaining continuously airborne for 24 hours.

Unfortunately, during a flight from Lake Constance to Mainz and back there was a problem with the engine and it ended in Echterdingen near Stuttgart, the capital of W端rttemberg.

Thousands of spectators eager for a glimpse of the airship watched but matters took a further turn for the worse when a storm developed and so did a catastrophe. The airship caught fire and was completely destroyed.

Zeppelin seemed on the brink of ruin but then quite unexpectedly,

AIR , LAND AND SEA

MTU ENgINES A Maybach 6-cylinder engine.

1909 1913 34 rolls-royce.com

The Friedrichshafen facility.

the magazine HISTORICAL

a huge fundraising campaign started up among the German population and the tragedy eventually came to mark the birth of a financially sound Zeppelin Company. Count von Zeppelin finally had the resources he needed.

The original Zeppelin airships were hampered by unreliable engines and it was a letter from Wilhelm Maybach to the Count in the late summer of 1908 that was to finally spark a solution. Wilhelm Maybach (1846-1929) had earned a reputation as ‘King of Designers’.

His son Karl who was born in 1879, also worked as an engine designer at the Daimler Motor Company. After the Zeppelin accident in August 1908, Wilhelm Maybach was convinced that, working together with his son, he would be able to make a valuable contribution to the further success of Zeppelin airships by developing a more reliable, lighter and more powerful engine. March 1909 saw the foundation of LuftfahrzeugMotorenbau GmbH. Originally located in Bissingen an der Enz, the company moved to Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in 1912 where the airships were then developed and constructed. The first Maybach airship engine was built at the end of 1909 with the 6-cylinder, in-line

Wilhelm Maybach.

‘AZ’ engine producing 145 PS. Between 1911 and 1933, all Zeppelin airships were powered

by Maybach engines.

Acceleration

Zeppelin airships were originally designed primarily for the military which began to develop its capabilities in the air at the start of the 20th century. They were first used on a war footing after the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. The conflict also saw a huge acceleration in the development of aeroplanes for which Maybach designed the world’s first overcompressed, overdimensioned aero engine, the Type Mb IVa. The unit, which produced 250 PS and operated at altitudes up to 1,800 metres with no loss of power, was primarily used on aerial reconnaissance missions. At the same time, on the

Karl Maybach.

other side of the Channel, Henry Royce was working on an aero engine commissioned by the British military. Whilst Karl Maybach was engaged on the ‘Mb’ aero engine in Germany, from 1914 Henry Royce was designing the 12-cylinder aero engine dubbed ‘Eagle’.

By the end of the First World War around 2,500 airship and aeroplane engines had been produced in Friedrichshafen. In Britain, Rolls-Royce built almost 4,700 Eagle engines between 1915 and 1928. With the rapid development of aeroplanes during the First World War, Zeppelin airships which had originally struck fear in the hearts of the enemy, lost their military significance.

For Germany, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles initially spelled the end of the airship and

aeroplane industry. Karl Maybach needed to rethink the situation and opted to design automobile engines as he had done prior to 1909. When his first customer, the Dutch automobile manufacturer Trompenburg went bankrupt, Maybach started to offer chassis complete with his own engines and with gearboxes. The bodywork was manufactured by other companies such as Spohn in Ravensburg.

Perfection

Maybach showcased his first automobile at the Berlin Automobilsalon exhibition in 1921 at a time when Rolls-Royce had already been active in the automobile market for around 15 years. Both specialised in luxury vehicles offering technical perfection. In 1929, Maybach became the first German automobile manufacturer to exhibit a 12-cylinder motor vehicle (later to gain fame as the Maybach Zeppelin).

In parallel with these developments, in 1919 MaybachMotorenbau GmbH (renamed in 1918) started work on the development of a highspeed diesel unit which came onto the market as a railcar engine in 1924. Up to that point,

1917

An airship engine or Flugmotor.

1919

Around 2,500 airship and aeroplane engines had been produced by the end of the First World War.

the magazine ISSUE 145 35

1921

1928

Maybachs at the Berlin car show.

Motor yachts are still a big market for MTU today.

1924

Engines for rail locomotives.

the company had designed only high-speed petrol engines. In the meantime, the compressionignition engine first patented by Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) in 1893 had come into widespread use in generator drive and ship propulsion systems. Maybach recognised the potential for land-based applications such as rail as well as for marine applications. Following the appearance of his first railcar powered by a high-speed diesel in 1924, the high-speed ‘Fliegender Hamburger’ train set a speed record during the 1930s. On the Berlin-Hamburg route, the train clocked up 160km/h – a record which stood unbeaten for decades.

In the mid-twenties, Maybach also worked with diesel engines for ship propulsion, a development which provided the basis for a lasting and unique reputation in the field of large, high-speed diesel engines for heavy land-based vehicles and ships.

During the Nazi period, armament saw a shift in development and production towards the predominance of petrol engines in land-based military vehicles. The Type HL 120 engine became the standard drive unit for the German Panzers III and IV with Type HL 230 units being used in the ‘Panther,’ ‘Tiger’ and ‘Königstiger’ vehicles. After the Second World War, Karl Maybach

The famous Fliegender (flying) Hamburger locomotive.

concentrated exclusively on diesel engines. In 1952, 43 years after the company’s foundation, Maybach retired from the Board of MaybachMotorenbau. He died in 1960.

Amalgamation with the large-engine divisions of DaimlerBenz AG and, later, MAN AG, took place during the 1960s with the resulting company being christened Motoren- und TurbinenUnion (MTU) in 1969. The company’s large-engine business was focused on the Friedrichshafen location whilst its turbine activities were concentrated in Munich at the present-day MTU Aero Engine location.

During the 1990s, MTU expanded its product range with

Karl Maybach in 1959.

36 rolls-royce.com

1933 the

addition of gas engines and entered a cooperation arrangement with the Detroit Diesel Corporation based in Detroit. It was this relationship that produced the very first generation of Series 2000 and Series 4000 diesel engines for applications in the marine, rail, power generation and mining sectors. Today’s MTU America traces its history back to Detroit Diesel’s off-highway activities. The company has its regional HQ in Novi near Detroit with production facilities in Aiken, South Carolina.

In 2006, the Swedish investment group EQT acquired the MTU Group from Daimler and had it listed under the name Tognum in July 2007. In March 2011, Rolls-Royce and Daimler announced the takeover of Tognum before Daimler exited the organisation in 2014. Today, MTU is part of the Rolls-Royce Land & Sea Division. Maybach was using the slogan ‘in the air, on water and on land’, in the 1920s, similar to how Rolls-Royce describes its power applications today.

Author: Mirko Gutemann is Senior Manager Communications and Dr Heike Weishaupt is responsible for the company archive and historical PR at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

Tr u s t e d t o d e l i v e r e x c e l l e n c e

®

®

®

Published quarterly

Material contained in this magazine may be reprinted but permission must be obtained in advance from the Editor.

Picture credits

All photographs Rolls-Royce plc except: Cover, P2-7, P30-32, P33 bottom, Peter Holman, Motordrive Photographic Ltd P10 bottom, P18 left, P19 bottom right, P20-21, P27, P29 bottom right, Andrew Siddons, Peak Photographic Ltd P15 top right, Airbus S.A.S. P16-17, P18-19 top and bottom, US Air Force P26 bottom, Voestalpine AG Copyright owned by photographer/organisation.

Please inform us if your details have changed

If your details have changed, or if you would like a colleague to receive complimentary issues of The Rolls-Royce Magazine, please contact the circulation department for an application form via email: craig.brown@rolls-royce.com The information in this document is the property of Rolls-Royce plc and may not be copied, communicated to a third party, or used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied, without the express written consent of Rolls-Royce plc.

While this information is given in good faith based upon the latest available to Rolls-Royce plc, no warranty or representation is given concerning such information, which must not be taken as establishing any contractual or other commitment binding upon Rolls-Royce plc or any of its subsidiary or associated companies.

Download ’The Rolls-Royce Magazine’ App free from the following:

Scan the code to access www.rolls-royce.com

Follow us on twitter.com/rollsroyce

Like us on facebook.com/RollsRoyceGroup

View us on youtube.com/RollsRoyceplc