Award-winning engine is light in the air thanks to new moulding process
15 Jan 2000
The environmentally-friendly Rolls-Royce Trent aircraft engine has won this year's MacRobert Award for engineering innovation. The company has won the £50 000 MacRobert Award twice before. More efficient and quieter than competing designs, the Trent owes its success to its hollow fan blades, made by an innovative moulding process.
The blades are made of two outer layers and an inner membrane, all of titanium. The layers are bonded under high temperature, then `blown' to give a hollow blade that is both stronger and lighter than conventional blades, which are filled with a honeycomb support.
