Derby aero engine-maker Rolls-Royce has said it is on top of an issue with one of its most reliable engines, which involves wear on a key component.
The company, which has its civil aerospace division based in the city, has revealed that during routine maintenance of some of its Trent XWB-84 engines, it found wear on the Intermediate Pressure Compressor (IPC) blades.
The European Aviation Safety Agency is expected to issue an Airworthiness Directive calling on Rolls-Royce to address the issue.
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But in a pre-emptive move, the engineering giant has issued a statement to “address any potential speculation”, saying it is already on top of the situation.
Designed, developed and manufactured in Derby, the TrentXWB-84 is the lower thrust version of the Trent XWB and powers the Airbus A350 aircraft.
Billed as the world’s most efficient in-service large civil aero engine, many of the first Trent XWBs to enter service are now approaching their first scheduled “shop visits”.
However, during routine inspections as part of these scheduled shop visits, Rolls-Royce said it had identified indications of wear in the IPC of a “small number of engines” that have been in service for four to five years and are approaching their first overhaul.
The company said that none of these engines had experienced any abnormal in-flight operation. But Rolls-Royce said it was inspecting all other Trent XWB-84 engines of a similar service life as a precaution.
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The company said that it would address the wear issues during existing shop visits and because it already has the necessary parts, it said it did not expect this issue to create significant customer disruption or material annual cost.
There are currently more than 100 Trent XWB-84s that have been in service for four to five years.
Rolls-Royce said it had inspected the majority of them and found signs of wear on an average of “only one or two” IPC blades in a minority of those inspected.
The firm added that it had also taken the precaution of sampling a number of younger Trent XWB-84 engines and had found no unexpected wear.
Chris Cholerton, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce, said: “The Trent XWB-84 has experienced the smoothest entry into service of any widebody engine we have developed.
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“It is the most efficient in-service large civil aero-engine in the world, with unequalled on-wing reliability.
“Engines now coming in for overhaul have travelled the equivalent of 350 times around the world, with no unplanned maintenance.
"It is reassuring to see that our proactive inspection regime has enabled us to identify and swiftly address this issue and minimise any potential impact on our customers.”