Reinforced Plastics Design Rolls-Royce RB.162 Lift Engine

Glass fiber reinforced composites are being used successfully in the Rolls-Royce RB.162 pure jet lift engine. It has been demonstrated that composites can be designed to replace conventional materials in certain environments and valuable weight will be saved, without incurring a high cost penalty.

This paper deals with only the design aspects of the composite hardware, and covers the evolution of the production standard of intake and nose cowl, front bearing housing, compressor casing, and the rotor blading.