Rolls-Royce has contracted its part-owned Spanish subsidiary Industria de Turbo Propulsores to supply the internal support structure for the high- and intermediate-pressure turbines on the 84,000lb-thrust variant of the Trent XWB engine, designed to power the Airbus A350-800 and -900.
The deal is valued at more than €46 million ($61 million), says ITP.
Rolls-Royce owns around 47% of Zamudio-based ITP. The remainder is held by the aerospace arm of Spanish technology group Sener.
The support structure carries the HP and IP turbine shafts. It includes the housings for the shafts’ rear end bearings and is connected to the outer turbine casing via 11 struts that pass through the engine’s gas path.
The large, complex components are among the “among the most challenging” parts in an engine “and certainly at the top of ITP’s portfolio”, says the engine module specialist.
ITP plans to finalise the manufacturing process development over the coming months and deliver the first component in June 2014.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
