TheTBH is one of the main structures of the engine, and is one of the two elements that attach the aircraft and the engine.
22 October 2021: ITP Aero has designed and manufactured the Tail Bearing Housing for the first Rolls Royce UltraFan demonstrator engine using additive technology. TheTBH is one of the main structures of the engine, and is one of the two elements that attach the aircraft and the engine. ITP Aero’s own design and manufacturing criteria have enabled a better use of energy and raw materials with a 25per percent saving in its manufacture compared to current generation production processes.
The TBH is a key structural component designed to withstand loads for all operational conditions. It houses part of the bearings that support the shaft for the fan, the main propulsion element of the engine.
The UltraFan TBH comprises the use of removable sound attenuation panels also manufactured by 3D printing, achieving a reduction of 50 per cent of the sound power emitted by the turbine. Noise reduction will be a key driver for future technologies to achieve the ACARE target of perceived noise reduction of circa 65 per cent by 2050.
Additive technology, also known as 3D printing, used to manufacture the TBH is the selective laser melting method. First, the 3D model of the component is digitally divided into individual layers, and then a laser melts the super-alloy powder into the component layer by layer. This method makes it possible to produce components of complex geometry with a minimum use of raw material and better use of energy.
Erlantz Cristobal, Executive Director of Technology and Engineering at ITP Aero said, “Our commitment to additive manufacturing technology, or 3D printing, is part of our focus on digitalisation in order to make ITP Aero a more agile, resilient and sustainable leader. We are proud to apply this technology to a programme such as UltraFan, that we strongly believe will be a key pillar to make aviation an increasingly sustainable industry in the next decades”.
ITP Aero has an additive manufacturing cell and a team of professionals dedicated exclusively to this production method at its facilities in Zamudio, Spain. In addition, ITP also collaborates with Renishaw Solution Centre in Barcelona. It is also worth noting that the company, thanks to its investment in collaborative technology development projects, is able to apply its own standards and specifications for the application of this technology in aircraft engine components.
Over the coming weeks, the TBH will be assembled to the UltraFan intermediate pressure turbine, also designed and manufactured by ITP Aero, for final assembly on the complete engine at Rolls-Royce’s Derby facilities. Once complete, the engine will go on test at the new engine test facility, Testbed80, in Derby in 2022. The first run will be on 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel. UltraFan is due to be available to the market around the turn of the decade, but this is dependent on airframer requirements for a new airframe.
