Patent ID: 7797922

Claim:
A casing for an aircraft turbofan bypass engine, comprising: an outer ring portion and an inner hub portion defining an airflow passage therebetween; a plurality of load-bearing hollow struts arranged in a circumferential array and extending from at least the inner hub portion to the outer ring portion, thereby mounting the inner hub portion to the outer ring portion, the struts configured to provide a primary load path between the inner hub and outer ring portion; a splitter disposed intermediate the inner hub and outer ring and configured to divide the airflow passage into a core airflow passage and a bypass airflow passage, the splitter including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slots configured to accept a respective portion of a respective strut; and a weld extending between each strut and the splitter generally along a periphery of a respective one of said slots, thereby mounting the splitter to the struts.