Patent ID: 7266941

Claim:
A casing for an aircraft turbofan bypass engine, the casing comprising: a case adapted to encircle the engine and having a plurality of engine mounts thereon adapted to mount the engine to an aircraft; an inner hub adapted to support at least one bearing supporting a main shaft of the engine, the inner hub supported inside the case by a plurality of struts extending between the inner hub to the case, the struts defining a primary load path from the inner hub to the case; and a splitter supported intermediate the inner hub and case by the struts, the struts further defining a primary splitter load path from the splitter to the case, the splitter adapted to divide an engine ingested airflow between a core airflow passage and a bypass airflow passage of the engine, wherein the case has a semi-monocoque configuration including a plurality of ribs and a plurality of thin-walled shear panels therebetween, the case thereby being adapted to balance external loading applied to the casing by compressive and tensile forces in the ribs to react balanced shear in the panels.