The engine parts that 'fight the laws of the universe'
Investment has surged into the making of jet turbine blades - an extremely difficult component to make.
By BBC News
Investment is rising in the technology used to make jet turbine blades, one of the most demanding components in modern aircraft engines.
The blades sit inside the engine and must withstand extreme mechanical forces and temperatures exceeding 1,500°C. A jet engine can contain hundreds of them.
Rolls-Royce, GE Aerospace and France’s Safran are among the small number of companies to have mastered the production of single-crystal turbine blades. The complete process has been perfected in only five countries, including the UK and the United States.
The blades are made from molten metal alloy. Instead of cooling into a structure containing many small grains, the manufacturing process creates a single crystal, giving the finished component the strength needed to operate in extreme conditions.
The complexity of the process has made access to turbine blade production strategically important to engine manufacturers.
GE Aerospace announced in September that it planned to acquire its turbine blade supplier for $11.75bn (£8.78bn). The move has been described as a way of securing a reliable supply of the components during a volatile aircraft manufacturing process.
Rolls-Royce also announced an investment of more than £19m in its blade casting facility in Rotherham in March.
The UK is one of only five countries to have developed the complete technology chain for making single-crystal blades. China is seeking to become the sixth and has said its engineers have developed alloys comparable with those used in Europe and the United States.
The technology remains closely linked to the ability of engine manufacturers to produce reliable aircraft at scale.