CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/891910
An excerpt from the CW Talks interview with GE Aviation's Ryan Huth, plus highlights from the SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition and news about FRP architectural cladding in a new theme park. NOVEMBER 2017 12 CompositesWorld TRENDS Q&A;: Ryan Huth, manager of ceramic-matrix composites, GE Aviation CW: Talk about the growth of your facility. It is relatively new. RH: We have grown substantially year over year hundreds of percent. This year over last we'll grow four times in terms of volume output and the appropriate resources to deliver that type of volume increase. Next will be roughly the same. When you think about LEAP — so, the LEAP engine this year will deliver roughly 500 engines. Next year we'll deliver 1,100. And we also supply parts that go into the [GE]9X engine, so our growth rate follows the growth of new products from GE Aviation. CW: What are some of the parts you will be making there? RH: We supply CMC shrouds for the LEAP application, so the LEAP 1A and 1C. The LEAP 1A powers the Airbus A320neo and the 1C powers the COMAC C919, as well the LEAP 1B shrouds, which powers the Boeing 737MAX . . .. And what we're moving into are more GE9X components. So, we're starting out with shrouds on 9X, which although similar are much different in size. The GE9X is far larger with the highest thrust of any jet engine in the world and therefore needs larger parts to accommodate that . . .. By the end of this year we are going to move into combustion liners as well as nozzles. CW: How has big data been implemented in CMC parts production at GE? RH: When you think about a vertically integrated value stream, understanding how a process change at the fiber level — at the rawest raw material level — impacts the environmental barrier coating that we put on the part, or its response in melt infiltration, it's very important that we optimize the system, rather than sub-optimize a single piece of the process. . . . The other part of that is that as the parts go into service, we are able to get tremendous amounts of information about how the engine is operating, how the engine is performing, how the parts are perform- ing in the engine, so we can be more predictive about any sort of maintenance that is required for the engine itself. Editor's note: CW Talks: The Composites Podcast, features inter- views with composites industry thinkers and doers. This Q&A; is excerpted from Episode 8 of CW Talks in which Huth discusses GE Aviation's development of ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) for the LEAP and other aircraft engines at its new Asheville, NC, US, facility. You can catch the full interview at www.compositesworld.com/podcast, or on iTunes or Google Play. CW: What is a ceramic-matrix composite? RH: A CMC is an engineered material system, and it's a silicon carbide fiber and a silicon carbide matrix. . . . Why would we choose CMC? There are three characteristics that differentiate it and help put it above the metal parts it will replace. One is that they are high-temperature- capable — actually around 500°F [260°C] more capable than the metal parts they replace. Second is that they are metal-like at about a third the density. What that means is that if you look at a stress/strain curve of a traditional monolithic ceramic, it's very brittle, whereas a CMC looks more like a metal in that it has an elastic region and an inelastic region. And the final piece is we can make complex shapes. CW: What do the higher temperature capabilities achieve for a jet engine? RH: Operational efficiency and thermal efficiency in the hot section of the engine is very important for achiev- ing fuel burn requirements for our customers, and our customers are looking for a couple of things from us. One is a low cost of ownership, and the second is lower fuel burn. And so, running the high-pressure turbine in the hot section of the engine hotter allows us to gain thermal effi- ciency and deliver more fuel economy for our customers. As well as, since the CMC is more thermally capable than a metal part, it does not require as much cooling air.