CMC Market Ready to Take Off - GE Aviation Expands its North Carolina's CMC Facility
With the accelerating LEAP engine production, Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) market is set to take a big leap. CMCs are not new to the aircraft industry, however they have recently outpaced many other materials, especially metals, in the aircraft engine applications. Aerospace industry is one of the most versatile industries when we talk about the material usage. The industry is taking a whole new direction in promoting materials which are lighter in weight yet offer the best performance in mechanical properties. Composite materials have always been the forerunner for the industry is vying for advanced materials to hit the target of emission reduction and contribute towards saving the mother earth from the evil impacts of global warming, which has become quite apparent and have big time drawn the attentions of the regulators.
According to Stratview Research’s market report, the ceramic matrix composites market in aircraft engines is projected to reach US$ 393.2 million in 2022, driven by the development of CMC applications in the best-selling aircraft or their variants owing to their intrinsic advantages. CMCs are no less tough than metals and are one-third the weight of nickel alloys and can operate at very high temperatures of up to 1,300° Celsius.
GE Aviation, which is sited as the leading player in the CMC market report, is investing an additional $105M in its Asheville, NC, production facility to meet growing demand for the revolutionary ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components produced at the plant, just five years after breaking ground. According to the company’s news, GE Aviation will create 131 new jobs at the Asheville facility, significantly increasing its workforce of 425 employees. The Asheville CMC plant, opened in 2014, was the company's first site to mass produce CMC components for jet engines. GE Aviation also is adding 15 new positions at its West Jefferson, NC, manufacturing plant, which currently employs more than 270.
The demand for CMCs is expected to grow tenfold over the next decade driven by rising jet engine production rates. Each new LEAP engine, produced by CFM International (50/50 joint company of GE and Safran of France) has 18 CMC turbine shrouds, which are stationary parts in the high-pressure turbine that direct air and ensure turbine blade efficiency. LEAP production is accelerating quickly and more than 14,270 engines currently on order. CMCs also are being used in the combustor and high-pressure turbine section of the new GE9X engine under development for the Boeing 777X twin-aisle aircraft. Almost 700 GE9X engines are on order.
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News Source: GE Aviation
Image Source: CFM International
