CMC Combustor Liner

The future of manned and unmanned vehicles requires significant improvements in engine thrust-to-weight ratio, efficiency, and engine operating temperatures. One area where these improvements may be realized is in the main combustor for supersonic missiles, Mach 8-10 strike/reconnaissance aircraft, and hypersonic vehicles operating with a Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC). High temperature materials will be necessary to enable high-speed supersonic flight (Mach 3.5 to 5). For low-speed flight, low-temperature air is commonly used as a coolant for hot parts in the propulsion system. For high-speed supersonic vehicles, however, there is no source of low temperature cooling air since the total temperature of even the ambient air may exceed material limits for conventional materials, which is a significant problem. SPIRITECH Advanced Products, Inc. is proposing to utilize components that can be manufactured by novel integral weaving methods using Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC’s). CMC components provide high strength capabilities at temperatures of 2200°F to 2400°F, which is much higher than those for conventional nickel alloys that have limited strength at 1600°F to 1800°F. A CMC component can also offer substantial weight reductions over metallic components, increasing vehicle range and/or payload, as well as reducing cooling flow requirements, thereby increasing overall system performance.