TURBINE ENGINE COMPOSITE COMPONENTS

COMPOSITE MATERIALS SUCH AS GRAPHITE/POLYIMIDE, CARBON/CARBON OFFER GREAT POTENTIAL AS A MEANS OF GREATLY ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF GAS TURBINE AIRCRAFT ENGINES. PAYOFFS FROM THEIR USE WOULD INCLUDE MAJOR INCREASES IN THRUST-TO-WEIGHT RATIOS, INCREASED DESIGN DUE TO ENHANCED EFFICIENCY, INCREASED ENGINE ENDURANCE, AND SIMPLIFICATION OF ENGINE DESIGN DUE TO A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF PARTS. IF COMPOSITE MATERIALS ARE TO BE EFFECTIVELY APPLIED TO TURBINE ENGINES, IT WILL BE ESSENTIAL TO SELECT THE MOST SUITABLE WEAVING PROCESS FOR EACH APPLICATION. THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE UTILITY OF THE BROAD RANGE OF WEAVING PROCESSES AVAILABLE IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY. IT WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARDS THREE GENERAL CATEGORIES OF MATRICES: CERAMIC, CARBON, POLYMERIC. WEAVING TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE ASSESSED BASED ON: WEAVING COSTS, PERFORM PROCESSING COSTS, COMPOSITE PROPERTIES, PROCESS FLEXIBILITY, PROCESS LIMITATIONS, ABILITY TO PRODUCE COMPLEX SHAPES. BASED ON THIS ANALYSIS, AT LEAST ONE PROCESS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS APPLICABLE TO EACH MATRIX CATEGORY. A WEAVING PLAN WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR EACH PROCESS INCLUDING A COST ANALYSIS FOR REPRESENTATIVE PARTS. PRODUCTION BARRIERS WILL BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED. A FINAL REPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO SUMMARIZE THIS EFFORT AND PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR FURTHER PHASE II DEVELOPMENT.