Aerospace materials next Blue Ocean: silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite industry depth report

CFM is preparing to start the transition from CFM56 production to the LEAP-X engine starting in 2016, with an annual output of 1700 engines by 2020. To achieve this capacity demand, plans to invest 750 million U. s.dollars, in the United States Ellis, Mississippi, new and expansion of the plant, the total area expanded to 139350m2, used for mass production of CMC materials components.

1) in order to improve the aero engine thrust weight ratio and reduce the fuel consumption, the most fundamental measure is to improve the turbine inlet temperature of the engine. The turbine front temperature is directly related to the maximum allowable operating temperature of the material at the hot end parts of the aero-engine. Ceramic matrix composites are the preferred materials for hot end structures of engines that can replace superalloys in the twenty-first Century.

2) in 1980s, France pioneered the development of SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites, and successfully applied to M88-2 engines and F100 engines. Ceramic composite French Safran group design (CMC) nozzle in June 16, 2015 equipped with the CFM56-5B engine on the completion of the first commercial flight. CFM, a new generation of engines for single aisle airliners, is expected to hit the market in 2016, LEAP-X.

3) GE predicts: 2013-2023 years, the aircraft engine market demand for CMC will increase by 10 times. In June 2013, GE invested 125 million US dollars to build 11 thousand and 600 m2 production base. In order to ensure the supply of high-end SiC fiber, in April 2012, GE also joined hands with the SNECMA to launch a joint venture with Nippon Carbon Company, NGS, which produces and sells "Nicalon" brand SiC continuous fiber. GE is trying to apply CMC to various components of the engine and expects to produce 800 CMC finished components by 2016~2018. CFM is preparing to start the transition from CFM56 production to the LEAP-X engine starting in 2016, with an annual output of 1700 engines by 2020. To achieve this capacity demand, plans to invest 750 million U. s.dollars, in the United States Ellis, Mississippi, new and expansion of the plant, the total area expanded to 139350m2, used for mass production of CMC materials components.

4) SiC fiber, located in the upper reaches of SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites, is a crucial link in the whole industry chain. Currently the world's only Japan and the United States can provide general and commercial grade SiC fiber, only Japan carbon company has realized industrialization production capacity of 100 tons and Japan ube. According to the development and change of fiber composition, structure and properties of the process, the precursor prepared by SiC fiber can be divided into three generations, the first generation of high oxygen and carbon fiber SiC, the second generation of oxygen and high carbon content of SiC fiber, the third generation is near stoichiometric SiC fibers.

5) in China from the beginning of 1980s, with the leadership of academician Zhang Litong of the Northwestern Polytechnical University research team, as well as the research center, AVIC aerospace materials and technology, national defense science, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of ceramics and other units have started to track the international advanced research and development work. The main unit of SiC fiber in China are National University of Defense Technology, Xiamen University, and obtained very fruitful achievements; Suzhou CERAFIL Co Ltd is China's first successful implementation of the industrial production of continuous SiC fiber enterprises. At present, the domestic development has been a breakthrough in the key technologies of the second generation of SiC and SiC/SiC fiber composites, with the component development and small batch production capacity, but in the aspect of engineering industrialization in western developed countries there are still significant gaps.