GE Aviation fired up on CMCs

Ceramic matrix composites (CMC) are a critical pathway on GE Aviation’s technology roadmap, and recent tests on a GEnx demonstrator engine with GE9X CMC components in the combustor and turbine yielded impressive results for the ultra-lightweight, heat-resistant material. The use of CMCs in the hot section of GE jet engines is a breakthrough for the jet propulsion industry. The demonstrator engine testing is part of the technology maturation program for the GE9X engine that will power the Boeing 777X. The GEnx engine contained CMC components in the combustor and high pressure turbine (HPT). “The GEnx demonstrator engine accumulated 2,800 endurance