GE Scientist Finds a Way to Potentially Save Billions of Gallons of Jet Fuel

Determined efforts of General Electric research scientist leads to creation of new lightweight material to help power jet engines.

The determined efforts of a General Electric (GE) research scientist to create a new type of ceramic material that can be used in jet engines may save billions of gallons of fuel in the coming decades, according to the Associated Press.

Krishan Luthra, a veteran of the GE research lab, has developed a lightweight ceramic material that can withstand extreme temperatures and is adaptable to jet engines. At present time, the hottest parts of jet engines are lined with metal super-alloys which are heavy and would melt with an increase in combustion. This new ceramic material is about one-third the weight of the super-alloys and can withstand temperatures 20 percent higher.

The material is a complex composite. At its core is a new type of fiber made of silicon carbide one eighth the width of a human hair. Using a chemical vapor deposition reactor, Luthra is able to apply a coating to each individual fiber. The fibers are then bathed in a polymer which forms a lattice structure. As is common with all ceramics, they are baked. Once the polymer burns off, the result is a strong, light lattice filled with liquid silicon which creates a solid structure.

General Electric has joined forces with France’s Snecma (Safran) in a joint venture called CFM International in developing the LEAP jet engine which will incorporate the new material. According to GE, as more components are made with this material, engine thrust could be increased by 25 percent and fuel consumption cut by 10 percent.

To date, CFM International has taken order for 8,000 of the new LEAP engines in deals worth $100 billion. Boeing plans to use the engine in the Boeing 737 MAX. Airbus, which conducted the first test flight of the LEAP-1A engine on May 19, will use them on the Airbus 320neo.

[Photo: AP]