Home / News / Herakles’ CMC exhaust in A320 jetliner’s commercial flight

Herakles' CMC exhaust in A320 jetliner's commercial flight

23 Jun '15

2 min read

The ceramic matrix composite (CMC) exhaust cone designed by Safran company, Herakles, a world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of solid rocket motors for missiles and space launchers made its first commercial flight on June 16, 2015, on a CFM56-5B engine powering an Air France Airbus A320 jetliner.

This is the first time in the world that a CMC part has flown on a jetliner in commercial service.

Safran designed, built, and ground-tested the exhaust cone demonstrator, via two of its companies, Herakles (design and manufacture) and Snecma (integration).

After carrying out its initial tests on an A320 in 2012, the ceramic matrix composite exhaust cone demonstrator was certified on April 22, 2015 by the European Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) for use on commercial flights, according to a press release.

Safran company, Herakles, has developed, produced and marketed high-temperature-resistant composite materials at its Bordeaux plant, for a wide range of aerospace, defence, and industrial applications These materials are based on carbon fibres and matrices, making them both strong and light. They stand up to very high temperatures and extreme environments. They are most notably used on the nozzle of the Rafale fighter and several rocket engines. For a given capability, they provide approximately 50 per cent weight savings over even a metallic superalloy such as Inconel.

The CMC exhaust cone project was supported by the French government (single interministerial fund, and investment in the future program) and the Aquitaine Regional Council. (GK)

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India