EDO Corp. said Wednesday it received a multi-million dollar contract from General Electric to manufacture aircraft-engine ducts using advanced composite materials.
The deal lasts through 2012.
EDO, which makes airborne electronic warfare systems and mine countermeasurement systems, said it will produce composite Variable Bleed Valve ducts for the GEnx engine using specialized composite braiding and resin-transfer-molding technologies. GE's VBV design is aimed at ensuring peak engine performance at all speeds by bleeding off variable amounts of air to maintain optimal boost pressure.
EDO's combination of braiding and RTM automates the fiber-application process and eliminates the need for significant part finishing. Braiding is an automated circular-weaving process that wraps reinforcement fibers around complex shapes. Fibers are continuously applied, and no seams are created that can lead to stress concentrations. Only three continuous layers of braided reinforcement are needed to carry the stresses created by the hot bleed air at high internal pressures, the company said.
The next-generation GEnx engine will power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and 747-800, and Airbus' A350 aircraft. Ten composite ducts are used in each engine, with a complete set weighing less than eight pounds.