The value of composites in aeroengines
CompositesWorld takes a closer look at the value of composites used in 10 major aircraft engine platforms.
CFM International's LEAP 1 at the 2012 Farnborough International Air Show (Farnborough, UK).
The January issue of CompositesWorld features a Market Outlook by Chris Red that assesses current and future use of composite materials in large aircraft engines. His report is full of data that characterizes where and how composites are used, and how this important market is expected grow (rapidly) over the next decade.
CW started looking at the engines in the market, and coming into the market, and wondered what the total composites value is for each major engine platform. Red helped us pull the data together and the below data are the result.
There are three important variables to consider: Composites fraction per engine, engine size (as defined by thrust) and production volume. The engine with the largest composites fraction is Pratt & Whitney's PurePower, at 35%. The engine with the largest composites value is the GE Aviation's GE9X, at $972,000. However, the engine with the largest total composites value 2005-2023 is the CFM Inernational LEAP1, at $5.7 billion.
In any case, it's clear that composites are enjoying significant application in large aircraft engines manufactured by each of the big four OEMs.
| Engine | OEM | Composites value (est.) | Composites fraction (est.) | Thrust (000, lbf) | '05-'23 production volume (units) | '05-'23 total composites value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEAP 1 | CFM | $458,635 | 33% | 20-32.9 | 12,390 | $5.7B |
| LEAP 56 | CFM | $258,592 | 17% | 19.5-34 | 14,173 | $3.7B |
| GEnx | GE | $810,053 | 19% | 53-75 | 4,504 | $3.7B |
| Trent 1000 | R-R | $413,086 | 11% | 53-75 | 2,893 | $1.2B |
| PurePower | P&W | $773,126 | 35% | 15-33 | 1,465 | $1.1B |
| GE90 | GE | $468,550 | 8% | 76-115 | 1,975 | $925.4M |
| GE9X | GE | $972,000 | 18% | 90-100 | 952 | $925.3M |
| PW 4000 | P&W | $323,052 | 11% | 52-99 | 2,019 | $652.2M |
| Trent 900 | R-R | $288,854 | 8% | 70-80 | 1,178 | $340.3M |
| Trent 700 | R-R | $258,380 | 9% | 67.5-71 | 665 | $171.8M |
CFM: CFM International
GE: GE Aviation
P&W: Pratt & Whitney
R-R: Rolls-Royce
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