GKN: Composites Aren’t Always the Answer

Rolls-Royce turned to GKN for help in alleviating service-life limitations caused by harsh heat and environmental conditions inside some of its engines. GKN’s engineers considered the problem very carefully and, somewhat unusually these days, concluded that the answer didn’t lie with advanced composite materials.

What GKN proposed was a new titanium honeycomb design for engine core fairings that deliver a service life of around five to six years. “It gives a long life cycle and can handle 25 percent higher temperatures, so it doesn’t need the surface treatments that composites do,” explained Mike McCann, senior v-p business development and strategy. “It also is weight neutral and has overall system benefits for the OEM.”