Integral textile ceramic composites for turbine engine combustors

Integrally formed ceramic matrix composite structures are being developed for a range of hot-structure applications involving active cooling. In this paper, some advantages of integral textile approaches are summarised and design possibilities for turbine engine combustors are suggested. Advantages of integral textile structures include: 1) joints between ceramic and other materials in hot zones can be avoided; 2) thin skins (< 1 mm) can be formed that are strong and tough, enabling tolerance of higher heat fluxes; 3) compliant structures can be designed, which can limit the development of thermal mismatch stresses; and 4) fabrication costs can be lowered by reducing part counts and steps in processing. This paper discusses some of the non-traditional design and fabrication challenges that must be met to exploit integral textile ceramic structures and offers a preliminary assessment of their viability for handling the thermomechanical loads of an advanced combustor.