GE Aerospace and South Carolina-based Clemson University recently received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to continue joint research of high-temperature ceramic-matrix composites (HTCMCs) and ultra-high-temperature ceramic-matrix composites (UHTCMCs), the organizations said on Tuesday at the 2023 Paris Airshow. This research will bolster national security, improve engine efficiency, and enhance the structural safety of aircraft, they added. GE and Clemson have collaborated on ceramic materials research for about 10 years.

Rajendra Bordia, chair of the ceramics and materials engineering department at Clemson, serves as the principal investigator for the project. “When most hear about ceramics, they think the material is brittle,” he told AIN. “But these advanced ceramics are very tough and can withstand high heat and temperatures. They can be used for static and rotational parts of turbine engines. In fact, they may even be used to mitigate frictional heat on wing leading edges of supersonic and hypersonic airplanes.”

The USAF grant will help advance next-generation ceramic materials. “This provides an opportunity to push the boundaries even further,” noted GE Edison Works president and CEO Tony Mathis.

Meanwhile, Clemson broke ground last month on a 140,000-sq-ft (13,006-sq-m) advanced materials research facility, which it expects to open in 2025.