On CMC's
I just know that they've developed ceramics that can take the heat that metal alloys cannot, however, ceramic turbine blades are more prone to catastrophic failure. That might be why they're talking about using cmc's in a military jet engine where risk assessment takes on a new dimension. In passenger jets, you're usually not a target, and if you were, the expense in making a passenger jet for a quick get-away is prohibitive.
There's a lot of technology out there and it's often proprietary so it takes a lot of time to keep up. If I were to place a bet on a competing material for jet turbine blades, it would be an exotic ceramic. But again, it takes time for these things to surface and prove themselves in applications.
Could EB be used for ceramics? It's done in a vacuum so there could be an advantage. Maybe that's where our next exotic ceramic comes from?
