Aerospace manufacturers are continually striving to reduce the running costs of their components through reduced weight, improved efficiency or longer service periods, making them more attractive to their market. This can be done by introducing advanced materials, e.g. composites, or improved design, such as sharklet fins on the tips of wings. For aerospace engines this can be done by reducing weight and/or increasing temperatures and pressures.
Recently, this expansion of the performance envelope has been enabled by the introduction of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) into engine components. CMCs consist of ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix.