A Simple Actuator Piston That Begins as Silicon Carbide At Middleway, W.Va., Plant, Wins Prestigious, National Award.GAINESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1998-- Atlantic Research Corporation to accept Aviation Week's 1998 Technology Innovation Award on Nov. 16 It looks simply like another metal actuator piston for a jet engine. In reality, it's the first actual use of titanium matrix composite (TMC TMC Technology Marketing Corporation (Norwalk, Connecticut) TMC Texas Medical Center (Houston, TX) TMC Traffic Message Channel TMC The Movie Channel TMC Traffic Management Center ) in an engine, on an aircraft or anywhere else. The actuator piston begins as a silicon carbide silicon carbide, chemical compound, SiC, that forms extremely hard, dark, iridescent crystals that are insoluble in water and other common solvents. Widely used as an abrasive, it is marketed under such familiar trade names as Carborundum and Crystolon. fiber made at the Atlantic Research Corporation's Middleway plant near Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of Martinsburg was 14,972. However, the 2006 Census estimate places the city with a population of 16,392 [2]. . The TMC actuator piston was developed and is being produced by Atlantic Research Corporation (ARC), an achievement for which ARC Vice President Jerry Fields will accept the 1998 Technology Innovation Award from the editors of Aviation Week and Space Technology. The award ceremony will take place on Nov. 16 at the magazine's Aerospace Expo at the Long Beach, Calif., Convention Center. The TMC material is stiffer than titanium metal and the actuator piston weighs about 40 percent less than the steel actuator piston it replaces. The silicon carbide fiber made in West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. is shipped to the ARC plant in Wilmington, Mass., where the final composite part is made. ARC's actuator piston works inside an actuator made by Parker Bertea of Irvine, Calif., for the F119 turbine engine made by Pratt & Whitney of West Palm Beach, Fla. The F119 engine is the power plant for the F-22 Raptor “F-22” redirects here. For other uses, see F-22 (disambiguation). The F-22 Raptor is a fifth-generation American fighter aircraft that utilizes fourth-generation stealth technology. air-dominance fighter produced by Lockheed Martin and Boeing for the U.S. Air Force. The ARC actuator piston helps give the F-22 its maneuverability by assisting in the plane's steering. "The actuator piston's unique blend of high-performance materials and affordable processing technology can save a significant amount of weight on the next generation of fighter aircraft," says Fields. Atlantic Research Corporation, a unit of Sequa Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :SQA SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority SQA Software Quality Assurance SQA Supplier Quality Assurance SQA Society of Quality Assurance SQA Singapore Airlines SQA Sperm Quality Analyzer SQA System Quality Assurance SQA Statistical Quality Analysis ), with headquarters in Gainesville, Va., is a leading developer and producer of solid propellant rocket motors, gas generators, liquid propulsion systems, electric space propulsion systems, automotive air bag inflators and advanced composite materials. Sequa Corporation is a diversified industrial company whose other principal interests include the manufacture and repair of jet engine components, as well as the production of specialty chemicals, can machinery and automotive products. |
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