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LORD Corporation Awarded Contract for Korean Utility Helicopter

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

September 8, 2008

thomas

CARY, N.C., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ — LORD Corporation – a leader in the
management of vibration, noise and motion control – has been selected by
Korea Aerospace Industry (KAI) and Korean Air (KA) to supply main and tail
rotor spherical bearings and dampers for the Korean Utility Helicopter
(KUH) program.

The 8-ton utility transport helicopter, which is slated for first
flight in 2010 and production in 2011, is being developed by the Korean
Ministry of Defense using a semi-indigenous program. Designed to carry 9
passengers, the new helicopter is intended to replace many of South Korea’s
700 helicopters. While Korean Air will supply KAI with the tail section of
the KUH, KAI is in charge of the main rotor design and rotor system
integration. KAI and KA jointly selected LORD for this contract.

According to Bernie Chan, Sales & Market Manager for LORD Aerospace and
Defense Asia Pacific, design has progressed on a fast-track schedule with
Preliminary Design Review in Korea in April, followed by Critical Design
Review at LORD Corporation’s Grandview, Pa. center in July.

The main rotor damper uses LORD Corporation’s Fluidlastic(TM)
technology, which has become an industry standard for superior noise and
vibration isolation, as well as energy dissipation applications, due to its
combination of high performance, ease of maintenance and efficient use of
space. Fluidlastic technology is currently featured in mounts, lead lag
dampers and torque restraints in both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. In
this design, the fluid technology is an improvement over traditional
dampers as it eliminates the problematic sliding seals typically found in
hydraulic dampers. The dampers can be designed with straight viscous
damping or inertial damping. This allows performance to be tailored with
temperature and frequency.

LORD dampers are routinely designed to meet challenging operating
conditions including cold temperature environments and small oscillatory
displacements. Since LORD uses fluid to generate damping, a highly
fatigue-resistant elastomer can be used in lieu of a high-damped elastomer.
This feature allows for a small component size with high endurance life.

While the KUH tail rotor damper is made of a customized elastomer and
metal assembly, the main and tail rotor spherical bearings are made of
high-capacity laminate (HCL), a technology which LORD was first to apply to
helicopters to replace mechanical bearings in order to provide better
vibration control and to reduce the number of parts.

Since February this year, LORD, KAI and KA engineers have been working
cohesively to design the four critical components. According to Dr. Seok
June, Yee, Korea Aerospace Industries’ Chief Engineer for KUH Rotor Design,
support from the entire LORD team was remarkable.

Mr. Suk Jun, Lee, Korean Air Principal Engineer for the KUH Tail Rotor
system, was also very pleased with the development progress made by LORD.
“We are very impressed by LORD Corporation’s flexibility, enthusiasm and
support, and we have learned a lot working with them. LORD has very good
engineering capabilities and experience, and we are glad that we have
selected LORD,” he said.

About LORD

With headquarters in Cary, N.C., and sales in excess of $700-MM, LORD
Corporation is a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and
markets devices and systems to manage mechanical motion and control noise
and vibration; formulates, produces and sells general purpose and specialty
adhesives and coatings; and develops products and systems utilizing
magnetically responsive technologies. With manufacturing in nine countries
and offices in more than 15 major business centers, LORD Corporation
employs more than 2,600 worldwide. Visit http://www.lord.com for more information.

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