(Cary, NC – Oct. 20, 2009) -- LORD Corporation — a leader in the management of vibration, noise and motion control — was selected by Korea Aerospace Industry (KAI) as one of their top four Elite Suppliers for the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) program.
The award was presented Sunday night at the KAI Seventh Supplier Symposium in Sacheon, Korea. LORD earned the award for their work on the KUH including supply of the main and tail rotor spherical bearings and dampers for the aircraft.
According to Bernie Chan, Director, Sales & Marketing, Aerospace and Defense, Asia Pacific, LORD is honored to receive this prestigious award from KAI as it recognizes LORD Corporation’s performance and contribution to the KUH program.
At the KUH Roll-Out Ceremony, held on July 31, Mr. Choi, Jong Ho, KAI Vice President and Head of Airframe Development Department, said that KAI is very satisfied with LORD Corporation’s technical capabilities as well as their responsiveness. “LORD products not only perform well but help us save weight on the KUH,” he said.
The 8-ton utility transport helicopter, which is slated for first flight in March 2010 and production in 2011, is being developed by KAI under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Designed to carry 9 troops, the new helicopter is intended to replace many of South Korea’s existing helicopters.
The KUH main rotor damper uses LORD Corporation’s Fluidlastic™ 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 LORD 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 2008, LORD, KAI and Korean Air engineers have been working cohesively to design the four critical components. According to Dr. Yee, Seok June, Korea Aerospace Industries’ Chief Engineer for KUH Rotor System Design, support from the entire LORD team was remarkable.
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 www.lord.com for more information.
