There is a universe hidden in every turbine blade

The beauty of the universe lies in its mystery and depth. The Milky Way alone contains countless galaxies, stars and dust, far beyond the range of human observation. Did you know that the turbine blades of aircraft engines also contain a "universe" of materials. In this "universe", atoms and molecules are cleverly combined to help the engine meet various performance requirements.

Turbine blades

Turbine blades are one of the most critical parts in an aircraft engine. They are located in the part of the engine with the highest temperature, most complex stress and harshest environment. They are numerous, complex in shape, have high dimensional requirements and are difficult to process, which directly affects the performance of the aircraft engine.

Advanced aircraft engines can operate at temperatures above 1700°C

After pressurization, the pressure is as high as more than 50 atmospheres

In order to meet the requirements of engine performance, reliability and life, turbine blade materials need to have excellent high-temperature strength, good oxidation resistance, thermal corrosion resistance, as well as good fatigue and fracture toughness and other comprehensive properties.

Material research and development

Blade material development process

In the 1930s, researchers developed high-temperature alloys with excellent high-temperature performance to replace stainless steel, allowing the blade to be used at temperatures up to 800°C. Soon after, the emergence of vacuum smelting technology promoted the development of cast high-temperature alloys, and polycrystalline alloys gradually began to become the main material for turbine blades.

In the 1980s, researchers discovered directional solidification technology, which can improve the strength and plasticity of alloys and improve the thermal fatigue performance of alloys by controlling the crystal growth rate and making the grains grow preferentially. On this basis, single crystal high temperature alloys began to develop and became the dominant material for high-performance aircraft engine turbine blades.

Manufacturing process

Having materials with excellent performance is not enough. Aircraft engine turbine blades also require precise manufacturing technology - investment casting process.

Core, wax and shell preparation

In the investment casting of hollow blades, ceramic cores are often used to make airways: the ceramic core is placed in a beeswax blade, wrapped with porcelain clay and heated, and the wax inside is discharged after firing to form a casting cavity; the wax mold is coated with refractory coating and sintered at high temperature, and a hard mold shell is formed after the wax mold is melted. The molten metal is poured into the inner cavity of the mold shell to obtain a casting.

Directional solidification

Under strict temperature control, multiple grains compete to grow, allowing the dominant grain to enter the cavity. As the solid-liquid interface advances, the grain continues to grow, thus obtaining a single crystal blade.

Test

After the turbine blades are made, a special chemical process is used to dissolve the ceramic core, and then cooling holes are punched and a thermal barrier coating is applied to provide insulation and cooling. After X-ray inspection, the blades are completed.

Cooling structure

For engines, increasing the temperature of the gas at the turbine inlet can increase thrust, thereby improving engine efficiency and thrust-to-weight ratio. In current aircraft engines, the gas temperature at the turbine inlet exceeds the limit temperature that the high-temperature resistant blade material can withstand, so an effective cooling method must be used to reduce the wall temperature of the turbine blade.

The cooling technologies used in turbine blades mainly include convection cooling, impingement cooling, film cooling and laminate cooling.

Future

With the development of science and technology, additive manufacturing technology, laser forming and other technologies will be used in the manufacture of turbine blades. The turbine blades of the future will have better performance and better provide power for aircraft to soar into the sky.

Contact us

Thank you for your interest in our company! As a professional gas turbine parts manufacturing company, we will continue to be committed to technological innovation and service improvement, to provide more high-quality solutions for customers around the world.If you have any questions, suggestions or cooperation intentions, we are more than happy to help you. Please contact us in the following ways:

WhatsAPP:+86 135 4409 5201

E-mail：[email protected]