Session: 18-04: Failure Prediction & Life Assessment I

Paper Number: 154213

Using an Additive Manufacturing Design Method to Achieve Fan Blade Damage Resistance 

Bladed disks (Blisks) are crucial parts of advanced gas turbine engines, each costing as much as $700k. With new purchase and replacement expenses projected to soar into the billions, the search for more cost-effective solutions has become a pressing need in both the commercial and defense sectors. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a prospective solution with high potential due to the ability to make parts lighter and more affordable. AM is also a more environmentally friendly manufacturing process than traditional approaches. However, the current challenge with AM is that parts are not reliable enough for critical engine use. Specifically, variations in microstructure, porosity, surface roughness, and residual stress can lead to unpredictable damage phenomena. The research conducted to solve this problem explored the use of the i-DAMP design method to inherently suppress vibration in a fan blade and achieve fatigue damage resistance. This work investigates the fatigue life under the same forcing conditions of as-built surface finish i-DAMP and fully fused Nickel Alloy 718 blades made via the Laser Powder Bed Fused blades AM process. The comparisons between i-DAMP and fully fused blades showed 50% vibration suppression at 2^nd bending mode with i-DAMP, and a 10X fatigue life resistance was achieved by the i-DAMP blade. The qualitative significance of the research results is that a fully fused (or traditional) blade can lose fatigue life margin in the case of a foreign object damage (FOD) event; however, an i-DAMP blade can still maintain fatigue life margin in the case of FOD.

Presenting Author: Onome Scott-Emuakpor Hyphen Innovations

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Scott-Emuakpor is the Founder and CEO of Hyphen Innovations, a spin out company from an Air Force Entrepreneur Program focused on R&D to improve structural aerospace parts. Dr. Scott-Emuakpor has over two decades of R&D experience on propulsion structural integrity. His work on material testing, design improvement, vibration mitigation, and additive manufacturing for structural aerospace parts have earned him many accolades, including a Presidential Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Authors:

Onome Scott-Emuakpor Hyphen Innovations
Philip Johnson Hyphen Innovations
John Middendorf The Ohio State University