The insertion of new materials into aircraft systems takes several years and many millions of dollars. Experimental trials to define the manufacturing process to meet the specifications can add significant time and cost. Many military programs have small lot production in either initial engine development programs or specialized production, providing additional criticality to improving the "First Time Yield" (FTY) of manufacturing processes, and quickly resolving production issues. Additionally, the impact of an unintended process change is unknown without evaluating the component, again adding time and cost to issue resolution. Therefore, new approaches are required to facilitate the rapid certification of materials and processes technologies. Significant improvements in manufacturing processes have been realized by process modeling tools such as DEFORM™ and FORGE for metal forming and Procast™ for casting, which are now in routine industrial use.
Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs) offer lightweight and frequently low cost alternatives to other materials in many applications. High temperature PMCs are currently used in limited propulsion applications replacing metals. Yet in most cases, PMC propulsion applications are not in the direct engine flow path since particulate erosion degrades PMC component performance and therefore restricts their use in gas turbine engines. This paper compares two erosion resistant coatings (SANRES and SANPRES) on PMCs that are useful for both low and high temperature propulsion applications. Collaborating over a multi-year period, researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center, AADC, and Rolls-Royce Engines have optimized these coatings in terms of adhesion, surface roughness and erosion resistance. Results are described for vigorous hot gas/particulate erosion rig and engine testing of uncoated and coated PMC fan bypass vanes from the AE 3007 regional jet gas turbine engine. Moreover, the structural durability of these coatings is described in long-term high cycle fatigue tests. Overall, both coatings performed well in all tests and will be considered for applications in both commercial and defense propulsion applications.
In 2008, the National Research Council published a landmark report on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) and defined it as 'an emerging discipline that aims to integrate computational materials science tools into a holistic system that can accelerate materials development, transform the engineering design optimization process, & unify design and manufacturing'. ICME is becoming a critical enabler for reducing the design/make cycle time and getting complex systems into production more quickly. There are several reasons why this is the case. Firstly, ICME allows materials experts to develop new material systems and methods of manufacture much more quickly. Advanced new materials and their associated manufacturing processes can be tailored to deliver products that meet design requirements quickly and more effectively in terms of cost and performance. Secondly, ICME enables design processes to quantify cause and affect relationships between manufacturing methods and variability, material properties, product geometry, and design requirement margins. In the design phase, material selection itself can impose consideration of material-specific failure modes that are naturally correlated to important attributes such as strength, weight, and geometry. ICME enables designers to quickly understand the complex and probabilistic interactions between the material, manufacturing processes, manufacturing variability, and design. Thirdly, it has been shown that successful account of variability of the manufacturing processes in life calculations leads to improved accuracy in declared low cycle fatigue crack initiation and damage tolerance lives on life limited gas turbine engine components. Furthermore, ICME enables engineers to rapidly explore more effective design and manufacturing solutions for delivering superior products at lower cost, faster but not without challenges. To highlight challenges and progress toward realization of this transformational technology, a survey of recent examples of materials and manufacturing process simulations along with the overarching approach and requirements within ICME to link these simulation capabilities to design and manufacturing methods will be reviewed from a gas turbine engine perspective.
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