Aero engine manufacture & 3D printing

<p>Anjenq Wang</p>

Aero engine manufacture & 3D printing

Anjenq Wang

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P R China

: J Nucl Ene Sci Power Generat Technol

Abstract

Manufacture of aero engine component, especially these parts in the flow path – “The Airfoils”, has never been considered an easy task, mainly due to the sophisticated 3D aerodynamic geometry, and highly demanded properties in fatigue, creep, and damage tolerance, just to name a few. Good aero engine parts depend upon the compatibility of three key elements: i) Design, ii) Material, iii) Manufacture. Among these three key elements, design deems to set the standard of performance, reliability, durability, safety and operability of the product to be made. Besides operating at high loading and high temperature conditions, what indeed differentiates aero engine components from other industry products is beyond blue print or something can be specified or measured physically. It could generally be categorized in one single term, i.e., “Implicit Technology”. While the conventional forging/casting manufacture technologies are still in the process of continuous improvement to meet six-sigma target, a new technology – “3D Printing” was born. However, limited progress has been made by 3D printing in the aero engine arena. Apparently, there is much more need to be dealt with aero engine manufacturing, besides geometry and configuration of the component. This presentation is to discuss i) what is the implicit technology that associates with aero engine manufacture, ii) how it impacts the quality and integrity of the component to be made, iii) how to address these issues in 3D printing, iv) how to assess and substantiate 3D printing to meet certification requirements of continuous airworthiness, and v) what are these requirements.