Materials in Jet

Engines:
Past, Present, and Future
Robert Schafrik
General Manger, Materials & Process Engineering
GE Aircraft Engines
Slide 1
Overview
Introduction
Highlights of Key Developments
Materials in Aero Engines
Future Directions
Summary and Take Aways
INTRODUCTION
Slide 3
We Have Come a Long Way!
GE90-115B
Engine Specifications
Bore: 4 inches
Stroke: 4 inches
Displacement: 201 cubic inches
Compression Ration: 4.7:1
Horsepower: 25 hp
Cooling: Liquid Circulated by thermo-siphon and radiator
Lubrication: Splash system, circulation by pump and gravity
Dry Weight: 180 pounds
Specifications
Thrust Class (lb) 115,300
Length (in) 218
Bypass Ratio 7.1
Pressure Ratio 42.2
Slide 4
Jet Propulsion Beginnings
Sir Frank Whittle
Original Patent on Jet Engine filed January, 1929
First flight engine: Power Jets W-1
Flew in British Gloster G-40, May 15, 1941
Came to GE to scale-up jet engines
Hans von OHain
Worked in secret for German military
First demo engine: S-1, 1937, burned hydrogen gas
First flight engine: Heinkel S-3B
Flew in Heinkel 178 airplane, Aug 27, 1939
Slide 5
Power Jets Whittle W-1A
Slide 6
Commercial High By-Pass Ratio Engine
Low Pressure Turbine
High Pressure Turbine
Combustor
High Pressure Compressor
Fan
Core
Air
Low Pressure Compressor
or Booster
Slide 7
Drivers for Advancing AeroTurbine Technology
Modern World Expectation: Freedom to Travel
Anywhere
Quickly
Inexpensively
Safely
National Defense Needs
Push limits of technology
High Reliability
Slide 8
50 years of turbine engine
improvements
Flight Safety
(accidents per MFH)
1940 1960 1980 2000
90%
Improvement
Thrust to Weight
1940 1960 1980 2000
350%
Increase
1940 1960 1980 2000
Fuel Efficiency
(SFC)
45%
Improvement
1940 1960 1980 2000
Engine Noise
(cum dbs)
35 db
Decrease
Slide 9
Conceptual Cycles and Temperatures
Cruise
Climb
HSCT
(Future)
HSCT
(Future)
Land
Take-off
Existing Sub-sonic
Existing Sub-sonic
Cruise
Climb
T
41
Time
HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY M&P DEVELOPMENTS
Slide 11
Improved Engine Materials
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Ref: Prof James C. Williams,
Ohio State University
Improving Engine Materials Requires
Much More Than Alloy Development
Slide 12
Interplay of Process and Alloy Development
Titanium
Stainless Steel
Cobalt
Nickel Superalloys
Polymer Matrix
Composites
Thermal Barrier
Coatings
Vacuum Induction
Melting
Arc Melting
Investment Casting
of Complex Shapes
Powder Metal
Superalloys
Turbine Coatings T
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Directionally Solidified
and Single Crystal Airfoils
Multiple Vacuum
Melting Cycles
Intermetallics
Ceramic Matrix
Composites
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EB-PVD
Large Structural Castings
Iso-Thermal
Forging
SiC Melt
Infiltration
Laser Deposition
Slide 13
Important Developments
Vacuum Melting
Nickel-based Superalloys
Titanium
Investment Casting
Forging
Vacuum Melting
Slide 15
Vacuum Melting
Superalloy age really commenced with Vacuum
Induction Melting about 1950
Commercial pumps able to sustain 10 vacuum level
Vacuum sealing technology greatly improved leak-
down rate
Eliminated detrimental trace and minor
elements
Allowed addition of reactive elements to the melt
Slide 16
52100 Bearing Steel
VIM replaced air melt electric furnace
Steel properties had varied widely due to oxide inclusions
Led to many bearing failures
But VIM 52100 suffered from rarely occurring,
randomly distributed exogenous ceramic inclusions
Early failure in a few bearings -> infant mortality
Source: erosion of furnace liner, weir, and gating
Important lesson learned:
Exceptionally deleterious defects occurring at low frequency
Slide 17
VAR
First disclosed as process for melting in 1839
Became follower of VIM in premium quality nickel and
iron alloy formulation
Unique chemistry control best in VIM
VAR ingots have higher bulk density than VIM
Macrostructure managed via solidification control
Premium Quality 52100
VIM-VAR dispersed exogenous inclusions
Eliminated infant mortality problem
Slide 18
Development Risk Assessment Map
A
D
Impact of Defect Occurrence
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Example: Forging grain
size slightly out of
specification
Example: Hard alpha in
wrought titanium
Example: Quench cracking of
hardenable superalloy
HIGH
LOW
L
O
W
Example: Low angle grain
boundaries in single crystal
castings
Defects that occur sporadically,
causing negligible harm
Accommodate by changes to design
practice and/or specifications
Defects that occur very infrequently,
and are exceptionally deleterious to
component performance
Rigorous attention to all elements of
the process, or an entirely new
process, is required
process
Defects that occur frequently,
causing slight component
detriment
Reduce frequency to Zone A
by process control changes
B C
H
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H
Defects that occur often, and
are quite deleterious to
component performance
Reduce or eliminate by
process control changes or
change to an improved
Nickel-based Superalloys
Slide 20
Overview
First Jet Engines Employed Stainless Steels
Temperature Limitations of these materials led many to
question commercial viability of jet propulsion
Success: Several excellent heat resistant alloy families
implemented during the 1950s
Nimonic Series in Great Britain
Tinidur Alloys in Germany
Inconel Alloys in US
Slide 21
Early Nickel-based Superalloys
Superalloys truly enabled efficient, practical gas turbines
Outstanding strengthtensile, creep, fatigue
Excellent ductility and toughness
High Temperature Capability, to 0.75 solidus temperature
1950s
Chemistry changes and melting improvements
Derivatives of oxidation resistant rotor stainless steels
Addition of Al and Ti opened age of superalloys
Gamma-prime (', [Ni
3
Al]) highly effective strengthener
Stable at high temperature
Coherent precipitate
Slide 22
Highlight: Alloy 718
IN718 introduced by Huntington Alloys in 1960
Key precipitation phase: " [Ni
3
Nb]
Effective strengthener, high tensile strength
Not quite temperature capability of alloys
Slower precipitation kinetics allowed improved processing
and welding
Excellent balance of properties, reasonable cost, readily
castable and forgeable
Slide 23
Superalloy Progress: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
Progress often chaotic and undisciplined
Much work done in secret, proprietary fashion
Excessive alloying additions led to precipitation phase instability
Gradual but persistent TCP formation during service exposure
Need separation between hardening phase solvus and alloy MP
At least 30C
Permits re-solutioning and re-precipitation of the strengthening phase
Limits amount of strengthening elements that can be added
Alloys can be tailored for specific environments, such as oxidation
resistance
Trade-off for some other desirable property
Alloy compositions possessing the best properties not always
producible in the required shape due to processing limitations
Titanium
Slide 25
Why Titanium?
Slide 26
Fan Blades and Disks
Properties Considered
Tensile strength
Load carrying capabilitydisk burst strength
High cycle fatigue
Blade resistance to airflow stimulus
Low cycle fatigue
Life capability of blade dovetail and disk critical locations
Impact Strength
Airfoil Foreign Object Damage (FOD) resistance
Damage tolerancecrack growth rate & threshold
Ability to accommodate metallurgical/mechanical anomalies
Elastic modulus
Blade deflection & HCF stimulus
Density
Strength to weight ratio
Environmental resistance
Erosion
Alloy Ti Al V Cr Mo Zr Sn
Ti-64 Bal. 6 4
Ti-17 Bal. 5 4 4 2 2
Ti-811* Bal. 8 1 1
* Blades Only
Chemical Composition of Fan Disk/Blade Alloys
Slide 27
Processing Temp Effect - Ti-17
Processing Temp Effect - Ti-17
Higher tensile duct.
Higher toughness
Better LCF Life
Lower Crack Growth
transus -25 C > transus
Slide 28
Challenges of Titanium
Hydrogen Embrittlement
Brittle fracture at less than design load minimum
Caused by migration of occluded hydrogen to tensile stress concentration
Mitigation: designing chemical and thermal processes to prevent introduction of
hydrogen into titanium components
Anode drop in
Introduction of tungsten into the melt during non-consumable VAR
Mitigation: Consumable electrode VAR
Hot Salt Stress Corrosion
Alloys with high alpha phase content most susceptible
Mitigation: Avoid use of susceptible alloys at elevated temperatures
Alpha Case formation
Formation of brittle oxygen-rich surface layer
Mitigation: Heat treat titanium in vacuum or chemical mill after heat treatment to
remove the contaminated layer
Dwell Time Fatigue
Creep-fatigue interaction that substantially reduces fatigue life
Occurs at sustained (dwell) loads at relatively low temperatures (200C)
Susceptible alloys: Creep-resistant, forged alloys with highly textured alpha
phase
Mitigation: Modify thermo-mechanical processing to avoid textured alpha
phase microstructure
Slide 29
Melting Titanium
Molten titanium is very reactive
Cannot be melted in a VIM furnace
Reacts with refractory lining
Cannot be contained in metal crucibles
Melting and synthesis of titanium made practical arc melting in a water-
cooled copper crucible
Molten titanium is contained by a thin layer of titanium that solidifies on the
cooled copper walls
Infrequent undermining and spalling of tungsten non-consumable electrode
caused a Zone D defect
Abated by Radiographic inspection
Eventually eliminated by consumable electrode VAR
Electrode made from the material being melted
Cold Hearth Meltingan important new process technology
Increased residence time of the input material in the molten pool
Dissolving high interstitial defects (nitrogen, oxygen , or carbon- rich)
Trapping high density inclusions in the skull
Producing an ingot with minimum solute segregation
CHM is currently followed by a final VAR step to remove various process-
related conditions
Initial VAR melts are typically followed by 2 additional VAR melts, each done
under somewhat different processing conditions to provide additional refining
capability and to improve the macrostructure of the ingot
Slide 30
EBM (Electron Beam Cold Hearth Melting)
EBM (Electron Beam Cold Hearth Melting)
Electron Beam
Power Input
Ingot
Molten
Pool
Melting
Hearth
Refining
Hearth
Ingot
Being
Withdrawn
Acknowledgement:
THT patented hearth design
Slide 31
Challenges of Titanium
Type I Defect
High Density Inclusions--Stabilized hard, brittle particles
Result from reactivity of titanium: Titanium nitride, tungsten carbide
Mitigation: Cold Hearth Melting and Ultrasonic inspection
Type II Defect
Segregation of elements during solidification
Reduce fatigue life
Mitigation: Improved process control during melting & Ultrasonic inspection
Self-sustaining Titanium Fires
Fires ignited by high contact stress rub against a titanium structure
Occurs under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure, and high
mass flow
Mitigation
Coating titanium structure in susceptible regions to minimize effect of a rub
Development of improved burn-resistant alloys
Slide 32
Extrinsic Melt Related Defects
Extrinsic Melt Related Defects
High Density Inclusion
(W rich inclusion)
Hard Alpha
(N rich inclusion)
Investment Casting
Slide 34
Investment Casting
Casting found extensive application
Reduce manufacturing cycle time and cost
Acceptable quality and strength levels
Enabled design of components with:
Lower weight and part count
Eliminating welds and associated preps, inspections
Slide 35
Progress in Investment Casting
First application of a casting on a rotating part occurred in the 1950s
when a solid turbine airfoil was investment cast
Required processes to reduce casting defects that limited strength
Driving force for casting was increased complexity in airfoil design
Internal cooling air passages
Later, it was discovered that airfoils could be cast as single crystals
Improved casting of large structural components
Challenges
Maintaining thermodynamic stability of complex superalloys
Accommodating ductility trough (650C 760C ) during processing
Slide 36
Processing Advantage
GE90 Turbine
Rear Frame
Castability and Weldability of Alloy 718 enables
application of complex cast structures
Slide 37
Turbine Air Foil Casting Processes
Equiaxed (EQ) Dir. Sol. (DS) Single Xtal (SX)
Slide 38
Complexity of Airfoil Castings
Slide 39
Thermal Barrier Coatings
Key TBC Features:
Columnar structure in top coat for spall resistance
Oxidation resistant and adherent bond coat
Bond coat compatible with alloy substrate
Ceramic
top coat
Bond coat
Turbine blade
Hot Gas
Forging
Slide 41
Progress in Forging
Evolution from hammer forging to press forging
Enabled forging of large, complex shapes (Disks)
Part-to-Part uniformity of properties
Isothermal forging (Superplastic)
High strength superalloy powder billets
Eliminate strain-induced cracking
Clean powder
Molybdenum TZM die material
Controlled slow strain rate forging
Slide 42
Ladish 10,000 Ton Isothermal Press
High Reliability
Slide 44
Elements of High Reliability
Non Destructive Evaluation
Locate defects
Surface NDE Methods
Visual, Smoothness, Replication, Dye Penetrant
Near-Surface NDE Methods
Eddy current, Magnetic particle
Sub-surface NDE Methods
Radiography, Ultrasonic
Life Prediction
Estimate component life based on aircraft engine mission profile and
material damage mechanisms
Low cycle fatigue, thermal fatigue, oxidation, hot corrosion, inter-
diffusion, creep, plus interactions of these mechanisms
Premium Quality Melting
Multiple melting steps required to eliminate defects
Reproducible properties require defect-free metal
Slide 45
Premium Quality Melting of Nickel Alloys
VIM
ESR VAR
Remove
Inclusions
Control
Macrostructure
Formulate
Composition
Triple Melt Key for High Reliability Components
Slide 46
Premium Quality Melting of Titanium Alloys
CHM VAR
-Dissolve High Interstitial Defects
-Trap High Density Inclusions
-Minimize Solute Segregation
Remove Various
Process-related
Conditions
USE of NICKEL in AEROENGINES
Slide 48
Alloy 718 Introduction
1950s
Turbine manufacturers primarily relied upon:
Precipitation-strengthened stainless steels (i.e., A286)
strengthened Ni-base superalloy, such as Ren 41
Late 1950's
Reached limits of the stainless steels
Fabrication limits of Ren 41
1960
Huntington Alloys-INCO introduced Alloy 718
Significantly improved ease of manufacture
Mechanical properties that approach Ren 41
Interest from several GE engine programs
Slide 49
Material Usage
Relative Input Weights For a CF6 Engines
Al-base
8%
CF6 Material By Finished Weight
718
34%
Other Ni-base
13%
Ti
25%
Fe-base
16%
Powder
0%
Composites
4%
Forging
82%
Sheet
12%
Cast
6%
CF6 Material By Form
Slide 50
Metals Used in All Forgings for CY 2000
Alloy 718
56%
Other Ni
18%
PM
5%
Titanium
9%
Aluminum
5%
Fe-base
6%
Co-base
1%
Alloy 718 represents 56%
of the forgings at GEAE
Future Directions, Summary and Take
Aways
Slide 52
Large Fan Blades
Hollow Ti and PMCs in use
Necessary for large engines
Both presently in service
New PMCs make this possible
PMCs gain benefit with size
Both expensive to make
Life cycle costs may differ
Both different than solid blades
Neither Technology
Possible 15 Years Ago
Slide 53
Composite and Titanium Fan Ducts
Composite
Ti alloy
Composite Duct
Carbon fiber + PMR15
Filament wound Tow-preg
Wt: 23% less than Ti
Cost: 28% less than Ti
Ti Duct
Ti-6Al-4V
Wrapped & welded
Chemical milled grid
New Manufacturing Technology Makes PMC Ducts Attractive
Slide 54
Future Directions to Improve M&P
Alloy development
Disk alloys
Higher T capability, better damage tolerance
E.G., alloy with more temperature capability than 718
Turbine blade alloys
Higher T capability
Layered structures, hybridized components
Processing
Reduce variation in processing
Closer marriage of materials and process technology
Improved process control to eliminate rework and scrap
Reduced cost
Slide 55
Typical Development Times for Materials
I. Modification of an existing material for a non-critical component
Approximately 2-3 years
II. Modification of an existing material for a critical structural component
Up to 4 years
III. New material within a system that we already have experience
Up to 10 years
Includes time to define the chemistry and the processing details
IV. New material class
Up to 20 years, and beyond
Includes the time to
Develop design practices that fully exploit the performance of the material
Establish a viable industrial base
GRAND CHALLENGE
Drastically Reduce Development Times for New Materials
While Reducing Risk!
Slide 56
Fundamental Challenge
How can the Materials Community best
contribute to achieving an improved aero-engine
in a timely way
New Materials
Development
Business Need Risk
Development Cost
Technical Maturity
Slide 57
Vision
Today Future
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Evolutionary Materials
Advanced Materials
Slide 60
Summary
Materials have enabled progress in aero-engines
Materials and Design engineers have both benefited from
ongoing game of leapfrog
High introductory cost of new M&P offset by compelling
customer benefit
Continuing challenge of exceptionally deleterious
defects occurring at very low frequencies
Significantly influences M&P development of high integrity
structural materials
Slide 61
Summary
Each gain in an alloy property is often tempered by a
corresponding debit
Material property trade-offs
Materials modeling and simulation will revolutionize
materials development
Not just a matter of doing fasterdoing it much better
Still Lots of Exciting Materials Challenges!!!
Slide 62
Take Aways
Sprague Laws
1. The first information you hear about a new material
Usually its the best thing youll ever hear about it
2. Any fool can melt it
Getting it to solidify properly is what counts
3. Materials scientists still believe that microstructure
controls properties
Materials engineers understand that defects actually
control the usable properties