Good morning #EUROAVIAns, in today’s Fact Friday we talk about turbine blades.
Efficiency is of great importance in the field of aerospace engineering. Efficiency decreases fuel usage, increases capacity and reduces environmental effects. A major part of an aircraft’s efficiency is the burning temperatures of the fuel.
A typical jet engine sucks in air, compresses it and spits it out again. In order for it to do this efficiently, engineers aim to get as high a temperature as possible inside the engine. A limiting factor to reach these high temperatures is the structure of the turbines, in particular the turbine blades. Since these break after repeated use at the extreme temperatures they’re exposed to.
A special method has been developed to achieve stronger and more durable blades. This method uses the crystalline structures of metals to create a monolithic structure. This means that the whole blade is created from one crystal. Having a single crystal makes that the structure lasts longer and resists higher temperatures. By using this technology, engineers hope to increase temperatures inside the jet engines to increase their performance.
Image poster: Steve Mann/shutterstock.com