Ceramic Matrix Turbine Blades

A turbine blade is the individual component which makes up the turbine section of a gas turbine or steam turbine the blades are responsible for extracting energy from the high temperature high pressure gas produced by the combustor the turbine blades are often the limiting component of gas turbines.

Ceramic matrix turbine blades.

They are tough lightweight and capable of withstanding temperatures 300 400 degrees f hotter than metal alloys can endure. Because of the complex shape of stator vanes and turbine blades the development was first focused on the combustion chamber. A particular problem is the brittleness of cmcs which means that tensile stresses in the joint must. Cmcs are used in high temperature applications such as turbine blades piston engine valves and turbo charger components.

If certain components were made with cmcs instead of metal alloys the turbine engines of aircraft and power plants could operate more. Concrete for example is a primitive but simple example of a composite. It may be necessary to join cmcs to themselves or to a metal fernie et al 1991. Cincinnati oh february 10 2015 ge aviation successfully tested the world s first non static set of light weight ceramic matrix composite cmc parts by running rotating low pressure turbine blades in a f414 turbofan demonstrator engine designed to further validate the heat resistant material for high stress operation in ge s next generation adaptive engine technology.

They consist of ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix. The turbine blades have had a ceramic thermal barrier coating applied and now we install them into the j47 engine which will be installed in an f86 f sabre. Ge aviation is creating adjacent factories in huntsville alabama to mass produce silicon carbide sic materials used to manufacture ceramic matrix composi. 6 joining ceramic matrix composites.

Airfoil member and the platform member may be bonded together by an adhesive 20 after being fully cured. Next generation ceramic matrix composites cmcs are being developed for future applications such as turbine blades top left these may use new technologies such as water like polymers that can be processed into 1700 c capable low density ceramics bottom or nanofibers grown onto silicon carbide sic reinforcing fibers for increased toughness top right. Some of them are covered with a special yellow environmental coating. A ceramic matrix composite material cmc vane for a gas turbine engine wherein the airfoil member 12 and the platform member 14 are formed separately and are then bonded together to form an integral vane component 10.

To survive in this difficult environment turbine blades often use exotic materials like. The advent s low pressure turbine with blades from cmcs.