Material and Process Impact on Aircraft Engine Designs of the 1990’s

For at least the next decade, as in the recent past, the materials and process area will assume a major role in the advancement of the propulsion gas turbine industry. The selection of promising material and process technologies, with highest payoff at lowest technical and financial risk, is a major challenge. Technology development programs undertaken in the laboratory are selected, based on design needs, compatibility with payoffs in specific and generic applications, and facilities requirements. Advanced materials and process technology efforts for exploitation include directional superalloys for turbine airfoils, clean superalloy blisk/disk materials, gas path seals for clearance control, thermal barrier coatings for airfoils and hybrid structures, composite materials, and rapidly solidified plasma deposited structures. These developments will contribute significantly to the major thrusts of performance improvement, weight reduction, reliability and life extension, and reduced initial ownership cost.