A NON-MELT WELDING PROCESS TO REPAIR TITANIUM BLADES OF IBDS

ABSTRACT: Integrally bladed disks (IBDs) are extremely expensive componentry used in military turbine engines which receive foreign object damage to which there is not a proven certifiable repair process.Conventional fusion/melt welding processes affects the surrounding blade material with the fused/melted and heat effected material exhibiting reduced mechanical properties and adverse microstructure that reduces the critically important fatigue properties.A novel commercially demonstrated non-melting solid state process that super-plastically welds metals, which weld exhibits equiaxed homogenous superfine microstructures, which exhibit extraordinary superior mechanical properties to base wrought material shall be demonstrated to repair tips/edges of titanium alloy blades of IBDs.The non-melt welding process has been applied to titanium alloys exhibiting superior superfine microstructures that exhibited extraordinary high strengths up to 2GPa about 50% above the base wrought material.The non-melt solid state processing shall be uniquely optimized to repair tips/edges of simulated blades produced from titanium coupons.Mini-specimens from the repaired sections shall be mechanically tested to confirm the superior mechanical properties and microstructures of the repair as well as surrounding material.; BENEFIT: In addition to capturing 100% of repair for titanium IBDs, the non-melt process can be used to repair any titanium component as well as the processing extended to repair of any alloy and used in additive manufacturing