Production laser peening facility development

The lifetime of turbine engine airfoils is of major importance to the Air Force, commercial engine manufacturers, and commercial airlines. Foreign object damage (FOD) and high cycle fatigue are serious concerns because they can result in the destruction of the engine, loss of expensive aircraft, and loss of life. It is imperative that improvements be made in the design and fabrication of airfoils to limit the disastrous effects of FOD and high cycle fatigue. Laser preening has been shown to provide superior fatigue life enhancement, when compared to traditional shot preening. The primary objective of the proposed program is to demonstrate new, advanced laser preening techniques that may improve the effectiveness of the overall process on airfoils. LSP technologies is proposing to evaluate two possible improvements to traditional laser preening.