Development of Corrosion/Erosion Resistant Coatings for Turbine Compression Systems

Erosion and corrosion of compressor blades and vanes have been critical degraders to the life of the gas turbine engine fleet for naval applications. Similar problems also exist for civilian aircraft engines. Protection of turbine compression systems hashistorically consisted of coating airfoil surfaces. New and advanced base material systems and advanced engine configurations are under development. Thus, new coating deposition techniques which can be applied without degrading advanced material systemsand engine configuration are required. UES, Inc. proposes to utilize a patented vacuum filtered arc based technology for coating application. The coating systems will be characterized in terms of their composition and corrosion/erosion performance.Based upon their performance ranking, coating(s) and coating process(s) will be identified for further development in Phase II. Successful completion of the project will provide demonstrated knowledge about the coatings and deposition technology for mitigating corrosion/erosion of advanced turbine compression systems of military as well as civilian aircraft. There is applicationpotential of coatings to a broad range of air, ship , automotive vehicles and in metal machining.