REPAIR OF J-52 STRESS CONCENTRATION LOW CYCLE DAMAGE

USE OF THE PATENTED SPLIT SLEEVE COLD EXPANSION (CX) PROCESS, AND PROCESS VARIATIONS, WILL BE INVESTIGATED AS A MEANS TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF IN-SERIVCE J-52 COMPONENTS DAMAGED BY LOW CYCLE FATIGUE. THESE PROCESSES HAVE BEEN WIDELY USED FOR LIFE EXTENSION OF NEW AND IN-SERVICE AIRFRAME COMPONENTS BUT HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY EVALUATED FOR GAS TURBINE ENGINE APPLICATIONS. THIS PROGRAM WILL DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL FOR LIFE IMPROVEMENT, USING THESE TECHNIQUES, IN GEOMETRIES REPRESENTATIVE OF J-52 STRUCTURES. THESE INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, BOLT HOLES, BLADE ATTACHMENTS, CUTOUTS, AND SCALLOPS. IN GENERAL, THIS PHASE WILL USE TITANIUM 6AL-4V AS A BASE LINE MATERIAL, OPERATING AT TEMPERATURES FROM AMBIENT TO 550 DEG F. IF POSSIBLE, TESTS WILL BE PERFORMED USING J-52 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS.