Laser Peening: Cost Reduction

"The fatigue life of aircraft engine components such as turbine blades has been significantly increased by the application of laser peening. The cost of laser peening is decreasing as new technological advancements are implemented to the process. Theseadvancements include more robust laser systems that are easier to maintain than the previous generation lasers. New processing methods are being developed such as the RapidCoaterT system that automates the application of processing overlays and therebyincreases throughput and decreases processing labor. Additional reductions in processing costs are desired to decrease component cost and to promote widespread application of laser peening to lower cost components. This program will evaluate two specificlaser peening effects. These processing effects will be evaluated using specific processing methods that will increase the laser peening rate. These processing methods when applied with a low cost low maintenance laser system will lead to a significantreduction in the processing cost. The benefit of this program will be to provide new processing methods that, when combined with lower cost equipment, will reduce the cost of laser peening substantially. The new processing methods can be applied to allcomponents. This application includes components that are currently in production such as the 1st stage fan blades for the F110 engine for the Air Force. Other low cost parts, such as ge