Jet engines, essential for both commercial and military aviation, operate under extreme conditions, making their repair particularly challenging—especially for high-temperature parts made from materials like IN-100 superalloy. However, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have made significant advancements in repair processes, earning them the top paper of the 2023 award from Welding Journal.
According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory website, the paper addressed a major challenge in aerospace: preventing cracks during repairs of high-g' IN-100 superalloy, a metal used in jet engine hot sections exposed to extreme pressure and heat. According to Yousub Lee, a computational material scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, "It was a huge issue to control simultaneously pre-heat temperature, manufacturing conditions and thermally induced residual stresses to prevent the susceptibility of cracking in high g’ IN-100 superalloy."
At the 2024 FABTECH show in Orlando on October 15, the ORNL team, including former scientist Niyanth Sridharan (now at Lincoln Electric India), Yousub Lee, and Brian Jordan, received the Warren F. Savage Memorial Award from the American Welding Society. This prestigious honor emphasizes the importance of their research into laser-blown powder direct energy deposition, a type of additive manufacturing used in aerospace repairs.
The researchers found that precisely controlling thermally induced stresses and preheating temperature before repairs can significantly reduce cracks. In partnership with Delta Airlines, they tested this approach and saw positive results. "We want to extend this to more complex geometries and actual application to help aerospace industries or aerospace builds," Lee said in a statement mentioned in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory website. Their work offers practical solutions that could revolutionize aviation maintenance.
The research was conducted at the ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office and managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. This collaboration helps address major technological challenges, advancing both academic knowledge and industry practices in aviation repair.
