Blown powder repair of aerospace applications

The PhD project will look at the feasibility of Material Addition (MA) for repairs in alloy systems that may be considered by Rolls-Royce for different repair applications using a new machine which will be installed at the University of Sheffield. By integrating with the teams at Sheffield and Rolls-Royce, the student will need to become familiar with the blown powder process and the different processing variables such as laser power, laser trave speed, powderparticle size and layer height. Part of the studies will be to use optical microscopy and the installed Clemex software to characterise the powders used for the process for size distribution, morphology and porosity. By a systematic study of the effects of varying the Materials Addition parameters, the student will be able to look at the effects of different processing variables on the resulting microstructures of a given alloy type. By creating simple geometry depositions and understanding the processing parameter f microstructure property relationships and interactions, an initial assessment of the processing range will be established. Using the initial work as a guide, repairs of more complex geometries that are closer to the application will be assessed. The effects of postprocessing of the MA will also be considered as an important part of the investigation. The parts and alloys could extend across aeroengine casings, fans, compressors, combustors and turbines, all with different operating environments.