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Knowledge transfer for the regeneration of aero-engines

Knowledge transfer for the regeneration of aero-engines

The repair of an aircraft engine is individual precision work - but can still be optimized. In a transfer project with MTU Maintenance Hannover, scientists at Leibniz Universität are putting new findings into practice. They draw on the results of the Collaborative Research Center 871 "Regeneration of Complex Capital Goods" at Leibniz Universität Hannover, which has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2010.

 At the beginning of 2019, the two-and-a-half-year project was launched, in which scientists from the Institute  of Production Engineering and Machine Tools (IFW) and development experts from MTU Maintenance Hannover will work together to transfer their findings on the automated recontouring of fan blades - the first series of engine blades - directly at MTU into a real-life scenario. As a transfer project, the project can build on almost ten years of research on this topic:

The Collaborative Research Center 871 "Regeneration of Complex Capital Goods" at Leibniz Universität Hannover, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), has been working intensively since 2010 on research into regeneration technologies and the development of new repair methods. It regards civil aircraft engines as a central application case because they are continuously checked for their technical functions, undergo a more extensive repair process in regular cycles, also known as regeneration, and are extraordinarily complex in design, construction and production.

Fan blades in particular influence the performance and efficiency of modern turbofan engines. Felix Rust, the IFW engineering scientist responsible for the project, outlines the challenge: "The fan blades must be very resistant. If they are nevertheless damaged - for example by bird strikes - the components must be replaced or repaired, because even the slightest damage reduces engine performance. Repair procedures play an increasingly important role here, also because of rising material and development costs."

The CRC 871 has already successfully transferred research into the regeneration of wind turbines into industrial practice. The current transfer project between IFW, which is involved in the CRC, and MTU Maintenance Hannover now deals with the automated reworking or recontouring of fan blades. In particular, it should take into account the aerodynamically optimal profile shape of the blades. This is a major challenge because each defective blade is unique and the milling path for recontouring must be adapted so that an optimum component shape is achieved while taking all interferences into account.

In the transfer project, therefore, many tests will be carried out on real components, while a digital image of the process will be developed in parallel using the IFW CutS simulation system. With the help of this system, each process can then be examined in detail and adapted to the individual component properties.

Professor Berend Denkena, head of IFW and president of WGP (Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Produktionstechnik - Scientific Society for Production Engineering), is anxious to anchor CO2 reduction and resource conservation as central topics in production. He summarizes the goal of the complex and not only in this respect worthwhile process: "In the end, the repaired fan blades should have better technical properties than before the damage."

Note to the editors:
For further information, please contact Felix Rust, Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Machine Tools, at +49 511 762 18069 or by e-mail at rust@ifw.uni-hannover.de gern zur Verfügung.

Published by PZH communications and public relations