P. S. Prevéy, N. Jayaraman, D. Hornbach, Lambda Research, Cincinnati, OH; R. A. Ravindranath, NAVAIR-Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD
The deep stable layer of compressive residual stress produced by low plasticity burnishing LPB has been demonstrated in laboratory coupons to improve the damage tolerance in engine alloys IN718, Ti-6Al-4V, and 17-4PH. This paper describes the fatigue and FOD tolerance benefits of application of LPB to produce through-thickness compression in the leading edge of a Ti-6Al-4V first stage fan blade and a static vane. Blades and vanes removed from fielded engines were LPB processed to protect the leading edge of the blade and the trailing edge of the vane. Both components were fatigue tested in cantilever bending mode at R>0 using specially designed test fixtures. FOD was simulated with machined notches for the blade and electrical discharge machined (EDM) notches for the vane. Because of limitations imposed by the vane geometry, fatigue testing at R=-1, to simulate the static vane loading, was performed using vane-edge feature samples machined to the trailing edge geometry. Residual stress and cold work distributions were measured using x-ray diffraction mapping techniques.
LPB produced a zone of nominally –100 ksi through-thickness compression in the leading edge of the blade and trailing edge of the vane. The HCF performance with FOD up to 0.10 in. deep was tested. The HCF strength for LPB processed blades was 125 ksi without FOD, and equal or greater than the as-received blades for FOD up to 0.050 in. deep - an order of magnitude improvement in damage tolerance. For both vanes and vane simulation specimens with 0.020 in. deep FOD, the HCF strength after LPB was over 4 times higher than the unprocessed counterparts. The HCF performance was largely unaffected by FOD up to 0.030 in. deep. If the traditional design criterion of Kt = 3 is used, both the LPB processed blade and vane could be considered tolerant of even 0.10 in. deep FOD.
Linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis including the residual stress fields confirms the HCF and FOD performance and the minimal effect of stress ratio, R, in the presence of high residual compression. A novel approach for determining the residual stress field design to provide a desired fatigue life and FOD tolerance is introduced.