Beyond the Gear: Materials & Processes for Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G Engines

Pratt & Whitney’s (P&W) PurePower^®  PW1000G family of engines encompasses six engine models powering five new commercial aircraft platforms. The PW1000G leverages revolutionary Geared Turbofan^TM (GTF) technology to deliver significant improvements in fuel consumption and noise reduction. Along with propulsive efficiency gains associated with gear technology, a broad range of new materials / processes technologies have been introduced to both leverage and build upon the GTF architecture. These include hybrid metallic fan blades, polymer matrix composite fan containment case, next generation powder metallurgy alloy disks and coverplates, gamma TiAl low pressure turbine blades, advanced steel alloy shaft, coatings for hot section components, and P&W’s initial additively manufactured components. These and other materials and processes advancements will be reviewed with an emphasis on the use of ICME (Integrated Computational Materials Engineering) tools to strengthen material definition, shorten development cycles, and reduce production transition risks.