Burnishing Techniques Strengthen Hip Implants
- Created: Friday, 01 January 2010
When compressed air mixes with jet fuel and is ignited in a turbine engine, the temperature can reach 3,000 °F. As a result of this fiery exhaust, the turbine spins and then forces the air through the back of the engine, and the jet moves forward. While extremely hot air assists in propelling a plane, it can also take a toll on the turbine blades and propeller hubs.
An engine component’s lifespan is limited not only by heat, but also by general fatigue (weakening), corrosion, fretting fatigue (mechanical wear and oxidation that leads to cracking), and foreign object damage. Even a small amount of damage can cause a failure that can result in catastrophic consequences. Inspection and maintenance to avoid these failures in aerospace turbine engines is estimated to cost billions of dollars annually.
Techniques such as shot peening (impinging small steel spheres on a surface), laser shocking (using a laser to apply shock waves to a material), and deep-rolling (applying force by rolling a tool over the surface) are often used to apply compressive residual stress that actually boosts the strength of tough metal engine components.
In the 1990s, when NASA was looking for new and improved methods to increase the lifespan of engine components that undergo extreme temperatures and service, it found an alternative process called low plasticity burnishing (LPB), developed by Lambda Research Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Based on a series of studies on the thermal stability of a variety of surface treatments including shot peening and laser shocking, Lambda discovered that the more cold work (working of metal at room temperature) a material underwent, the less strength it retained when subjected to high temperatures. In developing LPB, Lambda used only a fraction of cold working, which increased the damage tolerance of materials and prevented cracking in components designed for high-temperature situations.
To demonstrate LPB in the hot sections of turbine engine metal components, NASA’s Glenn Research Center awarded Phase I and II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to Lambda in the late 1990s. Through these SBIRs, Lambda showed LPB to be an affordable means of producing a thermally stable deep layer of compressive residual stress in metallic components that remained stable at engine operating temperatures. LPB also increased the lifespan of components, doubled the endurance limit of components, halted existing cracks, and improved the fatigue performance of turbine alloys without altering the alloy or the design.
Performed by rolling a hydrostatic bearing tool over the surface of a specific part or piece, LPB allows an exact amount of force to create a desired layer of compression in one pass. By producing a repeatable and stable deep layer of compressive surface residual stress, metals become more resistant to corrosion, damage from foreign objects, and cracking.
“NASA gave us the initial opportunity to demonstrate LPB in an application that provided the new technology to the aircraft engine, ground-based turbine applications, and to aging aircraft. The initial NASA SBIR was also instrumental in supporting additional, more extensive funding that was available through the Department of Defense, primarily with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and some with the Air Force, which has led to the introduction of LPB into commercial aircraft, now with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” says Paul Prevéy, CEO of Lambda Technologies Group.
Prior to completing its work with NASA, Lambda patented the LPB process and created a spinoff company, Surface Enhancement Technologies LLC, to market LPB. In 2010, LPB earned recognition as one of the “R&D 100” (a list of the top 100 inventions of the year), granted by R&D Magazine.