Vacuum plasma erosion resistant 2D nanocomposite coating Avinit for
compressor blades of gas turbine engines of aircraft engines
Abstract
The work is devoted to the search for new vacuum-plasma coatings with
high hardness to increase the durability of the compressor blades of the
GTE of aircraft engines Ti-Al-N-based vacuum-plasma coatings obtained by
Avinit technologies, which ensure the application of hard, high-quality
coatings with dramatically reduced micro-arc damage, were selected as
candidates. Avinit multilayer coatings have higher functional
characteristics than TiN (microhardness, crack resistance, temperature
resistance, erosion and corrosion resistance) and may be promising for
applying erosion-resistant coatings for compressor blades. Avinit
technologies are technologically closest to the vacuum-plasma
technologies used in industrial production for applying TiN protective
coatings. New multi-layered 2D nanocomposite wear-resistant ion-plasma
hard coatings Avinit (TiN-AlN)n have been developed. The created
software products made it possible to reach a qualitatively new level in
terms of further modification and improvement of the designs of Avinit
functional coatings, stability of technologies and improvement of their
quality control when applying such coatings for use in the production of
compressor blades of gas turbine engines of aircraft engines. Special
attention is paid to methods of preliminary ion-plasma treatment of
surfaces before coating. Metallographic studies of the chemical and
phase composition and structure of Avinit (TiN-AlN)n coatings have been
carried out. The thickness of the coatings is 7–9 μm, the microhardness
is 34–35 GPa (compared to the serially used TiN coating: 27.4 GPa). The
use of three-stage ion-plasma treatment in Avinit technologies using a
double vacuum-arc discharge followed by the application of strengthening
coatings in a single technological cycle eliminates the formation of
cracks and ensures the production of tightly bonded, high-quality
coatings of a given composition with the maximally reduced share of the
droplet component. The developed coatings (TiN-AlN)n were applied to
experimental batches of working compressor blades of GTE aircraft
engines for bench tests.