Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) have higher temperature durability and lower density property compared to nickel-based super-alloys which so far have been widely applied to hot section components of aero-engines/gas turbines. One of promising CMC systems, SiC–SiC CMC is able to sustain its mechanical property at higher temperature, though it inherently needs environmental barrier coating (EBC) to avoid oxidation. There are several requirements for EBC. One of such critical requirements is its resistance to particle erosion, whereas this subject has not been well investigated in the past. The present work presents the results of a combined experimental and numerical research to evaluate the erosion characteristics of CMC + EBC material developed by IHI. First, experiments were carried out in an erosion test facility using 50 μm diameter silica as erosion media under typical engine conditions with velocity of 225 m/s, temperature of 1311 K, and impingement angles of 30, 60, and 80 deg. The data displayed brittle erosion mode in that the erosion rate increased with impact angles. Also, it was verified that a typical erosion model, Neilson–Gilchrist model, can reproduce the experimental behavior fairly well if its model constants were properly determined. The numerical method solving particle-laden flow was then applied with the tuned erosion model to compute three dimensional flow field, particle trajectories, and erosion profile around a generic turbine airfoil to assess the erosion characteristics of the proposed CMC + EBC material when applied to airfoil. The trajectories indicated that the particles primarily impacted the airfoil leading edge and the pressure surface. Surface erosion patterns were predicted based on the calculated trajectories and the experimentally based erosion characteristics.

Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) have higher temperature capability and lower density than nickel based alloys which have been used for hot section components of gas turbine engines. These properties are expected to bring many benefits, such as higher turbine inlet temperature (TIT), reduction of cooling air, and reduction of weight, when it is used as the material for hot section components of gas turbine engine. The authors have been developing CMC turbine vane for aircraft engines. In this paper, the authors present the summary of design, manufacturing, and testing, which were conducted from 2010 to 2012. The purpose of this work was to verify that the SiC-SiC CMC which IHI has developed has the applicability to aircraft turbine vanes. The concept was planned for CMC hollow turbine vanes, in which the airfoil and the platform are fabricated in CVI process. As the demonstration of this concept, the first stage turbine vane was designed with CMC for IHI IM270 that is the 2MW-class small industrial gas turbine engine. Bending rig test was conducted at room temperature in order to check the structural feasibility of the airfoil-platform joint. The outer platform of vane was fixed in the same way with the engine parts, and the load simulating the aerodynamic force was applied at the airfoil portion. The fracture load was higher than the load which the vanes receive in the actual engine. Burner rig test was conducted in order to check the durability against thermal cycle. A CMC vane was set between dummy metal vanes, and cyclically heated by gas burner. The maximum airfoil surface temperature was set to 1200 degree C, and the maximum temperature difference between airfoil and platform was about 700 degree C. The minimum airfoil temperature at the interval of heating was about 300 degree C. The time of one thermal cycle was 6 minutes that consisted of 3 minute heating and 3 minute natural cooling. The test was conducted for 1,000 cycles. In post-test inspection there was no defect like a crack. Engine test for CMC vanes was conducted using IHI IM270. The four CMC vanes were mounted into the first stage turbine nozzle assembly in place of the normal metal vanes. The test was conducted for 400 hours. The inlet temperature of CMC vanes were measured by thermocouples installed at the leading edge, and the measured temperature was about 1050 degree C at the steady state. From this work, the applicability of the design concept for the CMC vane to actual engine was verified in which airfoil-platform are fabricated in CVI process.

Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) have higher temperature durability and lower density property compared to nickel-based super-alloys which so far have been widely applied to hot section components of aero-engines / gas turbines. One of promising CMC systems, SiC-SiC CMC is able to sustain its mechanical property at higher temperature, though it inherently needs environmental barrier coating (EBC) to avoid oxidation. There are several requirements for EBC. One of such critical requirements is its resistance to particle erosion, whereas this subject hasn’t been well investigated in the past. The present work presents the results of a combined experimental and numerical research to evaluate the erosion characteristics of CMC+EBC material developed by IHI. First, experiments were carried out in an erosion test facility using 50 micron diameter silica as erosion media under typical engine conditions with velocity of 225 m/s, temperature of 1311 K, and impingement angles of 30, 60, and 80deg. The data displayed brittle erosion mode in that the erosion rate increased with impact angles. Next, multi-phase flow simulations were carried out for the experimental setup and the predicted erosion rates were compared with the measured data, and consequently, the applied numerical method was verified. The validated numerical method was then applied to compute three dimensional flow field, particle trajectories, and erosion profile around a generic turbine airfoil to assess the erosion characteristics of the proposed CMC+EBC material when applied to airfoil. The trajectories indicated that the particles primarily impacted the airfoil leading edge and the pressure surface. Surface erosion patterns were predicted based on the calculated trajectories and the experimentally-based erosion characteristics.

Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) has better durability at high temperature and lower material density, as compared to nickel-based super-alloys which have been the standard material for hot section components of aero-engines. Among the CMC materials, SiC-SiC CMC is especially promising with its superior mechanical property at higher temperature. It, however, inevitably needs environmental barrier coating (EBC) to protect the substrate against oxidation. The EBC also needs to have other functions and to meet various requirements. One such very critical requirement is the resistance to sand erosion, although the issue hasn’t been investigated well so far. The primary contribution of this work is to reveal the erosion resistance of the CMC+EBC material with wind tunnel test data of good quality and to demonstrate what erosion behavior the material exhibits in turbine cascade under particle-laden hot gas stream. In the present work, erosion tests were first carried out in a testing facility with erosion media of 50 microns silica sand. The tests were conducted under flow velocity of 225 m/s and temperature of 1311 K to simulate typical aero-engine conditions and impact angles of 30, 60, and 80deg were investigated. The obtained data showed a typical brittle erosion mode, where the erosion rate had a positive dependence on the impact angles. A typical erosion model, Neilson-Gilchrist model, was applied to correlate the data and the model was shown to have a good agreement with the experimental data once it was properly calibrated. Then, the numerical computation solving particle-laden flow was carried out to predict three dimensional flow field and particle trajectories across the target turbine cascade. The erosion profile along the airfoil was calculated based on the obtained trajectories and the calibrated erosion model. The trajectories showed that the particles mostly impinged the airfoil pressure surface first and then the rebounded particles attacked the opposite suction surface as well. Accordingly, the predicted erosion profile showed a broad erosion band across the pressure surface and also some slight erosion peak at around the mid-chord of the suction surface.