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.