Airfoils
REM has a long history of providing polishing processes for airfoils (compressor blades, etc.), integrally bladed rotors (IBRs), and blisks in the Power Generation, Industrial, and Aerospace industries. REM’s isotropic superfinishing technology (ISF® Process) significantly extends component life, increases resistance to stress corrosion cracking and improves laminar flow characteristics thereby minimizing airflow frictional and turbulence losses from stage to stage by airfoil planarization leading to increased turbine efficiency (demonstrated fuel efficiency increases of up to 1.4% in aircraft combustion sections). The ISF® Surface generated by REM’s technology has also been shown to significantly increase component cleanliness and to reduce the accumulation of deposits on airfoil surfaces, enabling more effective and complete wash-down operations. These benefits combine to produce a better more efficient turbine with lower maintenance costs and increased uptime availability. With rising petroleum prices, increasing power demands and the need to reduce carbon footprint, REM’s technology is a great option to apply to your airfoil applications.
Working with metal additive manufacturing on airfoil, blisk, or similar components? REM’s Extreme ISF® Process is ready to provide the same benefits as our ISF Process via solutions engineered to address the different challenges of metal AM components.
Some of the Many Benefits of the ISF Process for Airfoils and Blisks:
- Improved Laminar Flow Properties/Reduced Turbulence
- Increased Mass Air Flow Efficiency through the Compressor
- Increased Component Cleanliness
- Improved Wash-down Cycle Efficiency/Efficacy
- Increased Resistance to Corrosion
- Increased Resistance to Stress Corrosion Cracking
- Improved High Cycle Fatigue Performance/Increased Resistance to Dynamic or Bending Fatigue
- Value of fuel efficiency benefits increases proportionally with an increase in petroleum costs
- Reducing environmental carbon footprint with more efficient fuel combustion
Interested in learning more, ready to start a project, or have an application that you don’t see listed here? Contact us today to see how we can help solve your surface finishing/polishing needs.