TY - JOUR

T1 - A novel process chain for the automated repair of leading edges in aircraft engines

AU - Kenneweg, Robert

AU - Heide, Klaas Maximilian

AU - Böß, Volker

AU - Denkena, Berend

AU - Westermann, Hans Henrik

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the financial support within the transfer project “Automated re-contouring of fan blades” of the Collaborative Research Center 871: Regeneration of complex capital goods. Further thanks are extended to the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture (MWK) for funding the MOBILISE - PL5 “Regeneration of Moulding Tools for Mass-Suitable Lightweight Design”. In addition, the authors thank the Sieglinde Vollmer Foundation for supporting this research. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, 119193472 and Niedersächsische Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, Mobilise PL-5.

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - Due to impacts and constant stress, the leading edges of aircraft engine blades often lose their shape, while the other parts of the blade are still functional. This results in unnecessary performance losses. Currently, there is no method for a fast and effective repair process as the initial shape of the blade cannot be restored. This paper presents an automated re-contouring process chain for leading edges without prior material application. Thus, it is a sustainable approach to extend the lifespan until an energy-consuming welding process can be performed. It consists of an in-machine scanning process to obtain information about the worn shape, a subsequent target model generation based on the worn shape, and an automated process planning. The process chain is evaluated using a universal, leading edge workpiece. The results show that the target requirements for shape and smoothness are fulfilled.

AB - Due to impacts and constant stress, the leading edges of aircraft engine blades often lose their shape, while the other parts of the blade are still functional. This results in unnecessary performance losses. Currently, there is no method for a fast and effective repair process as the initial shape of the blade cannot be restored. This paper presents an automated re-contouring process chain for leading edges without prior material application. Thus, it is a sustainable approach to extend the lifespan until an energy-consuming welding process can be performed. It consists of an in-machine scanning process to obtain information about the worn shape, a subsequent target model generation based on the worn shape, and an automated process planning. The process chain is evaluated using a universal, leading edge workpiece. The results show that the target requirements for shape and smoothness are fulfilled.

KW - Adaptive manufacturing

KW - Automation

KW - In-process measurement

KW - Maintenance

KW - Manufacturing system

KW - Sensor

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183428089&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s11740-023-01233-3

DO - 10.1007/s11740-023-01233-3

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85183428089

VL - 18

SP - 483

EP - 496

JO - Production Engineering

JF - Production Engineering

SN - 0944-6524

IS - 3-4

ER -