Turbine Wheel
Overview
Focus:
Super-Alloy CastingIndustry:
AerospaceDimensions (mm):
89.5 x 16.8Weight (g):
193.8Turbine
Vacuum Cast
X-Ray Tested
15-Year
Superalloy
Cost Efficient
A component used in the aerospace industry, this is a turbine wheel for a jet turbine. It coverts the kinetic energy from the exhaust gas into rotational energy of the shaft. We have been working with our client on this component since 2009. All the casting is done at our facility in Germany.
Concept Development
The customer came to us with drawings for a design they wanted to have casted. Working together with the customer, we refined these designs and made necessary adjustments to the blade thickness in order to enable the investment casting process.
Material Selection
For this turbine wheel we use superalloy 2.4676 MAR-M246. This is because the turbine needs to run at high temperatures of up to 700°C and at speeds of anywhere between 40,000 to 100,000 rpm.
Risk Identification & Simulation
We are able to simulate the castability of a design, which enables us to spot potential defects in the material caused by the solidification process before we go ahead with the casting. This could include changes to the casting systems (how the parts are attached to the tree).
With the turbine wheel, the simulation made it possible to investigate potential risks of pores and voids and ensure we could deal with those risks before going ahead with the casting. In all cases, our teams get together to identify and eliminate risks as much as possible before approving a design for production.
Manufacturing Processes
A vacuum casting process is used due to the kind of alloy required and the complex geometry of the component. We also utilise an automated wax assembly process to produce the component.
The primary difficulties when casting this part are the blades and the centre hub, which can be affected by leakage defects, porosities, voids and inclusions. The alloy used here is also relatively difficult to cast, so all of these things need to be taken into account during the manufacturing process. Texmo Blank has specialised certifications to ensure our manufacturing processes are stable and reliable.
Quality Control & Testing
When casting intricate components like turbine wheels, the wax prototypes are measured using a 3D scanner in order to take any dimensional deviations in the models into account ahead of the casting, enabling us to take countermeasures.
Our turbine wheels also undergo a series of quality control tests. The ceramic mould is checked, and cast parts are checked using x-ray, hardness measurement and dye penetrant crack testing.
Impact
The only viable alternative to the investment casting process Texmo Blank provided is fully machined production. However, the difficult and time-consuming mechanical processing is very expensive, therefore the cast version allowed the customer to make significant cost and time savings.
Get In Touch
We take pride in building successful, long-term relationships with our clients, because their reputation is our priority.
If that sounds like an investment castings partner you’d like to work with, you can book an introduction call with our friendly and knowledgeable New Relations Team — in a language and time zone to suit you.