Aero-engine turbine blade life assessment using the Neu/Sehitoglu damage model

• An integrated life assessment method for of aero turbine blades is applied.
• The method combines engine performance, turbine blade sizing/heat transfer and FEA.
• Using Neu/Sehitoglu TMF model, oxidation effect is the most critical to blade life.
• We find the blade coolant side is most critically affected by TMF.
• We find oxidation phasing is sensitive in addition to earlier reported constants.

Suitable models and software were integrated to provide a life assessment tool for aero jet engine blades. The approach combines aircraft and engine performance, turbine blade sizing, heat transfer, finite element analysis (FEA), and thermo-mechanical fatigue life assessment (TMF) using the Neu/Sehitoglu (N/S) TMF model. For a typical medium range flight mission, we find that the environmental (oxidation) effect drives the TMF blade life and the blade coolant side is identified as the critical location. Furthermore, a parametric and sensitivity study of the N/S model parameters suggests that in addition to four previously reported parameters, the sensitivity of the phasing to oxidation damage (ξev) could be critical to overall TMF life.