Dust Erosion of Compressor Materials: Experience and Prospects

The replacement costs resulting from dust erosion of military and commercial gas turbine engines at present are excessive. Foreshortened operating life of gas turbines is reportedly costing the military services over $150,000,000 a year in the Southeast Asia operations alone. Similar experiences exist in many new applications of commercial gas turbines in this country. It is imperative, therefore, that more detailed understanding of dust erosion be generated and ways of minimizing engine performance degradation be demonstrated. Blade erosion can be diminished either by minimizing dust ingestion or by selecting materials with maximum dust erosion resistance. This paper discusses the prospects for improved dust erosion resistance of compressor materials.