Quantifying the economic benefits of using erosion protective coatings in a low-pressure compressor (aero-engine): a case study evaluation

Gas turbine engines (GTEs) frequently operate in desert environments where the main components are exposed to erosive media such as sand and dust. In these circumstances, a crucial problem, particularly with compressor blades, is solid particle erosion (SPE). Positioned in the front of the GTE, the compressors suffer most from SPE in terms of inflicting damage on compressor hardware such as blades, decreasing the GTE’s working life and increasing fuel consumption, energy losses, and efficiency losses. Results obtained from Turbomatch, an in-house performance tool, showed that degraded compressors can experience increased turbine entry temperature (TET) and specific fuel consumption (SFC), which leads to a significant increase in the operating, maintenance and component replacement costs, in addition to fuel costs. Fitting erosion protective coatings (EPCs) is a conventional approach to reduce SPE of the compressor blades of aeroengines. Titanium nitride (TiN), applied via physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques, is often used to extend the life of compressor blades in erosive conditions. This paper reports the outcomes of a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of whether applying an EPC to the booster blades of an aeroengine is economically beneficial. The case study takes into account the available coatings potential of the market, in addition to all of the available technical data in the public domain regarding the compressor of the research engine. To identify the economic consequences of employing an EPC over the blades of a compressor, a CBA study was carried out by investigating consequent benefits and costs. The results indicate that under certain conditions the application of an EPC can be profitable.