Additive repairing for turbine blisk aerofoils

Aerospace components are susceptible to wear and damage over time due to the harsh operating
environments, which involve both high rotational speeds and high temperatures. Many of these
components reach their “end of life” stage prematurely due to our inability to repair them. This
problem is especially wasteful and uneconomic because such components, particularly turbine
blisks, use high-strength and high-cost Ni-based superalloys. Such material requires special tooling
and consumes a significant amount of energy during the original manufacturing process. Repairing
damaged aerofoils can save ~ 45% in terms of carbon footprint and ~ 36% of the total energy when
compared to replacement with a new aerofoil [1]. The energy and cost savings are much higher for
turbine blisks, where the whole blisk needs to be replaced even if a single aerofoil is damaged.