Materials for Gas Turbine Engines: Present Status, Future Trends and Indigenous Efforts

Gas turbine engines ingest air from the ambient atmosphere and produce power using the energy of the combustion products of the highly compressed air for generation of electricity, pumping natural gases, powering ships and propelling aircrafts. The device consists of a large number of components manufactured using atleast twenty five different alloy grades to meet the performance requirements under highly demanding operating conditions. The material selection during mechanical design of the system demands consideration of various complex damage mechanisms experienced in service. This necessitated development and production of high quality material systems. Remarkable improvement in the engine performance over the years was possible due to a continuous evolution in materials and associated technologies. The demand in the availability of the suitable materials to achieve the targeted performance of the engines yielded improved alloy systems (steel, titanium alloys and superalloys), melting practices (air melt to vacuum induction melting), wrought forming and casting technologies. Composites, intermetallic and several new material systems are also being explored and some of them are successfully inducted into the application. This paper captures the material requirements in a gas turbine engine along with global and national efforts in establishing the technologies for materials in the system.