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That first time I saw a turbine blade after 5,000 hours vs a fresh one was wild
I was helping tear down a PT6 at a shop in Boise last month and the difference in blade erosion from just normal wear was way more than I expected - like a nub compared to a perfect curve. Has anyone else noticed certain engines that seem to hold up way better over time, or is it mostly just luck with how they were run?
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fiona_sullivan2918d ago
Man I used to think blade wear was just a function of time and not much else, but seeing how consistent water washing keeps those leading edges intact totally flipped my thinking. The TPE331 point makes sense too since the flow path might just be gentler on the metal in gritty air. Guess it really comes down to how you treat the engine more than just luck or the part itself.
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Man that PT6 comparison sounds brutal, first time I saw a worn set of compressor blades off a old Cessna Caravan engine I almost didn't believe they were the same part. The leading edges were just gone, like someone took a belt sander to them for a few thousand miles. I've noticed the Garrett TPE331 engines seem to hold up a little better in dusty environments, maybe because of how the air flows through them or the material they use. But honestly a lot of it is luck with how the plane was operated, hot starts and hard landings can really trash things fast. A friend of mine swears by doing a water wash every 50 hours on his King Air and his blades looked way better at 4000 hours than some I've seen at 2000. It's just one of those things that really hits you when you see them side by side like that.
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