By Frank Brueckner, Mirko Riede, Thomas Finaske, André Seidel, Steffen Nowotny, Christoph Leyens, Eckhard Beyer
Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) is used for repair/redesign as well as for manufacturing of new parts. Thereby, wire or powder filler material is reabsorbed in the laser-induced melt pool resulting in a strong metallurgical bond with the subjacent substrate in combination with a low dilution. Among various applications, LMD is an attractive process for jet engines to improve performance and efficiency as well as to contribute to more sustainability. In addition to design methods, such an improvement can be realized by lightweight structures and high-performance materials. Figure 1 shows the specific strength as a function of the temperature of high-performance materials. Since PMC structures are very important in the first stages of a jet engine, TiAl, Ni-base superalloys as well as CMCs are more relevant in hot engine areas.