Suitableness of SLM Manufactured Turbine Blade for Aerodynamical Tests.

This paper describes some insights on applicability of a Selective Laser Melting and Direct Metal Laser Sintering technology-manufactured turbine blade models for aerodynamic tests in a wind tunnel. The principal idea behind this research was to assess the possibilities of using 'raw' DLMS printed turbine blade models for gas-flow experiments. The actual blade, manufactured using the DLMS technology, is assessed in terms of surface quality (roughness), geometrical shape and size (outline), quality of counterbores and quality of small diameter holes. The results are evaluated for the experimental aerodynamics standpoint. This field of application imposes requirements that have not yet been described in the literature. The experimental outcomes prove the surface quality does not suffice to conduct quantitative experiments. The holes that are necessary for pressure measurements in wind tunnel experiments cannot be reduced below 1 mm in diameter. The dimensional discrepancies are on the level beyond acceptable. Additionally, the problem of 'reversed tolerance', with the material building up and distorting the design, is visible in elements printed with the DLMS technology. The results indicate the necessity of post-machining of the printed elements prior their experimental usage, as their features in the 'as fabricated' state significantly disturb the flow conditions.

Influence of Holes Manufacture Technology on Perforated Plate Aerodynamics.

Transpiration flow is a very important and still open subject in many technical applications. Perforated walls are useful for the purpose of "flow control", as well as for the cooling of walls and blades (effusive cooling) in gas turbines. We are still not able to include large numbers of holes in the numerical calculations and therefore we need physical models. Problems are related also to the quality of the holes in perforated plates. The present transpiration analysis concerns with experimental investigations of the air flow through perforated plates with microholes of 125 and 300 µm diameters. A good accordance of the results with other experiments, simulations and theory was obtained. The received results very clearly show that technology manufacturing of plate holes influences on their aerodynamic characteristics. It turned out that the quality of the plate microholes using laser technology and, consequently, the shape of the hole, can affect the flow losses. Therefore, this effect was investigated and the flow characteristics in both directions were measured, i.e., for two plate settings.