Coatings for Polymer Turbine Blades

Erosion-resistant coatings on high-temperature polymer matrix composites are of great interest for turbine blade applications. This study evaluates the erosion resistance of thermal spray coatings using conventional weight loss methods in order to compute net erosion volume loss and assess thermal cycling durability. During erosion tests, coated polymer composite coupons were subjected to runway sand and aluminum oxide erodent at different temperatures and angles of incidence. Erosion test data are reported along with the results of coated polymer matrix composite blades.