A study on the practical application of repair development methods for aerospace components

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Description
In the industry of manufacturing, each gas turbine engine component begins in a raw state such as bar stock and is routed through manufacturing processes to define its final form before being installed on the engine. What is the follow-u

In the industry of manufacturing, each gas turbine engine component begins in a raw state such as bar stock and is routed through manufacturing processes to define its final form before being installed on the engine. What is the follow-up to this part? What happens when over time and usage it wears? Several factors have created a section of the manufacturing industry known as aftermarket to support the customer in their need for restoration and repair of their original product. Once a product has reached a wear factor or cycle limit that cannot be ignored, one of the options is to have it repaired to maintain use of the core. This research investigated the study into the creation and application of repair development methodology that can be utilized by current and new manufacturing engineers of the world. Those who have been in this field for some time will find the process thought provoking while the engineering students can develop a foundation of thinking to prepare for the common engineering problems they will be tasked to resolve. The examples, figures and tables are true issues of the industry though the data will have been changed due to proprietary factors. The results of the study reveals, under most scenarios, a solid process can be followed to proceed with the best options for repair based on the initial discrepancy. However, this methodology will not be a "catch-all" process but a guidance that will develop the proper thinking in evaluation of the repair options and the possible failure modes of each choice. As with any continuous improvement tool, further research is needed to test the applicability of this process in other fields.
Date Created
2013
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