Anti-wear coatings for aerospace improves parts lifetime
by a factor of 600

In collaboration with CRIAQ and NanoQuébec.
Industrial partners : Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bell Helicopter Textron, MDS PRAD.
Academic partners: J. Sapieha et L. Martinu (École Polytechnique), J. Szpunar (McGill University), François Gitzhofer (Université de Sherbrooke), Mariusz Bielawski (IAR-SMPL)

Issue

Many airplanes and helicopter components such as compressor blades, motor diffusers and helicopter blades work in highly erosive, abrasive and corrosive environments. The relatively low resistance to erosion of the materials currently used for these components leads to high maintenance costs and important challenges in terms of reliability and security.

Achievements

We develop protective coatings whose physical properties like hardness, elastic module, toughness, adhesion and resistance to erosion can be controlled in order to fulfill specific technological needs. The design of the architecture of the protective coatings is an essential step of this project. Significant efforts are also put into the design of in situ diagnostic techniques during deposition to ensure the reproducible fabrication of these very complex coatings whose thickness and composition must be rigorously controlled. The industrial partners are involved in every step of the project, from the objectives definition, to the evaluation of the performance of coatings and the technological transfer. These anti-wear coatings increase the parts lifetime by a factor of 600, with respect to uncoated parts, while the anti-erosion coatings increase the lifetime by a factor of 20.

Equipment used

Fabrication of coatings by PVD and PECVD techniques ; characterization of coatings by SEM, AFM, XPS, ERD-TOF, RBS, Raman spectrometry and analysis of the tribomechanical properties of materials (adhesion, nanoindentation, scratch, wear, erosion, corrosion).

Corrosion on an electrical plug

Montreal-based Mabe Canada, where 90% of the dryers sold by GE in North America are produced, chose the GCM for an analysis in order to solve a commercial disagreement with a supplier. Mabe Canada received electrical cables from its supplier, whose plugs showed rust marks. The supplier claimed that the failure occurred during transit and that the responsibility therefore fell on Mabe Canada. The analysis by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), carried out by the GCM, revealed that the rusted areas contained significant amounts of copper carbonate, a compound that can only be formed at more than 500 0C. Since the cables could not have been exposed to such high temperatures during transportation, it became clear that the problem occurred during manufacture. The GCM report was therefore used as a solid scientific basis for Mabe Canada to claim compensation from its supplier for their defective order.