Importance of the metal rhenium to aviation

Turbojet engine, turbine blade clearance between casing and wider, lower temperature before the turbine, turbine blades deformation under control at work, and by the turbofan engine, before the high pressure turbine turbine temperature is higher, in order to improve the efficiency of the tip clearance is smaller, the deformation of turbine blade problem is particularly prominent.

At this point, rhenium appears!

The advent of rhenium helps people to solve the problem that engine blades are prone to deformation under high temperature and high pressure, enabling people to go faster and farther on the road of flight.

As we all know, aero-engines need to be extremely stable and heat resistant during operation. In flight, its turbines and fans are subjected to extreme pressure and high temperatures.

At such high temperatures and pressures, engine blades are prone to creep, or, in plain English, deformation (usually lengthening). This will lead to several consequences: blade length and engine casing friction collision; The change of blade profile leads to the change of natural frequency and flutter. All these may lead to turbine blade fracture, blade flying out of the casing and damage, or even overspin and complete damage to the engine rotor system. Could ultimately compromise the safety of the aircraft.

Therefore, how to develop the engine blade with high heat resistance and high deformation resistance has become an important problem in front of the researchers of all countries. Rhenium, as a chemical element discovered by human beings, is also one of the elements with the highest melting point and boiling point in nature. It has a melting point of 3,180 degrees Celsius, second only to tungsten, which is currently the hardest to melt in nature. In the experiment, it is found that adding rhenium into the nickel alloy can significantly improve the creep strength of the superalloy, and can also resist deformation under long working time. Turbine engines can operate at higher temperatures thanks to engine blades made from rhenium-nickel alloys. This means that designers can improve the turbocharging ratio and thermal efficiency of the engine, allowing the newly developed engine to have more thrust. Aero engine is a whole project, not a single successful mass production of a single crystal blade can solve everything, but as the most core component of the engine, its importance to the aviation industry is beyond doubt.