Synchrotron Mesodiffraction: A Tool for Understanding Turbine Engine Foreign Object Damage

Aircraft turbine engines routinely experience the ingestion of debris resulting in “foreign object damage” or FOD. Failures associated with foreign object damage have been estimated to cost the aerospace industry $4 billion per year. Often, FOD does not lead to sudden catastrophic failure, yet such damage can dramatically reduce the lifetime of components subjected to cyclic fatigue stresses. Turbine blades, for example, are susceptible to debris strikes and also experience significant fatigue loading. The current study seeks to develop insight into the driving forces and predictability of fatigue failures induced by foreign object damage. Such insight can be used to improve existing design methodologies for turbine engine components and inspection regimens.