Title: Forming of AISI 409 sheets for fan blade manufacturing

Authors: Fernando D'Alessio Foroni, Lindolfo Araujo Moreira Filho, Miguel Angelo Menezes

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica, Brazil. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica, Brazil. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Ilha Solteira, Brazil

Abstract: The necessity for adapting the standardised fan models to conditions of higher temperature has emerged due to the growth of concerning with the consequences of the Mont Blanc tunnel accident where 41 people died. The objective of this work is to present an alternative to standard fans by considering a new manufacturing procedure for producing fan blades. Experimentation on prototypes combined with circle grid analysis allows concluding that during the sheet metal forming process the zones undergoing more deformation are still below the formability limits and, therefore, the new process can be successful utilised for producing fan blades.

Keywords: fan blades; sheet metal forming; experimentation; blade manufacturing; circle grid analysis; deformation; formability limits.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2008.020513

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2008 Vol.1 No.2/3, pp.295 - 304

Published online: 28 Sep 2008 *

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