Siemens metal additively manufactured gas turbine blades recognised by ASME
January 8, 2018
Siemens has received an award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for technological achievement with its first successfully metal additively manufactured and fully tested gas turbine blades (Courtesy Siemens)
Siemens has received an award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for technological achievement with its first successfully metal additively manufactured and fully tested gas turbine blades. Run by Mechanical Engineering magazine, the Emerging Technology Awards are the ASME’s first ever such awards, and recognise future-focused technologies, new products and processes entering commercialisation and which are expected to have a significant impact on industry.
The ASME selected the winning technologies from each of five focus areas: advanced manufacturing, automation and robotics, bioengineering, clean energy and pressure technology. Speaking on Siemens’ award, Charla K Wise, ASME President, stated, “The 3D-printed turbine blade places Siemens at the forefront of a technology trend that is spurring a global revolution in product design and production. Mechanical Engineering magazine is pleased to present one of the five Emerging Technology Awards to a leader in manufacturing, and we thank the design team on the 3D-printed blade for advancing technology excellence.”
Earlier this year, Siemens successfully completed its first full-load engine tests for the gas turbine blades, which are produced entirely by metal Additive Manufacturing. During testing, the company successfully validated multiple AM turbine blades with a conventional blade design at full engine conditions, i.e. 13,000 revolutions per minute at temperatures above 1,250 °C. Furthermore, Siemens tested a new AM blade design with a completely revised and improved internal cooling geometry.
“We are especially proud to be honoured by such a recognised organisation as ASME,” commented Jenny Nilsson, who led the team that realised the blade project. “The project objective was to try out and map this radical new way of working. The outcome is another confirmation that we are on the right path toward further improvements of our gas turbine technology.”
The gas turbine blades were manufactured at the Siemens Additive Manufacturing facility in Finspong, Sweden and at the recently acquired Materials Solutions facility in Worcester, UK. This is the third award for this project, following the International 3D Printing Industry Award and the internal Werner von Siemens Award.
