Multi-factor analysis and simulation of particle erosion characteristics of fan blades

The erosion of fan blades by particles such as sand and dust poses a significant threat to flight safety. In the present paper, the particle erosion characteristics of fan/compressor stage blades of a high bypass ratio turbofan engine subjected to sand and dust conditions were investigated in the Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. The effects of particle size, concentration, and shape factor coefficient on the erosion were analyzed. The results indicate that small particles exhibit a relatively wide erosion range but the erosion is comparatively less severe. By comparison, large particles demonstrate a relatively small erosion range, but more severe erosion. As the concentration increases, the erosion rate increases significantly while the erosion area remains relatively unchanged. For every increment of 10 mg/m³ in the concentration, the blades’ wear rate increases by about 1.35 × 10^–8 kg/s. As the shape factor coefficient decreases, the following performance of particles weakens, yielding a variation trend of the erosion pattern similar to that observed with increasing particle size. In particular, compared to spherical particles, when the shape factor coefficient is 0.4, there is a mild increase of approximately 0.41% in the number of particles impinging on the fan blade surface and a considerable increase of 13% in the wear rate. The systematic revelation of the erosion patterns influenced by multiple particle attributes in this study can provide a theoretical reference for the anti-erosion design and maintenance strategy development of fan/booster stage blades.