Aramid Fiber Composite Layers for Fan Blade Containment in a Gas Turbine System: Some Experimental Studies

The objective of this study is to investigate the suitability of Aramid fiber polymer composite as reinforcement for blade containment in a gas turbine system. The preliminary experimental study is focused on optimization of Aramid fiber epoxy laminate composite in terms of number of layers and fiber orientation with respect to energy-absorbing capability. Acoustic energy attenuation study has been performed along different directions of laminates to gauge the effect of fiber orientation and number of layers on stress wave attenuation. NDE measurements and standard destructive tests were performed on sets of samples with varied number of layers and orientation of Aramid fibers. Energy-absorption characteristics of the Aramid fiber epoxy composite laminates along with these variables were investigated. This experimental study has yielded some interesting and encouraging results.