CRYSTAL BLADE TECHNOLOGY
- April 27, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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CRYSTAL BLADE TECHNOLOGY
Subject : Defence
Context: DRDO develops crystal blades for aero engines.
Concept:
- India-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received 60 single-crystal blades for helicopter engines from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the technology had been developed as part of a programme taken up by the DRDO’s Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL).
- A total of 300 single-crystal high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades will be developed and delivered in five 60-blade sets. The remaining four sets are expected to be delivered at a later point.
Crystal Blades
- Helicopters need compact and powerful aero-engines for operating at extreme conditions and to achieve this, state-of-the-art single crystal blades are used.
- Made using a nickel-based superalloy, the blades feature a complex geometrical design and can withstand high temperatures.
- The blades are used in the development of engines to allow helicopters to operate reliably in complex conditions.
- The US, UK, Russia and France are among the few countries that can design and produce single-crystal components.