This program will demonstrate the engineering, manufacturing and economic feasibility of high speed conversion of alpha-beta titanium alloys to a homogeneous, fine grain, equiaxed alph-beta microstructure. When fully developed this newly discoveredmaterial conversion process will enable lower cost… More

This Phase II program will demonstrate a full scale production capable high speed forging process to convert aplha beta titanium alloys to a fine grain alpha beta microstructure from a titanium 6Al-4V ingot microstructure and to provide full scale ring and disk forgings with a controlled… More

This phase I SBIR program will investigate the feasibility of direct manufacturing of nickel base IN 718 diffuser cases using unique metal deposition and machining approaches. A conceptual design and sub-element demonstration will be completed. Value Stream Analysis and process cost modeling will be… More

The cost of manufacturing integrally bladed rotors for large gas turbine engines is high driven by the cost of raw material, rough machining, and airfoil machining. This project will address these cost drivers by identifying methods to reduce forging weight through aggressive near-net shape forging… More

This program effort will focus on the solid state joining of alpha and near alpha titanium alloys using the thermal stir welding process. Material conditioning, solid state joining parametric studies, thermal profile studies in thick sections, Value Stream Analysis and process economic modeling will… More

Methods for direct manufacturing of advanced gas turbine diffuser cases from high strength alloys such as Inconel 718 will be demonstrated using a proprietary precision metal deposition and finishing process. High Energy Beam metal deposition processing with significant reductions in product… More

Keystone and Faraday, working with Large engine OEMs,IBR forging, and airfoil machining suppliers identified the highest cost drivers for the fabrication of IBR components for gas turbine engines for advanced aircraft systems. A Phase I project demonstrated the feasibility of reducing cost in two… More

It is well established that titanium alloy structural components will crack when exposed to excessive heat and stress. However, occasionally components are under designed for the application and premature cracking occurs in opterional aircraft. This proposed project is designed to address the issues… More

This phase 1 SBIR program will focus on the application and testing of Gneration 5 erosion resistant, multi-functional nickel boron coating that combines extreme hardness and abrasion resistance with very low friction properties, temperature tolerance and bond strength, deposited on Ti 6AL-4V… More

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been used to join smaller, inexpensive aluminum sheets to eliminate fasteners in aircraft structers. This program will focus on quantifying the design benefits of FSW of aluminum sheets of differing thickness of the same or different materials to tailor the structural… More

To achieve full turbine blade life in a modern gas turbine engine, it is critically important to measure and manage the state of residual stresses in high stress areas of the blade. Unfortunately there is no affordable, nondestructive technique commercially available to measure residual stresses in… More

The verification of the primary and secondary grain orientation in directionally solified and single crystal nickel superalloy turbine blades is critically important to ensure quality and to meet the intended engineering requirements in the gas turbine engine. Unfortunately their is no affordable,… More

This program effort will focus on the solid state joining of alpha and near alpha titanium alloys using friction and thermal stir welding processes. Material conditioning,solid state joining, and thermal profile studies in sections up to 1/2" will be conducted. Weld joint characterization and… More

The repair of titanium alloy structural components has been limited to the use of fusion welding techniques for most airframe structural components. This repair approach compromises mechanical properties due to the resultant heat affected zone and coarse grain microstructures in the area of the… More

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been used to join smaller, inexpensive aluminuim sheets to eliminate fasteners in aircraft structures. This program will continue the Phase 1 research on quantifying the design benefits of FSW aluminum sheets of differing thickness of the same or different materials… More

The latest generation of military turbine engines incorporate integral bladed rotors (IBRs or Blisks) in the high and low compression sections to improve performance and reduce part count. However, when damaged, IBRs offer a unique challenge to repair and restore to engine service. This proposed… More

Innovative approaches are needed to put the airframe and gas turbine engine structures in play for spiral development as technological improvements offer reduced weights, lower costs, or shorter manufacturing cycle times. This proposed research and development effort will demonstrate the feasibility… More

Keystone is proposing to conduct an engineering investigation of methods of applying high strength and density powder materials, such as titanium and nickel base alloys, via cold spray mehtods. It is recognized that innovative methods are required to achieve fully dense, cold spray deposits of… More

Keystone will continue maturing the metal deposition technology shown to be feasible for meeting the goals of he program during Phase I. It is the goal of the Phase II project to produce a full saale Invar tool using metal deposition technology and to validate the tooling package by producing… More

This project will develop and demonstrate methods for the repair of Blisk components for advanced fighter engines. Blade damage can require the reconstruction of geometry, however most weld buildup methods available fail to match the base-metal mechanical properties with emphasis on high-cycle… More

This Phase II program will focus on completing the devleopment of X-ray diffratction techniques for measurement of residual stress in high stress locations on DS and SX gas turbine blades. The program will also design and build prototype NDE system for beta site testing at a overhaul depot for… More

The intent of this program is to establish a nondestrictive inspection technique for measurement of mal-oprienteted grains in directionally solified (DS) and single crystal (SX) gas turbine blades. The program will refine techniques demonstrated in the Phase I research and will produce a prototype… More

Some modern gas turbine engines utilize integrally bladed rotors (IBR), sometimes called blisks (bladed disks), in the design of the fan and compressor. IBRs are unique because, during fabrication, the airfoil blades are bonded to a hub to form an integral structure, which offers performance… More

State-of-the-art military turbine engines incorporate Integral Bladed Rotors (IBR), which are one piece components consisting of blades and a disk (blisks), in the compression system. Their purpose is to reduce weight through part count reduction and improve performance and maintainability. … More

The Keystone and MSU team propose to demonstrate the feasibility of solid-state joining high strength and temperature alloys utilizing the Thermal Stir Welding process. The alloy selected for this proposed effort is Haynes 230; the alloy of choice typically utilized in rocket engine nozzel skirts.… More

Titanium forgings are high cost and long lead time items which negatively impact aircraft manufacturing costs and cycle times. Additive manufacturing of titanium structural parts has the potential to reduce lead and cycle times, work in process, and the amount of titanium required to produce… More

Some modern gas turbine engines utilize integrally bladed rotors (IBR), sometimes called blisks (bladed disks), in the design of the fan and compressor. IBRs are unique because, during fabrication, the airfoil blades are bonded to a hub to form an integral structure, which offers performance… More

The Keystone and MSU team propose to build on the successful feasibility demonstration conducted during Phase I to complete the development of solid-state joining of high strength and temperature alloys utilizing the Thermal Stir Welding process. The focus alloy for this project is Haynes 230; the… More

Keystone Synergistic Enterprises, Inc. proposes to use induction heating to create a hot zone in the rim of radial impellers so that the rim of the rotors will be preferentially heated above the gamma prime solvus. This will cause the formation of a dual property microstructure in the impeller. A… More

Keystone is proposing a project to demonstrate the capability of using an alternate material system and additive manufacturing for the arresting tailhook component currently made from 4330V steel. Keystone is proposing to compete a non-corrosive high-strength nickel superalloy against a high… More

State-of-the-art military turbine engines incorporate Integral Bladed Rotors (IBR), which are one piece components consisting of blades and a disk (blisks), in the compression system. Their purpose is to reduce weight through part count reduction and improve performance and maintainability. However,… More

Stir welding generates high-quality joints in fabricated structure and is the baseline joining process for most NASA aluminum alloy structures such as cryogenic tanks and lightweight structures. Incorporating ultrasonic vibration to critical stir welding machine components will enable and expand… More

ABSTRACT: Keystone is proposing to develop and demonstrate prototype manufacturing methods for aircraft landing matting for high-temperature applications. Specifically, Keystone is proposing to select and recommend materials and manufacturing methods for producing high-temperature airfield matting… More

Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) reduces cost and energy content of manufactured parts and enables producing parts-on-demand. The DDM process can reduce part acquisition time from several months to less than a few days. DDM reduces energy and machining cost by eliminating tooling and reducing by… More

Thermal Stir Welding (TSW) provides advancement over the more conventional Friction Stir Welding (C-FSW) process because it separates the primary processes variables thereby allowing independent control of metal stirring and forging from the stir zone temperature. However, the feedback for precise… More

Metal Digital Direct Manufacturing (MDDM) or layer-by-layer additive manufacturing is inherently green, produces near net shapes, reduces labor content, and does not require the use of special tooling to fabricate components. However, the process struggles to gain wide acceptance for producing… More