– How do jet engine turbine blades not melt?

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Jet engines work at a higher temperature that the melting point of Titanium Superalloy so how do they not melt?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Turbine blades in jet engines are not made of titanium alloys. Titanium alloys do not have the strength or high temperatures properties of steel alloys, let alone nickel alloys. Most turbine blades in jet engines are made of a nickel alloy. Stronger and better properties at high temperatures.

On top of that, turbines in most jet engines are no where near the melting point. Most turbines run in a range of 600-900 deg C(of the aircraft I have flown at least). There will be higher temps on the leading edge and high pressure side of the blades however, with adiabatic heating contributing a lot to those hot spots.

Titanium is used in steam turbines however. Steam turbines are massive, with long blades, and run at relatively low temperatures. The light weight and high specific strength of titanium make it a good choice in this application, giving it good efficiency and corrosion resistance.

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