Sample Preparation of Worn Surfaces for EBSD Analysis

In the wake of an increasing number of flights in sandy conditions, the solid particle erosion of aircraft turbine components has become a critical issue. Since the Second World War, this type of wear has been investigated aiming at identifying measures to improve the life time and performance of aircraft turbine components [1]. Flights in environments containing small particles lead to a drastic reduction of the turbine performance due to the dulling of blades, the reduction of the profile depths, and increased tip clearance [2]. All of this is accompanied by increased maintenance costs [3]. Therefore, measures such as the coating of rotor blades and particle filters for the reduction of phenomena of erosion were introduced [3–4].