3 ms·
why are they impossible to reverse engineer? especially in case of jet turbines, due to their much larger size than chips?
by inter_netuser 5y ago
why are they impossible to reverse engineer?
especially in case of jet turbines, due to their much larger size than chips?
- prewett 5y agoI expect it is because jet turbine blades need to be precisely shaped to maximize proper airflow; spin around so fast that the shear forces destroy most materials; operate in an environment so hot that it melts most materials (which does not help with the shear forces, I expect); and be as lightweight as possible. Some blades have channels on the inside to run cool air through them to cool them down so they don't melt. I wonder if the egress of the air may be used to help keep the flow laminar, I thought I read something about that in experimental airplane wings. So you have fluid dynamics for the shape and a serious limitation in available materials. I know fluid dynamics is a bit of a black art, and I expect that metallurgy is somewhat similar. Especially at 2000 deg C and 3500 - 25,000 RPM! Even once you have the blade to copy, you don't know why the features are the way they are. What bits are important? Which areas must have high tolerance? After that, there is the question of how to make it. You probably cannot just mass spectrometer it, put those ingredients in a vat, heat it up, and pour it into a mold. Is the order of ingredients important? The exact ratios? How quickly do you cool it? At what temperature? And how do you get those holes in it? How do you do it economically? You can't just 3D print these, and even if you did, it'd be way too slow.
- selimthegrim 5y agoI think they are also formed from single crystals