Titanium Nitride Coating Process - RIC™ TiN

Liburdi Engineering's RIC™ TiN process protects airfoils by depositing a thin, hard, layered ceramic film that provides maximum erosion protection, prolonging component life and increasing life cycle efficiency for turbine hot section components. The process performs well with both new and overhauled components.

RIC™ is a physical vapor deposition process that bonds well with substrates. It uses relatively low temperatures (400°-5000°C), which do not alter the microstructure and mechanical properties of most compressor alloys

The reactive Ion coating process is unique among coating technologies in its ability to produce uniform, adherent coatings with an optimum structure to resist erosion from hard, ingested particles.

Testing shows that the process has no significant influence on either the resonance frequency or the fatigue resistance of the blades

Recommended for turboprop, turboshaft, and turbofan engines, the RIC™ TiN process can be retrofitted on existing engines to improve the life of the compressors. 

Benefits of the RIC™ TiN Coating Process

The RIC™ titanium nitride coating process results in a mirror-like super polished surface finish that has numerous benefits:

• Improves fuel economy and performance up to 1% of specific fuel consumption (SFC).
• Reduces airborne contaminant adherence, thus reducing the need for costly (and environmentally unfriendly) compressor washing on the wing by as much as 50%.
• Reduces NOx and CO2 emissions.
• Reduces part consumption and costs by 2-3 times through overhaul of serviceable blades and vanes.
• At less than 25 microns in thickness, the RIC™ coating process does not change fatigue characteristics on titanium.
• Improves fatigue properties on steel alloys.
• Longer Engine Life.
• Retained payload capacity between TBOs.
• Reduced aircraft downtime = improved mission readiness.

The RIC™ TiN Process

In the RIC™ TiN process, components are suspended from a rack in a vacuum chamber above a titanium filled crucible. Tungsten filaments act as thermionic emitters, injecting extra electrons into the process gas to generate a more stable plasma. The process melts the titanium using a focused electron beam, which originates from another tungsten cathode, and is magnetically deflected into the crucible.

A shutter placed over the molten titanium pool prevents splashing of liquid titanium but allows the Ti vapor to reach the component surfaces where it reacts with bombarding nitrogen atoms and ions to form titanium nitride.

In preparation for the RIC™ TiN process, components are finished to the required surface smoothness and cleaned to remove any contaminants that could affect adhesion of the coating. The finishing and cleaning operations are particularly important since the thin coating will mirror the original surface and not require any further polishing.

Learn more about the RIC™ TiN process.

   View the RIC™ TiN datasheet.