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LSP Technologies, Inc. - Dr. Jeff Dulaney founded LSP Technologies, Inc. (LSPT) in February 1995 to provide LaserPeen® processing services and equipment to industry and government. LaserPeen® Process - LSPT's LaserPeen® process produces deep residual compressive stresses in the surfaces of metal parts resulting in increased fatigue life and damage tolerance. The first production application of laser peening began in 1997 at General Electric Aircraft Engines on a United States military aircraft gas turbine engine blade using equipment designed and built by LSPT.
The laser shock peening technology was first demonstrated under an AFRL/PR SBIR Phase II effort. Subsequently the technology was developed by AFRL/ML using multiple SBIR efforts, a enhancement program, and finally, a follow-on Manufacturing Technology effort to develop a production-ready process. The technology uses a strong laser pulse to impart high compressive residual stresses into the leadingedge surface of metal blades. The laser pulse ignites a blast or shock wave from the specially-coated surface of the blade. The expansion of the blast wave then creates a traveling stress wave into the blade, thereby compressing the material surface. This method significantly improves the high-cycle fatigue properties of the blade and greatly increases resistance to blade failure caused by FOD.
Application of this technology has already avoided over $59 million in fan blade replacement costs, significantly reduced secondary damage engine repair costs, and avoided cost from airfoil failures. It is estimated that 42 catastrophic failures over the remaining life of the B-lB/F101 program may result in another $40 million cost savings. These savings plus money saved by avoiding the redesign of the F119 engine will conservatively total more than $100M. Directorate engineers project a similar impact on the F110 engine. Potential savings could easily approach $1 billion when calculating this impact over all of the engines in the Air Force fleet.
David Lahrman
LSP Technologies, Inc.
6145 Scherers Place
Dublin, OH 43016-1284
Phone: (614) 718-3000
Website: http://www.lspt.com/
Email: dlahrman@lspt.com
