Royce capabilities to be showcased in Japan

Event information

Event type: Symposium
Date: Sunday 18 - Friday 23 October 2026
Location: Niigata, Japan

Royce's interim Technology Platform Lead, Dr Fabian Duarte Martinez, is presenting new research on salt damage to turbine blades at the International Symposium on High Temperature Oxidation and Corrosion in Niigata, Japan on 20 October 2026. Using Royce at Cranfield's horizontal corrosion cells, the work shows how different salt compositions cause stress corrosion cracking in aircraft engine turbine blades, (where the single crystal nickel-based superalloy, CMSX-10N is a commonly used material).

Gas turbine engines operate at extremely high temperatures and ingest different types of salt according to their flight paths. The high temperatures and environmental conditions cause the salts to interact with the sulphur-containing envoronment and the alloy to form a corrosive melt onto the turbine blades. Over time, this corrosive liquid salt, combined with high mechanical loads, leads to cracks, which is known as stress corrosion cracking.

Why does this research matter to aircraft engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)?

Identifying which salt compositions accelerate stress corrosion cracking susceptibility, and mapping the locations of high incidences of those salts, can be used to:

• Improve material lifing models,
• Plan maintenance programme schedules around real operating conditions,
• Advise operators on flight paths and regions with higher corrosion risk,
• Enhance design coatings that will protect alloys against the specific chemical composition of damage-intensive salts.

The research was co-authored with Royce at Cranfield's Professor John Nicholls and Dr Simon Gray, the University of Liverpool's Dr Karl Dawson and Professor Gordon Tatlock, and Rolls-Royce's Dr Jonathan Leggett, demonstrating the benefits of collaborative research in advanced materials.

This international engagement continues to strengthen Royce at Cranfield's contribution to materials performance in extreme environments, while representing UK capability on a global stage.

To discuss how our corrosion testing facilities can support your turbine or coating challenge, contact Royce@cranfield.ac.uk