A blade has an airfoil extending radially outwardly of a dovetail. The dovetail has edges that will be at circumferential sides of the blade when the blade is mounted within a rotor. A bottom surface of the dovetail will be radially inward when the rotor blade is mounted in a rotor, and is formed such that a circumferentially central portion of the bottom surface is radially thicker than are circumferential edges. A fan and a gas turbine engine are also described.

A retainer plate is provided for retaining a dovetail root of a fan blade of a gas turbine engine in a corresponding axially-extending slot in the rim of a fan disc. In use, the plate locates in a cavity formed at an end of the slot such that a first side of the plate is arranged for contact with an axial end face of the dovetail root and an opposite second side of the plate is arranged for contact with an abutment surface of the cavity to limit axial movement of the root along the slot. The retainer plate is a unitary component and has a layered structure including a first layer at the first side of the plate, a second layer at the second side of the plate, and an intermediate layer between the first and the second layers.

Ionic liquid bath plating methods for depositing aluminum-containing layers utilizing shaped consumable aluminum anodes are provided, as are turbomachine components having three dimensionally-tailored, aluminum-containing coatings produced from such aluminum-containing layers. In one embodiment, the ionic liquid bath plating method includes the step or process of obtaining a consumable aluminum anode including a workpiece-facing anode surface substantially conforming with the geometry of the non-planar workpiece surface. The workpiece-facing anode surface and the non-planar workpiece surface are positioned in an adjacent, non-contacting relationship, while the workpiece and the consumable aluminum anode are submerged in an ionic liquid aluminum plating bath. An electrical potential is then applied across the consumable aluminum anode and the workpiece to deposit an aluminum-containing layer onto the non-planar workpiece surface. In certain implementations, additional steps are then performed to convert or incorporate the aluminum-containing layer into a high temperature aluminum-containing coating, such as an aluminide coating.

A method is provided of processing one or more blades of a row of blades which forms part of a rotor for a gas turbine engine. The method includes: providing a rotor disc having a slot for mounting one or more blades; applying tape at one or both sides of the slot such that when the blades are loaded in the slot the tape reduces a range of tilt angles which can be adopted by the blades; loading the blades in the slot; and performing a processing operation on the loaded blades.

A blade includes an airfoil and a root having diverging walls. The diverging walls are made of a ceramic matrix composite material. A reinforcement element is provided between the diverging walls.

A platinum plus chromium coating applied to the roots and firtrees of turbine blades where the inclusion of chromium creates a single phase outer zone which minimizes diffusion paths for sulphur which can preferentially diffuse down phase boundaries and enables a chromium rich outer oxide scale to form on top of the coating.

A coating for a blade root/disk interface includes a layer of soft metal matrix, and a solid lubricant distributed through the soft metal matrix. Examples of materials include CuAl as the soft metal matrix and MoS.sub.2 as the solid lubricant, although others are also disclosed.

The present disclosure provides for a turbine wheel having a blade platform disposed to compliantly secure ceramic turbine blades to a rotatable disk. The platform includes opposing ends to engage a portion of an airfoil of each turbine blade and radial extensions to engage a portion of a root of each turbine blade.

A rotor disk assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a rotor disk that defines an axis, the rotor disk comprising a slot within a rim of the disk and a spacer within the slot, the spacer having a clearance feature sized to permit rotation of a rotor blade from an insertion position to an installed position.

A turbine wheel in a turbine engine is provided. The wheel includes a disk having a plurality of blades with roots that are axially engaged and radially retained in longitudinal slots in the outer periphery of the disk, the blades having platforms that extend circumferentially end to end and that are radially facing longitudinal teeth of the disk that define the slots. Protection members for protecting the flanks of the slots and made out of sheet metal are mounted on the teeth of the disk and held thereon by co-operating shapes, the protection members bear radially against the platforms of the blades in order to oppose circumferential tilting of the blades, and at least partially close the radial gaps between the teeth and the platforms of the blades.