Why Jet Engine Blades Are Grown Instead of Cut from Metal

Inside an airplane engine, hundreds of small turbine blades must survive temperatures above 1,500 degrees Celsius and intense physical pressure. To handle these extreme conditions, manufacturers do not cut or shape the blades from normal metal blocks. Instead, they carefully grow each blade as a single, unbroken metal crystal.

To handle= 表目的的不定詞，意為「為了應對/處理」

Normally, when molten metal cools and hardens, it forms many small grains joined together, similar to a crumbly cube of sugar. Under high heat and stress, the borders between these grains can become weak points. To avoid this, engineers cool the liquid metal very slowly over several hours so that the whole blade solidifies into one continuous crystal, making it far stronger.

so that= 表目的或結果的連接詞，意為「以便…、使得…」

To make sure only one crystal develops, engineers use a special shape called a "pigtail." This small spiral at the base of the mold blocks competing crystals and allows just one grain to pass through and grow into the blade. Once the blade forms, the spiral is cut off. Tiny hollow channels inside the blade also blow cooler air across the surface, shielding the metal from the engine's intense heat.

Once= 作為連接詞，意為「一旦…、一…就…」

Producing single-crystal blades is extraordinarily difficult. Ben Fifoot, an engineer at Rolls-Royce, calls it some of the most complicated manufacturing in the world. Today, only five countries and a few major aerospace companies have mastered the complete process, making these specialized components critical to modern air travel.

critical to= 表示「對…至關重要、不可或缺」的搭配用法

學習筆記

文法整理

句型	意思
To handle	表目的的不定詞，意為「為了應對/處理」
so that	表目的或結果的連接詞，意為「以便…、使得…」
Once	作為連接詞，意為「一旦…、一…就…」
critical to	表示「對…至關重要、不可或缺」的搭配用法

詞彙整理

單字	意思
survive	活下來；沒有死亡
handle	物品上供人握住、拿取或搬動的部分；把手。
extreme	程度、數量或強度達到最高，遠遠超出一般標準的。
continuous	持續不斷的；不中斷的。
complicated	複雜的；由許多繁複部分構成，難以處理或理解的。
manufacturing	製造；把原料加工製成產品的過程。
components	構成某個整體的部分或要素；也可指從系統中分離出來，或能裝接到系統上的零件。
critical	對人、事物或作品的缺點、錯誤加以挑剔，並加以指出的

延伸學習

•動詞「grow（生長、培育）」通常用於生物或植物，但在材料科學與結晶學中，原子依規則排列成晶格的過程也稱為「晶體生長（crystal growth）」。
•在金屬學中，固體材料在長時間高溫與應力下逐漸變形的現象稱為「潛變（creep）」。消除晶界能大幅提高渦輪葉片的抗潛變能力。
•單晶渦輪葉片通常由高溫超合金（superalloys）製成，目前全球僅有勞斯萊斯、奇異航太（GE Aerospace）與普惠（Pratt & Whitney）等少數頂尖航太製造商具備完整的精密鑄造能力。