Sand particle erosion remains a crucial problem in aeronautical engines. Bl
ades are made out of titanium alloy known for its poor erosion resistance.
To protect these pieces, tungsten-based multilayer coatings deposited by ma
gnetron sputtering were developed. They were tested on a specific erosion r
ig. Tests allowed to choose deposition parameters leading to extremely resi
stant films. impact tests were performed on several monolayer coatings to d
etermine their mechanical properties in order to simulate erosion by finite
element method. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.