Tungsten-based erosion-resistant leading edge protection cap for rotor blades

A method for manufacturing a rotor blade assembly, the method comprising:

• providing a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a blade tip and a blade root;
• forming a sheet of a tungsten-based metal;
• forming, via sheet press-forming, a protection cap comprising the tungsten-based metal sheet having a shape that corresponds to a curvature of the surfaces of the rotor blade, and forming at least one additional feature onto the protection cap via at least one of additive manufacturing, electroforming, cold spraying, or combinations thereof, wherein the at least one additional feature comprises at least one of internal thickened edges, external thickened edges, or one or more flanges;
• arranging the protection cap adjacent to the surfaces of the rotor blade defining the curvature, so as to cover at least a portion of the surfaces of the rotor blade;
• and,
• securing the protection cap to the surfaces of the rotor blade defining the curvature such that the tungsten-based metal sheet, of the protection cap, having the shape that corresponds to the curvature is arranged adjacent to the blade tip and such that the protection cap is secured to the surfaces of the rotor blade via at least one of a clip-on spring configuration, a clip-in configuration, or one or more fasteners.