Erosion-shielded turbine blades and methods of manufacturing the same

A method of forming an erosion-shielded turbine blade, the method comprising:

• providing a turbine blade for use with a rotary machine, the turbine blade comprising an airfoil extending between a root and a tip of the turbine blade, the airfoil comprising a pressure side and an opposite suction side, each of the pressure and suction sides extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge;
• forming an erosion shield by:
• depositing a layer of filler material using a directed energy deposition (DED) system on a build platform of the DED system, the layer of filler material defining an upper surface;
• depositing a layer of erosion-resistant material across the upper surface of the layer of filler material using the DED system, an interface being defined between the layer of filler material and the layer of erosion-resistant material and having a shape of the upper surface;
• and
• machining the layer of filler material to remove the erosion shield from the build platform, the erosion shield extending a length between a base end and a nose, the erosion shield having the layer of erosion-resistant material, the machined layer of filler material, and the interface defined therebetween, an inner surface of the erosion shield being defined by the machined layer of filler material that is sized and shaped for attaching to a leading edge of the turbine blade, wherein the layer of filler material is machined along a cut line having a shape that complements the shape of the upper surface of the layer of filler material such that each of the interface and the inner surface extend the length of the erosion shield;
• and
• attaching the inner surface of the erosion shield to the leading edge of the turbine blade to thereby form the erosion-shielded turbine blade.