Method for securing a sheath to a blade

1. A method comprising

treating a bonding surface of an airfoil made of an aluminum material;

treating a bonding surface of a sheath made of a titanium material by etching the bonding surface of the sheath and priming the bonding surface of the sheath;

placing an adhesive between the bonding surfaces of the airfoil and the sheath; and

pressing the airfoil and sheath together so that the adhesive bonds the sheath to the airfoil.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of treating the bonding surface of the airfoil comprises:

phosphoric acid anodizing the bonding surface of the airfoil; and

priming the bonding surface of the airfoil.

3. The method of claim 2 , and further comprising:

alkali cleaning the bonding surface of the airfoil before phosphoric acid anodizing the bonding surface of the airfoil.

4. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising:

desmutting the bonding surface after the step of etching the bonding surface of the sheath.

5. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising:

cleaning the bonding surface in an alkali cleaning solution and vapor blasting the bonding surface of the sheath before the step of etching the bonding surface of the sheath.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the etching is done using an alkaline etching solution.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of placing an adhesive between the bonding surfaces of the airfoil and the sheath comprises:

inserting a scrim sheet into the adhesive.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the scrim sheet is made of a nylon material.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a film adhesive.

10. A method for manufacturing a reinforced blade, the method comprising:

forming an airfoil from an aluminum material, the airfoil having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a suction surface and a pressure surface;

treating a bonding surface of the airfoil;

forming a sheath from a titanium material, the sheath having a head section with an outer side and an inner side, a first sheath flank and a second sheath flank, both flanks extending chordwise rearwardly from the forward sheath section;

treating a bonding surface of the sheath by etching the bonding surface of the sheath, desmutting the bonding surface of the sheath, and applying a primer to the bonding surface of the sheath;

placing an adhesive between the respective bonding surfaces of the sheath and the airfoil; and

pressing the sheath and the airfoil together so at least a portion of the leading edge is covered by the head section of the sheath, the first sheath flank covers part of the suction side of the airfoil, the second sheath flank covers part of the pressure side of the airfoil and the sheath is secured to the airfoil by the adhesive.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the bonding surface of the airfoil includes the leading edge, a portion of the suction surface and a portion of the pressure surface of the airfoil.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the step of treating a bonding surface of the airfoil comprises:

phosphoric acid anodizing the bonding surface of the airfoil; and

applying primer on the bonding surface of the airfoil.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the adhesive is a film adhesive.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the adhesive further includes a non-electrively conductive scrim sheet to separate the sheath from the airfoil.

15. A method of securing a titanium sheath to an aluminum airfoil, the method comprising:

surface treating the bonding surface of the aluminum airfoil by phosphoric acid anodizing and priming;

surface treating the bonding surface of the titanium sheath by etching, desmutting and priming;

placing an adhesive with a scrim sheet between the bonding surface of the airfoil and the bonding surface of the sheath; and

pressing the sheath and the airfoil together so the adhesive securely holds the sheath to the airfoil and the scrim sheet keeps a minimum separation to prevent corrosion.