Patents Represented by Attorney Paul J. DiConza
  • Patent number: 6746782
    Abstract: A barrier coating is disclosed, containing about 15 atom % to about 95 atom % chromium; and about 5 atom % to about 60 atom % of at least one of rhenium, tungsten, and ruthenium. Nickel, cobalt, iron, and aluminum may also be present. The barrier coating can be disposed between a metal substrate (e.g., a superalloy) and an oxidation-resistant coating, preventing the substantial diffusion of various elements at elevated service temperatures. A ceramic overcoat (e.g., based on zirconia) can be applied over the oxidation-resistant coating. Related methods for applying protective coatings to metal substrates are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ji-Cheng Zhao, Melvin Robert Jackson
  • Patent number: 6746783
    Abstract: A coated article, a coating for protecting an article, and a method for protecting an article are provided. The article comprises a metallic substrate and a substantially single-phase coating disposed on the substrate, wherein the coating comprises nickel (Ni) and at least about 30 atomic percent aluminum (Al); the coating further comprises a gradient in Al composition, the gradient extending from a first Al concentration level at an outer surface of the coating to a second Al concentration level at an interface between the substantially single-phase coating and the substrate, wherein the first Al concentration level is greater than the second Al concentration level and the second concentration level is at least about 30 atomic percent Al.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ji-Cheng Zhao, Don Mark Lipkin
  • Patent number: 6726444
    Abstract: An article for use in a hot gas path of a gas turbine assembly, a metallic skin for such an article, and a method for making such an article are presented with, for example, the article comprising a spar, the spar providing mechanical support for the article and comprising a cooling fluid delivery system, a top end, and a bottom end; a standoff structure attached to the spar, the standoff structure comprising a plurality of spacing elements in a spaced-apart relation to each other, the spacing elements having first ends adjacent to the spar and second ends opposite to the first ends; a skin conformally surrounding the spar and the standoff structure, the skin comprising a top end and a bottom end, wherein the standoff structure separates the spar and the skin, wherein the plurality of spacing elements is disposed with an inner surface of the skin adjacent to the second ends of the spacing elements to form a plurality of plena between the spar and the skin, the plena in fluid communication with the cooling flu
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ji-Cheng Zhao, Liang Jiang, Melvin Robert Jackson, Ramgopal Darolia, Robert Edward Schafrik
  • Patent number: 6720088
    Abstract: A group of alloys suitable for use in a high-temperature, oxidative environment, a protective coating system comprising a diffusion barrier that comprises an alloy selected from the group, an article comprising the diffusion barrier layer, and a method for protecting an article from a high-temperature oxidative environment comprising disposing the diffusion barrier layer onto a substrate are presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ji-Cheng Zhao, Melvin Robert Jackson, Richard John Grylls, Ramgopal Darolia
  • Patent number: 6695582
    Abstract: A turbine blade comprises an external pressure side plate comprising a plurality of external pressure ribs, an internal pressure side plate comprising a plurality of internal pressure ribs, and a plurality of pressure flow redirection areas. The external pressure side plate is disposed over the internal pressure side plate to form a pressure side double wall. The external pressure ribs are disposed at a first angle with respect to a blade span reference line and the internal pressure ribs are disposed at a second angle with respect to the blade span reference line to form the pressure flow redirection areas. The pressure side double wall is configured to pass a coolant through the pressure side double wall. A fabrication method aligns the external pressure side plate and the internal pressure side plate to form the pressure flow redirection areas between the external pressure side plate and the internal pressure side plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ronald Scott Bunker, Frederic Joseph Klug, Shyh-Chin Huang
  • Patent number: 6677037
    Abstract: An ablative tape is applied onto a substrate surface. The ablative tape comprises an ablative medium comprising a polymer and dispersed metallic component. The tape is then irradiated to ablate the ablative medium. An article comprises a substrate and the ablative tape applied to the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Mark Lloyd Miller, Farzin Homayoun Azad, Seetha Ramaiah Mannava, Philemon Kennard Wright, III
  • Patent number: 6655696
    Abstract: A seal carrier is provided for a rotary machine wherein the seal carrier comprises a packing ring coupled to a seal and wherein the packing ring comprises a channel disposed therein. In addition, a displacement apparatus is disposed in the channel for radially positioning the seal to control a flow of a fluid in a fluid path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Biao Fang, Norman Arnold Turnquist, Hamid Reza Sarshar, Mahmut Faruk Aksit, Mark Edward Burnett, Frederick George Baily, Mehmet Demiroglu
  • Patent number: 6644917
    Abstract: A on-line method is provided for detecting wear and/or damage to gas turbine parts. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide a gas turbine comprising parts with smart coatings and collection and detection means to measure wear and erosion of gas turbine parts. In other preferred embodiments, smart coatings are provided comprising chemical taggants that can be collected and detected downstream, thus providing an on-line or in situ evaluation technology for wear and damage to gas turbine parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ji-Cheng Zhao, James Anthony Ruud, John Eric Tkaczyk, Ann Melinda Ritter, Melvin Robert Jackson, Jerome Johnson Tiemann
  • Patent number: 6637643
    Abstract: A method for applying at least one bond coating on a surface of a metal-based substrate is described. A foil of the bond coating material is first attached to the substrate surface and then fused thereto, e.g., by brazing. The foil is often initially prepared by thermally spraying the bond coating material onto a removable support sheet, and then detaching the support sheet. Optionally, the foil may also include a thermal barrier coating applied over the bond coating. The substrate can be a turbine engine component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Wayne Charles Hasz, Marcus Preston Borom, Warren Arthur Nelson, James Edward Viggiani, John Zanneti
  • Patent number: 6623692
    Abstract: An alloy and a gas turbine engine component comprising an alloy are presented, with the alloy comprising from about three atomic percent to about nine atomic percent of at least one precipitation-strengthening metal selected from the group consisting of zirconium, niobium, tantalum, titanium, hafnium, and mixtures thereof; from about one atomic percent to about five atomic percent ruthenium; and the balance rhodium; the alloy further comprising a face-centered-cubic phase and an L12—structured phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Charles Gitahi Mukira
  • Patent number: 6617561
    Abstract: An imager includes a photodiode array, each photodiode having an associated switching device, such as a thin-film transistor, addressable via a scan line. A data line for reading out from the photodiodes is formed first on a glass substrate, allowing the data line to be optimized in terms of thickness for conductivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ching-Yeu Wei, Jianqiang Liu
  • Patent number: 6613445
    Abstract: A method for forming a metal-containing layer on a substrate is disclosed. A slurry of the metal is first deposited on the substrate; followed by heating to remove volatile material from the slurry, and to form a layer of the metal. In another embodiment, a slurry of aluminum is deposited over the slurry of the metal, before or after the metal has been heat-treated to some degree. A diffusion heat treatment results in a coating which includes the noble-metal aluminide compound. Related articles are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: D. Sangeeta, Howard John Farr
  • Patent number: 6610185
    Abstract: A sensor for measuring electrochemical corrosion potential, and a method for manufacturing a sensor, the sensor comprising a tubular ceramic probe having a closed tip at one end, the probe at least partially filled with a powder comprising metal and metal oxide; a metal support tube having one end receiving an opposite end of the probe, and joined thereto by a braze joint therewith; an electrical conductor extending through the support tube and into the probe, and having an end buried in the powder for electrical contact therewith; and a protective band bridging the probe and tube at the joint for sealing thereof, the protective band consisting essentially of a metallic coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Young-Jin Kim, Reed Roeder Corderman, Peter Louis Andresen, Scott Andrew Weaver, Paul Joseph Martiniano
  • Patent number: 6609894
    Abstract: A gas turbine airfoil and methods for manufacturing and repair of an airfoil, the airfoil comprising a wall, the wall defining the perimeter of the airfoil and comprising a leading edge section and a trailing edge section, wherein a majority of the surface area of the wall comprises a first material, the first material having an oxidation resistance and a melting temperature, and at least one portion of the wall comprises a second material, the second material having an oxidation resistance that is greater than the oxidation resistance of the first material and a melting temperature that is at least about 83 degrees Celsius (about 150 degrees Fahrenheit) greater than the melting temperature of the first material, the at least one portion of the wall located in at least one section of the wall selected from the group consisting of the leading edge section and the trailing edge section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Charles Gitahi Mukira
  • Patent number: 6590172
    Abstract: A circuit breaker is provided wherein the circuit breaker comprises a contact arm movable between a closed position, an open position and a blown open position wherein the contact arm is disposed in the circuit breaker. A bumper disposed to contact the contact arm when the contact arm is in the blown open position. In addition, a stop member disposed to be in contact with a linkage assembly so as to create a gap between the bumper and the contact arm when the contact arm is disposed in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aniruddha Dattatraya Gadre, Hemant Kumar Mody
  • Patent number: 6582534
    Abstract: An alloy comprising rhodium, aluminum, and chromium, wherein a microstructure of the alloy comprises a face-centered-cubic phase and a B2-structured phase and is essentially free of an L12-structured phase at temperatures greater than about 1000° C., and a gas turbine engine component comprising the alloy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Canan Uslu Hardwicke, Ji-Cheng Zhao, Charles Gitahi Mukira
  • Patent number: 6575702
    Abstract: Methods for repairing and manufacturing a gas turbine airfoil, and the airfoil repaired and manufactured with such methods are presented with, for example, the repair method comprising providing an airfoil having specified nominal dimensions, the airfoil comprising a first material, the first material having a creep life and a fatigue life, the airfoil further comprising a leading edge section and a trailing edge section; removing at least one portion of at least one section of the airfoil to create at least one deficit of material for the airfoil relative to the specified nominal dimensions, the at least one section selected from the group consisting of the leading edge section and the trailing edge section; providing at least one insert comprising a second material, the second material having a creep life that is at least substantially equal to the creep life of the first material, and a fatigue life that is at least substantially equal to the fatigue life of the first material; and disposing the at least o
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Aaron Todd Frost, Shyh-Chin Huang, Charles Gitah Mukira, Thomas Robert Raber, Raymond Alan White, Paul Leonard Dupree, Canan Uslu Hardwicke
  • Patent number: 6565680
    Abstract: A superalloy weld composition includes: up to about 5.1 wt % Co; about 7.2 to about 9.5 wt % Cr; about 7.4 to about 8.4 wt % Al; about 4.3 to about 5.6 wt % Ta; about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt % Si; about 0.1 to about 0.5 wt % Hf; up to about 0.05 wt % C; up to about 0.05 wt % B; about 0 to about 2.2 Re; about 2.7 to about 4.4 wt % W; and balance Ni and typical impurities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Charles Gitahi Mukira, Richard John Grylls, Thomas Joseph Kelly
  • Patent number: 6562483
    Abstract: A method for providing a protective coating on a metal-based substrate is disclosed. The method involves the application of an aluminum-rich mixture to the substrate to form a discontinuous layer of aluminum-rich particles, followed by the application of a second coating over the discontinuous layer of aluminum-rich particles. Aluminum diffuses from the aluminum-rich layer into the substrate, and into any bond coat layer which is subsequently applied. Related articles are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Anthony Mark Thompson, Dennis Michael Gray, Melvin Robert Jackson
  • Patent number: 6554920
    Abstract: An alloy and repair material comprising the alloy, articles comprising the alloy and repair material, and methods for repairing articles including provision of the alloy as repair material are described, with the alloy comprising ruthenium, nickel, aluminum, and chromium, wherein a microstructure of the alloy is essentially free of an L12-structured phase at temperatures greater than about 1000° C. and comprises an A3-structured phase and up to about 40 volume percent of a B2-structured phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melvin Robert Jackson, Canan Uslu Hardwicke, Ji-Cheng Zhao, Charles Gitahi Mukira