Patents by Inventor Brian Mickle

Brian Mickle has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20070240793
    Abstract: A method of forming a component from a gamma-prime precipitation-strengthened nickel-base superalloy so that, following a supersolvus heat treatment the component characterized by a uniformly-sized grain microstructure. The method includes forming a billet having a sufficiently fine grain size to achieve superplasticity of the superalloy during a subsequent working step. The billet is then worked at a temperature below the gamma-prime solvus temperature of the superalloy so as to form a worked article, wherein the billet is worked so as to maintain strain rates above a lower strain rate limit to control average grain size and below an upper strain rate limit to avoid critical grain growth. Thereafter, the worked article is heat treated at a temperature above the gamma-prime solvus temperature of the superalloy for a duration sufficient to uniformly coarsen the grains of the worked article, after which the worked article is cooled at a rate sufficient to reprecipitate gamma-prime within the worked article.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2006
    Publication date: October 18, 2007
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: David Mourer, Brian Mickle, Shesh Srivatsa, Eric Huron, Jon Groh, Kenneth Bain