GAS TURBINE ENGINE COMPONENT MATERIAL ADDITION PROCESS
A material addition process is described that includes coupling a plate to a gas turbine engine component and adding material to the plate. In one embodiment the gas turbine engine component can be processed by removing a portion that is damaged, such as a portion that includes a crack. A material can be deposited on the plate and built up in layers to replace the removed portion. The material can be layered upon the plate such that its thickness through the layers is smaller than a reach of the layers in a direction of the layer. The plate can be removed in whole or in part after a material has been added. In one form the material can be added by direct laser deposition. In one embodiment a metal powder is fused using a laser. Excess buildup can be removed to reveal a net shape article.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/427,690 filed Dec. 28, 2010 which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention generally relates to gas turbine engine components subject to material addition processes, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to sacrificial substrates used in material addition processes.
BACKGROUNDAdding material to a gas turbine engine component remains an area of interest. Some existing systems have various shortcomings relative to certain applications. Accordingly, there remains a need for further contributions in this area of technology.
SUMMARYOne embodiment of the present invention is a unique gas turbine engine component subject to a material addition process. Other embodiments include apparatuses, systems, devices, hardware, methods, and combinations for adding material to a gas turbine engine component. Further embodiments, forms, features, aspects, benefits, and advantages of the present application shall become apparent from the description and figures provided herewith.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications in the described embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
With reference to
The gas turbine engine 50 operates by receiving a working fluid and compressing it with the compressor 52. The working fluid can be air. Upon being compressed the working fluid is mixed with a fuel and combusted in the combustor 54 before being expanded through the turbine 56. The gas turbine engine can provide power through the turbine 56, it can provide propulsive thrust, or a combination of the two. Though the gas turbine engine 50 is depicted as a single spool engine, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments the gas turbine engine can have any number of spools. The gas turbine engine 50 can take the form of a turbojet, turbofan, turboprop, or turboshaft and can be a variable cycle and/or adaptive cycle engine. In short, the gas turbine engine 50 can take on many forms and be used for many purposes.
Turning now to
Turning now to
The backer plate 62 can have a shape in the form of a mirror image of a desired final surface of the component 58. For example, after a material is added to the space above the backer plate 62 and the backer plate 62 subsequently removed, the shape of the material remaining attached to the gas turbine engine component 58 can have the net shape, or near net shape, of the desired surface contour. If, for example, the component is in the form of an airfoil shape and if a material is added to the trailing edge of the component after that particular portion had been removed, the shape of the trailing edge after the backer plate 62 is removed can follow the desired airfoil shape of the component 58.
The backer plate 62 can be made from any variety of materials and can have any variety of dimensions. To set forth just one non-limiting example, the backer plate 62 can be a polycrystalline backer plate 62. In some forms the backer plate 62 can be reused for multiple material addition operations. In other forms the backer plate 62 can be removed, either in whole or in part, from the component 58.
Turning now to
The layers can be created using any variety of approaches. In one non-limiting form the layers can be laid down using solid free form fabrication techniques. One particular non-limiting approach described more fully below uses direct laser deposition to fuse a powder and create each of the layers of the material addition. In one form the powder can be metal. The powder feedstock can be directed to a general vicinity of a deposition and the laser can be scanned to fuse the powder and create a consolidated material. The process can include a full melting or partial melting of the powder. The powder can be delivered through a variety of techniques, one non-limiting example of which includes placing powder above the backing plate 62 by blowing the powder. As the laser is scanned the material forming the powder is fused in the general shape according to the scanned path of the laser. In one form the consolidated material is fused with a nearby fused material, or can be alternatively and/or additionally fused with a component that is being worked upon such as the component 58. Any number of suitable lasers can be used, and in one form the laser is a carbon dioxide laser. A desired component or material deposit is created when sequential layers of powder are scanned with the laser. Any number of layers can be used when adding material to the component 58.
The layers 66, 68, and 70 of the material addition can be created in a variety of manners. In one form the layers can be laid down using a scanned laser in a variety of build patterns. In one non-limiting example a layer can be laid down according to sequential paths of a scanned laser, the first of the paths adjoining a contour of the gas turbine component. The sequential paths of the scanned laser can all be in the same direction having a similar starting side and ending side. Although the immediate example includes multiple sequential build paths, not all layers need include multiple paths. Any variety of variations of scanning patters of the laser are contemplated herein to create any given layer of the material addition.
Each of the layers can be laid down using scanned paths that are different than the paths used in adjacent layers. For example, a layer closest to the backer plate 62 can be laid down having paths all aligned in the same general direction, while a layer above it is laid down having paths aligned in the opposite direction. Furthermore, any scanned path in one layer can have the same or opposite direction as an adjacent scanned path in an adjacent layer. Any variation in scanned paths are contemplated herein.
In one form of the present application the layers are laid down to a desired thickness to cover a desired area of the backer plate 62. In some forms the desired area may be the entire exposed area of the backer plate 62. After an initial layer covers the backer plate 62 in the desired area, another layer is created above it, again covering either the original desired area or another, different desired area for that thickness location. In this way a number of layers can be built up from the backer plate 62. The layers can have any variety of shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. In one non-limiting form the layers have the same thicknesses.
In one non-limiting form the layers are generally in the shape of a short and wide material addition. For example, the embodiment of
After one or more layers have been added or alternatively after all layers have been added, excess material from the backer plate 62 and/or from a deposit overbuild can be removed either in whole or in part from the component 58.
One aspect of the present application provides a method comprising coupling a backing plate to a gas turbine engine component to create a material addition area having boundaries between the gas turbine engine component and a portion of the backing plate, conveying a metal powder to be located in the material addition area of the coupled gas turbine engine component and backing plate, and forming a plurality of repair layers throughout the material addition area by fusing the metal powder with an electromagnetic energy, wherein each of the repair layers of the plurality of repair layers is offset a different amount from the backing plate.
One feature of the present application further includes removing a portion of a gas turbine engine component to be repaired to reveal a through-cut and finishing the gas turbine engine component by eliminating excess material.
Another feature of the present application provides wherein the eliminating includes removing a portion of the backing plate, wherein a final repaired gas turbine engine component includes a remaining portion of the backing plate, and wherein a thickness of the plurality of repair layers is smaller than a lateral reach of the plurality of repair layers throughout the material addition area.
Yet another feature of the present application provides wherein the eliminating includes removing the backing plate, and wherein the plurality of repair layers is parallel with the backing plate.
Still another feature of the present application provides wherein gas turbine engine component is an airfoil member structured to be disposed in a flow path of a gas turbine engine.
Yet still another feature of the present application provides wherein the fusing includes fusing to the gas turbine engine component, and wherein the backing plate is a polycrystalline backing plate.
A further feature of the present application further includes removing a portion of a gas turbine engine component to be repaired to reveal a through-cut, wherein the electromagnetic energy is provided with a laser, and wherein the plurality of repair layers is transverse to the through-cut of the gas turbine engine component.
Another aspect of the present application provides a method comprising adding material to a gas turbine engine component, the adding including coupling a substrate to the gas turbine engine component such that the substrate extends beyond the gas turbine engine component, the substrate forming a base for a deposit of material to create an extended surface of the gas turbine engine component, energizing a metal feedstock above the substrate to create a fused metal coupled with the gas turbine engine component, as a result of the energizing, creating a first layer of metal parallel with the substrate, the first layer having a first thickness, and as a result of the energizing, creating a second layer of metal parallel with the first layer, the first layer disposed between the second layer and the substrate, the second layer having a second thickness.
One feature of the present application further includes finishing the gas turbine engine component after the forming to remove material outside of a net shape, and wherein a length of the first layer is larger than the first thickness and the length is a distance along a stack of first layer and second layer parallel with the substrate.
Another feature of the present application provides wherein the metal feedstock is a metal powder, and wherein as a result of the creating, forming a stack of layers having a stack thickness, the thickness smaller than a length of the stack as it extends to cover an area.
Yet another feature of the present application provides wherein the energizing includes lasing the metal feedstock with a laser.
Still another feature of the present application further includes removing a damaged portion of the gas turbine engine component, and wherein the forming is a repair process of a damaged gas turbine engine component.
Yet still another feature of the present application further includes removing the substrate.
A further feature of the present application provides wherein the removing includes removing a portion of the substrate and leaving another portion coupled to the gas turbine engine component.
Yet another aspect of the present application provides a method comprising coupling a gas turbine engine component with a sacrificial substrate, directing a feedstock material to a work area of the gas turbine engine component, fusing the feedstock material to the gas turbine engine component via an electromagnetic energy to create a layer of metal, forming a plurality of layers with the fusing, and removing a portion of the sacrificial substrate, a remaining portion of the sacrificial substrate forming part of a refurbished gas turbine engine component.
A feature of the present application further includes removing a portion of the gas turbine engine component prior to the forming, and wherein the plurality of layers are parallel with the sacrificial substrate.
Another feature of the present application provides wherein the electromagnetic energy is from a laser.
Yet another feature of the present application provides wherein the feedstock material is a powdered metal.
Still another feature of the present application provides wherein a thickness of the plurality of layers is smaller than a width of the plurality of layers.
Yet still another feature of the present application provides wherein the refurbished gas turbine engine component is a component repaired from a damage inflicted upon the component.
A further feature of the present application provides wherein the sacrificial substrate is a polycrystalline substrate.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventions are desired to be protected. It should be understood that while the use of words such as preferable, preferably, preferred or more preferred utilized in the description above indicate that the feature so described may be more desirable, it nonetheless may not be necessary and embodiments lacking the same may be contemplated as within the scope of the invention, the scope being defined by the claims that follow. In reading the claims, it is intended that when words such as “a,” “an,” “at least one,” or “at least one portion” are used there is no intention to limit the claim to only one item unless specifically stated to the contrary in the claim. When the language “at least a portion” and/or “a portion” is used the item can include a portion and/or the entire item unless specifically stated to the contrary.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- coupling a backing plate to a gas turbine engine component to create a material addition area having boundaries between the gas turbine engine component and a portion of the backing plate;
- conveying a metal powder to be located in the material addition area of the coupled gas turbine engine component and backing plate; and
- forming a plurality of repair layers throughout the material addition area by fusing the metal powder with an electromagnetic energy, wherein each of the repair layers of the plurality of repair layers is offset a different amount from the backing plate.
2. The method of claim 1, which further includes removing a portion of a gas turbine engine component to be repaired to reveal a through-cut and finishing the gas turbine engine component by eliminating excess material.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the eliminating includes removing a portion of the backing plate, wherein a final repaired gas turbine engine component includes a remaining portion of the backing plate, and wherein a thickness of the plurality of repair layers is smaller than a lateral reach of the plurality of repair layers throughout the material addition area.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the eliminating includes removing the backing plate, and wherein the plurality of repair layers is parallel with the backing plate.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the gas turbine engine component is an airfoil member structured to be disposed in a flow path of a gas turbine engine.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the fusing includes fusing to the gas turbine engine component, and wherein the backing plate is a polycrystalline backing plate.
7. The method of claim 1, which further includes removing a portion of a gas turbine engine component to be repaired to reveal a through-cut, wherein the electromagnetic energy is provided with a laser, and wherein the plurality of repair layers is transverse to the through-cut of the gas turbine engine component.
8. A method comprising:
- adding material to a gas turbine engine component, the adding including: coupling a substrate to the gas turbine engine component such that the substrate extends beyond the gas turbine engine component, the substrate forming a base for a deposit of material to create an extended surface of the gas turbine engine component; energizing a metal feedstock above the substrate to create a fused metal coupled with the gas turbine engine component; as a result of the energizing, creating a first layer of metal parallel with the substrate, the first layer having a first thickness; and as a result of the energizing, creating a second layer of metal parallel with the first layer, the first layer disposed between the second layer and the substrate, the second layer having a second thickness.
9. The method of claim 8, which further includes finishing the gas turbine engine component after the forming to remove material outside of a net shape, and wherein a length of the first layer is larger than the first thickness and the length is a distance along a stack of first layer and second layer parallel with the substrate.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the metal feedstock is a metal powder, and wherein as a result of the creating, forming a stack of layers having a stack thickness, the thickness smaller than a length of the stack as it extends to cover an area.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the energizing includes lasing the metal feedstock with a laser.
12. The method of claim 8, which further includes removing a damaged portion of the gas turbine engine component, and wherein the forming is a repair process of a damaged gas turbine engine component.
13. The method of claim 8, which further includes removing the substrate.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the removing includes removing a portion of the substrate and leaving another portion coupled to the gas turbine engine component.
15. A method comprising:
- coupling a gas turbine engine component with a sacrificial substrate;
- directing a feedstock material to a work area of the gas turbine engine component;
- fusing the feedstock material to the gas turbine engine component via an electromagnetic energy to create a layer of metal;
- forming a plurality of layers with the fusing; and
- removing a portion of the sacrificial substrate, a remaining portion of the sacrificial substrate forming part of a refurbished gas turbine engine component.
16. The method of claim 15, which further includes removing a portion of the gas turbine engine component prior to the forming, and wherein the plurality of layers are parallel with the sacrificial substrate.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the electromagnetic energy is from a laser.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the feedstock material is a powdered metal.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein a thickness of the plurality of layers is smaller than a width of the plurality of layers.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the refurbished gas turbine engine component is a component repaired from a damage inflicted upon the component.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the sacrificial substrate is a polycrystalline substrate.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 26, 2011
Publication Date: Jun 28, 2012
Inventor: Quinlan Yee Shuck (Indianapolis, IN)
Application Number: 13/337,190
International Classification: B22D 23/06 (20060101);