General Electric Company

Donald N Wemple, Jr

Ann Melinda Ritter

Paul Leonard Dupree

Melvin Robert Jackson

John R Hughes

A method for forming an exterior surface of a high-temperature component, such as a blade or vane of a gas turbine engine. The method entails forming a shell by a powder metallurgy technique that yields an airfoil whose composition can be readily tailored for the particular service conditions of the component. The method generally entails providing a pair of inner and outer mold members that form a cavity therebetween. One or more powders and any desired reinforcement material are then placed in the cavity and then consolidated at an elevated temperature and pressure in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. Thereafter, at least the outer mold member is removed to expose the consolidated powder structure. By appropriately shaping the mold members to tailor the shape of the cavity, the consolidated powder structure has the desired shape for the exterior shell of a component, such that subsequent processing of the component does not require substantially altering the configuration of the exterior shell. The airfoil can be produced as a free-standing article or produced directly on a mandrel that subsequently forms the interior structure of the component. In one embodiment, an airfoil is configured to have double walls through which cooling air flows.

Method of forming high-temperature components and components formed

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) Ni-base alloy foils are made directly from powders of these alloys by hot pressing. These ODS Ni-base alloy foils are characterized by having a thickness of 0.017 in. or less, and by the fact that they are fine-grained and substantially free of nitrogen and deformation induced defects. The as-pressed ODS Ni-base alloy foils are adapted for subsequent forming operations, including cold rolling. The reduction in thickness imparted in a single pass to an Ni-base alloy foil through cold-rolling was about 8%. The total reduction in thickness was about 55% based upon a plurality of such passes. For reductions in thickness greater than 20%, annealing is employed for stress relief.

Oxide dispersion strengthened alloy foils

An apparatus for use in hot pressing metal alloy foils, such as by HIP, directly from metal alloy powders. The invention is a metal container with a cavity having near-net shape of a thin metal foil. The cavity may be lined with a diffusion inhibiting material, so as to inhibit the interdiffusion between the metal container and the metal alloy powder during hot pressing. The apparatus also may include an integrally formed orifice for evacuating the metal container.

Apparatus for making metal alloy foils

Ni-base alloy foils are made directly from Ni-base alloy powders by hot pressing. These Ni-base alloy foils are characterized by having a thickness of 0.017 in. or less, and by the fact that they are fine-grained and substantially free of oxygen, nitrogen and deformation-induced defects. The as-pressed Ni-base foils are generally ductile and adapted for subsequent forming operations, including cold rolling. The reduction in thickness imparted in a single pass to a Ni-base alloy foil through cold-rolling ranged from 4-10% depending on the alloy composition. The total reduction in thickness ranged from about 10-50% based upon a plurality of such passes. For reductions in thickness greater than about 10%, annealing is employed for stress relief.

Ni-base alloy foils

A method for making metal alloy foils directly from metal alloy powder is described. The metal alloy foils are formed by the use of a combination of a means for heating and a means for pressing, such as a hot isostatic press, to densify a metal alloy powder so as to directly form a metal alloy foil. The metal alloy powder is contained within an apparatus which has a near-net shape of a foil, such that the application of heat and pressure will consolidate the metal powder and form the metal alloy foil. This method may be used to make metal foils out of a wide variety of metal alloys, particularly high temperature alloys, such as Ti-base, Ni-base, and B-base and Al-Si alloys. After the step with heating and pressing, the metal alloy foil is removed from the apparatus which is used to contain it, such as by the use of chemical etching or milling. The method also comprises subsequent thermal or mechanical processing of the metal alloy foil in order to improve its properties, such as the use of cold-rolling to enhance the uniformity of the metal alloy foil thickness and/or alter the mechanical properties of the foil.

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

Donald N Wemple, Jr