General Electric Company

Gerald E Wasielewski

Adrian M Beltran

William F Schilling

A method is disclosed for metallurgically bonding a protective sheet cladding to a convex-concave substrate such as an airfoil or turbine blade. According to the method of the invention, a preassembled sheet cladding and substrate is masked at all seams. The masked assembly is then placed in a deformable container with the remaining volume filled with glass chips. The container is thereafter outgassed and sealed air-tight. The container is then placed in a hot gas autoclave for diffusion bonding. During the diffusion bonding step, the glass melts and the container deforms thereby ensuring an isostatic stress state. The bonded clad-substrate is subsequently removed from the container for final cleaning.

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Rexford, NY, United States of America

Gerald E Wasielewski