United Technologies Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Herbert A Chin

Wangen Lin

William P Ogden

James J Moor

David A Haluck

Andrew L Haynes

Robert P Schaefer

Eberhardt Privitzer

Vincent Nevins

Greg Czeladko

Gabriel L Suciu

John Joseph Marcin

Dilip M Shah

Thomas DeMichael

Paul D Genereux

Billie W Bunting

Paul L Reynolds

Carl E Kelly

Michael A Moulin

Kenneth T Raczewski

Jesse R Boyer

Sean P McCutchan

Leroy H Favrow

James Romanelli

Robert P Delisle

Thomas E O'Connell

Ronald I Holland

Anindya Ghoshal

Michael J Labbe

John E Matz

Jules P Winfree

Ronald F Spitzer

Lucy M Favrow, Legal Representative

Allen V Keller

James L Ambler

Gene A Danko

Sonia A Martinez

Melissa R Hill

Samuel T Davidson

Adam Quagliaroli

Robert W Jackson

Sean Mccutchan

Jr Nevins Nevins

High modulus turbine shafts and high modulus cylindrical articles are described as are the process parameters for producing these shafts and cylindrical articles. The shafts/articles have a high Young's modulus as a result of having high modulus &#x3c;111&#x3e; crystal texture along the longitudinal axis of the shaft/article. The shafts are produced from directionally solidified seeded &#x3c;111&#x3e; single crystal cylinders that are axisymmetrically hot worked before a limited recrystallization process is carried out at a temperature below the recrystallization temperature of the alloy. The disclosed process produces an intense singular &#x3c;111&#x3e; texture and results in shaft or cylindrical article with a Young's modulus that is at least 40% greater than that of conventional nickel or iron alloys or conventional steels.

High elastic modulus shafts and method of manufacture

A method for cost effectively case hardening a component formed from a martensitic stainless steel material with a desired metallurgical condition for high temperature, high rolling contact fatigue, corrosion and spall initiation and propagation resistance bearing performance. The method describes a method to significantly reduce the carburization or carbo-nitriding process times for appreciable reduction in manufacturing cost. The Method includes the steps of: forming the component from a martensitic stainless steel material having an ASTM grain size of 9 or finer; and subjecting the component to one of a carburization and a carbo-nitriding treatment with significantly lower case hardening times for manufacturing cost-effectiveness.

Case hardening method for high performance long life martensitic stainless steel bearings

A method of treating bearing rolling elements or bearing rings after a hardening and temper heat treatment is disclosed. The method may include treating the bearing rolling elements in a tumbling treatment and then in a duplex hardening treatment. The method may include treating the bearing rings in a peening treatment and then in a duplex hardening treatment. The duplex hardening treatment may also include at least one sequential process segment consisting of subjecting the bearing rolling element & rings to a nitriding process to increase the surface hardness and compressive residual stress. The combined two-step process produces a deep surface/sub-surface residual stress greater than the depth of the maximum operating von-Mises shear stress along with an ultra-hard surface with high magnitude of compressive residual stress. In so doing, the bearing ring and rolling elements will have significantly enhanced rolling contact fatigue resistance and resistance to surface imperfections and debris.

Manufacturing process for aerospace bearing rolling elements

An example method of attaching an airfoil for an integrally bladed rotor includes placing a support collar in an installed position around at least a leading edge and trailing edge of an airfoil stub to be repaired in an integrally bladed rotor. The support collar and the airfoil stub together have a midline that is positioned between opposing, laterally outer surfaces of the airfoil stub when the support collar is in the installed position. The method performs linear friction welding to add a replacement airfoil to the airfoil stub.

Support collar geometry for linear friction welding

A method of repairing a rotor blade, for example on an integrally bladed rotor, includes preparing a surface on a damaged area of the blade. The blade has first and second airfoil surfaces adjoining the prepared surface that are spaced apart a distance. An edge of a patch abuts the prepared surface to provide a weld interface defining a welding plane. First and second cover sheets respectively overlap the first and second airfoil surfaces. The first and second cover sheets adjoin the edge and the first and second airfoil surfaces. The blade, patch and first and second cover sheets are welded along the welding plane providing a welded joint at the weld interface. The first and second cover sheets are substantially unsecured to the first and second airfoil surfaces subsequent to the welding operation.

Welding repair method of an integrally bladed rotor

A method is provided for repairing a damaged rotor blade on an integrally bladed rotor by removing a damaged portion of a damaged blade leaving a blade stub extending outwardly from the disk and performing a linear friction welding operation to attach a replacement blade segment to the blade stub. The rotor may be disposed operation using a linear friction welding apparatus. The method includes disposing a support collar about the blade stub and securing the support collar to the linear friction welding apparatus prior to a commencement of the bonding operation. A lower surface of the support collar is contoured to mate with a portion of an outer circumference surface of the rotor disk.

Repair of integrally bladed rotors

A device and method for locally heat treating at least one airfoil in an integrally bladed rotor device. A pair of IR heat sources are positioned to direct IR heat rays in the direction where local heat treatment is required. A pair of parabolic mirrors are positioned to direct the IR heat rays on to the metal component. The heat treating is useful after welding the airfoil on to the rotor device.

Local heat treatment of IBR blade using infrared heating

A method of processing steel includes carburizing a martensitic stainless steel work piece to produce a carburized case by utilizing in combination, (i) a composition of the martensitic stainless steel work piece, (ii) a preselected carbon concentration in the carburized case, and (iii) a preselected grain size of the martensitic stainless steel work piece such that the carburized case predominately forms carbides of composition MC, MC, MCor combinations thereof. The martensitic stainless steel work piece is then heated to substantially solution the metal carbides. The work piece is then quenched at a cooling rate that is sufficient to avoid substantial precipitation of any carbides during cool down to the martensite start temperature, then given a low temperature temper. In so doing, the carburized case hardened martensitic stainless steel will have balanced mechanical, tribological and corrosion resistance properties for high performance bearing and gear components.

Method of processing steel and steel article

A method of repairing an integrally bladed rotor includes the steps of placing a support collar around at least a leading and trailing edge portions of the blade stub, and performing linear friction welding to add a replacement airfoil to the blade stub. The linear friction welding is generally along a direction between the leading and trailing edges. In addition, the support collar leading and trailing edge portions are connected together.

Consumable collar for linear friction welding of blade replacement for damaged integrally bladed rotors

A process for heat treating selected portions of an integrally bladed rotor (IBR) having a plurality of blades, the process using an IBR on a fixture having a rotor engaging portion that moves the IBR into an environmental chamber. An IR heater is placed on one of the IBR blades and heat treated after air has been removed from the chamber and an inert gas is added. The IR heater is lifted from the blade and indexed to position another blade on the IBR. The process is repeated until all the IBR blades are heat treated.

Method and apparatus of heat treating an integrally bladed rotor

A method and apparatus for fixturing an airfoil stub during linear friction welding are described. Critical clamping support structures are manufactured by a direct digital manufacturing process such as direct metal laser sintering to minimize time and expense of the process.

Support structure for linear friction welding

A method for testing ball bearings includes applying a Hertzian contact stress on a ball bearing to provide a fracture of the ball bearing that releases acoustic energy, establishing a signal representing the acoustic energy, and identifying occurrence of the fracture based upon the signal.

Acoustic method and apparatus for fracture detection of ball bearings

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Portland, CT, United States of America

Herbert A Chin