General Electric Company

Jeffrey Michael Breznak

Alan Michael Iversen

Lawrence Lee Sowers

James F Hopeck

Yu Wang

David Robert Schumacher

Vincenzo Sofia

Sameh Ramadan Salem

Andrew Batton Witney

James Fredrick Hopeck

Manoj Ramprasad Shah

Yan Cui

Brian Lee Tollison

Michael Douglas Arnett

Judson Sloan Marte

Swami Ganesh

Matthew Joseph Laylock

George Rowan Silliman

Russell Earle Walthers

Steven Louis Breitenbach

Subrahmanyam Thangirala

Alan Silvia

Joseph Alan Worden

Kurt Allen Rakozy

Deepak Saha

A method for repairing a part and the resulting is disclosed. The method includes positioning a plug having an inner braze element coupled thereto into a cavity defined by an internal surface of a component. The cavity has a circular cross-section at the external surface of the component. The plug completely fills the circular cross-section and the inner braze element is within the cavity. A braze paste is positioned at least partially around the plug at the external surface. The component is positioned such that the inner braze element is above the plug. The component is subjected to a thermal cycle to melt the inner braze element around the plug, completely sealing the cavity by forming a metallurgical bond with the plug and the internal surface of the component. During the thermal cycle the braze paste is melted to form a metallurgical bond with the plug and external surface.

Superalloy part and method of processing

A method of fabricating a joining preform includes the step of printing a self-fluxing joining alloy. Joining includes brazing and soldering. The self-fluxing joining alloy contains at least one of phosphorus, boron, fluorine, chlorine, or potassium. Another printing step prints a non-phosphorous joining alloy. Both printing steps are performed by an additive manufacturing or 3D printing process. The printing a self-fluxing joining alloy step may be repeated until the non-phosphorous joining alloy is substantially encapsulated by the self-fluxing joining alloy. The self-fluxing joining alloy may be a BCuP alloy, a CuP alloy, a CuSnP alloy, a CuSnNiP alloy or a CuAgP alloy. The non-phosphorous joining alloy may be a BAg alloy, a BNi alloy or a BAu alloy.

Additive manufacturing of joining preforms

A cast alloy is generally provided, along with methods of forming the cast alloy and components constructed from the cast alloy (e.g., stationary components of a turbine). The cast alloy can include, by weight, 0.12% to 0.20% carbon, 0.50% to 0.90% manganese, 0.25% to 0.60% silicon, 0.10% to 0.50% nickel, 1.15% to 1.50% chromium, 0.90% to 1.50% molybdenum, 0.70% to 0.80% vanadium, 0.0075% to 0.060% titanium, 0.008% to 0.012% boron, the balance iron, optionally low levels of other alloying constituents, and incidental impurities.

Cast CrMoV steel alloys and the method of formation and use in turbines thereof

A coating system and processes by which the coating system can be deposited on a surface region of a component to be resistant to erosion, and particularly resistant to erosion caused by high moisture content environments. The coating system includes a diffusion barrier layer, an intermediate layer overlying the diffusion barrier layer, and an outermost layer overlying the intermediate layer. The diffusion barrier layer is capable of inhibiting diffusion of damaging elements therethrough. The intermediate layer is an erosion-resistant material, having a hardness that is greater than the diffusion barrier layer, and being deposited by a near-net-shape laser deposition process. The outermost layer is erosion-resistant material, having a hardness that is greater that the hardness of the intermediate layer. The intermediate layer has a thickness of greater than the diffusion barrier layer and the outermost layer.

Erosion resistant coating systems and processes therefor

A system for forming a brazed joint between a tie wire and a workpiece, and methods therefor are presented. The system includes: a braze chamber including an induction heating coil, the induction heating coil having magnetic flux concentrators thereon; and a controller receiving a temperature feedback signal from a temperature sensor on a tie wire and controlling a temperature of a section of the tie wire to be brazed by controlling an electrical current applied to the induction heating coil.

System for forming brazed joint between tie wire and workpiece, and methods therefor

A brazing method includes the steps of providing a first part and a second part, at least a first portion of the first part is configured to fit inside a second portion of the second part, preplacing a first self-fluxing braze alloy on one or more of the first portion and second portion, preplacing a non-phosphorous braze alloy on the first self-fluxing braze alloy, preplacing another layer of the first self-fluxing braze alloy on the non-phosphorous braze alloy, thermally treating at least one of the first portion and second portion, to create a temperature differential between the first portion and second portion, inserting the first portion into the second portion, and heating at least one of the first portion and second portion to melt both layers of the first self-fluxing braze alloy and the non-phosphorous braze alloy. The first portion is joined by brazing to the second portion.

Brazing method using BCuP and BAg braze alloys

A method for handling a stator bar at a braze station including: lifting the stator bar from a platform, wherein the stator bar is in a substantially horizontal orientation on the platform; turning the stator bar from the horizontal orientation to an orientation at least 45 degrees from horizontal; aligning an upper end of the bar with a brazing station and positioning a lower end of the bar in a pit; turning the bar to reverse positions of the ends of the bar, and returning the stator bar to a horizontal orientation.

Method for handling a stator bar using a pit

A method for handling a stator bar at a stator bar facility having a stator bar workstation, an in-ground pit proximate to and at an elevation below the workstation and a stator bar transport proximate to the in-ground pit including: loading the stator bar onto the stator bar transport; turning the stator bar at least 45 degrees in a vertical plane; positioning at least a third of a length of the stator bar down into the in-ground pit, aligning a first end of the bar with the workstation, and turning the bar to reverse positions of the ends of the bar, such that a second end of the bar is aligned with the workstation.

Heat treatment processes for hardening a workpiece such as a turbine blade include attaching a spacer to a workpiece surface, wherein the spacer comprises an inner profile mirroring the workpiece surface and an outer profile effective to generally uniformly distribute heat to the workpiece surface, heating the spacer to uniformly heat the workpiece surface at a temperature effective to form an austenitic microstructure in the workpiece surface, cooling the workpiece surface at a rate effective to transform the austenitic microstructure to a martensitic microstructure, and removing the spacer from the workpiece prior to or subsequent to cooling.

Uniform heat treatment process for hardening steel

A method of forming a brazed joint between an armature bar and a hydraulic header clip including the steps of: locating ends of a plurality of hollow strands and a plurality of solid strands within a cavity in an end fitting such that free ends of said hollow strands extend axially beyond free ends of said solid strands; and pre-placing an essentially phosphorous-free silver braze alloy around and between said ends of said hollow strands and said solid strands such that said braze alloy extends axially beyond the free ends of said solid strands.

Method for applying braze end isolation layer for generator armature winding bar

A method of forming a brazed joint between an armature bar and a hydraulic header clip including: assembling free ends of hollow strands and of solid strands of the armature winding bar and positioning the assembly within the hydraulic header clip; interleaving a silver based braze alloy between the strands, wherein a portion of the braze alloy extends axially beyond the free ends of a plurality of the solid strands and the free ends of a plurality of the hollow strands extend axially beyond the braze material; positioning the assembly of the free ends, hydraulic header clip and the braze alloy in a braze chamber, such that the clip is seated in an induction heating coil of the chamber; heating the assembly to a first temperature below a solidus temperature of the braze alloy and within a 200 degrees Fahrenheit of the solidus temperature activating the induction heat coil to heat the clip; heating the assembly to a second temperature above the liquidus temperature of the braze alloy; pooling liquid braze alloy on ends of the armature bar, and cooling the assembly and clip thereby forming a braze isolation layer on the end of the armature bar.

Method for applying an isolation layer to a brazed end of a generator armature winding bar

A stator bar facility including: a stator bar workstation; an in-ground pit below the workstation; a stator bar elevator extending from the workstation pit, and a coupling mechanism attached to the elevator, wherein the coupling mechanism further comprises a rotational mount to receive at least one stator bar, wherein the rotational mount enables the received stator bar to be turned from a substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position.

Method and system for handling a stator bar using a pit

A liquid-cooled armature bar end fitting-to-strand brazed connection. The end fitting is comprised of a main body and a cover, and defines a cavity, a bottom wall of which is defined in part by the cover. An armature winding bar strand package including solid strands and hollow strands arranged in a tiered array extends into the end fitting so that at least the free ends of the hollow strands extend beyond the bottom wall, into the cavity. The side wall of the cavity is spaced from the hollow strands. A braze alloy joins the strands to each other and to the end fitting. The braze alloy forms an isolation layer over the free ends of the solid strands and over the said bottom wall of the cavity to a depth above a horizontal junction between the main body and the cover.

Liquid-cooled armature bar clip-to-strand connection and method

A method of forming a brazed joint between an armature bar and a hydraulic header clip including: assembling an end of the armature bar, hydraulic header clip and a substantially phosphorus-free braze material; positioning the assembly of the armature bar, hydraulic header clip and the braze material in a braze chamber, such that the clip is seated in an induction heating coil; heating the assembly to a first temperature within 200 degrees Fahrenheit of and below a solidus temperature of the braze material by applying electrical current to the induction heat coil; heating the assembly to a second temperature above the liquidus temperature of the braze material; pooling liquid braze material on ends of the armature bar, and cooling the assembly and thereby forming a braze layer on the end of the armature bar.

System for applying an isolation layer to a brazed end of a generator armature winding bar

A method of sealing a generator stator bar and a stator bar end fitting receiving the end including the steps of: brazing the fitting to the end of the stator bar with a braze material; applying a metallic barrier coating material to the end of the stator bar in the fitting; heating the fitting at a temperature at least as hot as a liquidus temperature of the metallic coating material and cooler than a solids temperature of the braze material; coating the end of the stator bar in the fitting with liquid metallic barrier coating material, and solidifying the liquefied metallic coating material to form a metallic barrier coating on the end of the stator bar in the fitting.

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Waterford, NY, United States of America

Jeffrey Michael Breznak