General Electric Company

Mark Lawrence Hunt

Steven Charles Woods

Earl Claude Helder

Paul Stephen DiMascio

Mark Steven Honkomp

Mark Carmine Bellino

Wendy Howard Murphy

Timothy V Stotler

Warren Martin Miglietti

Steve Paul Byam

Matthew James O'Connell

Timothy Riggs

Robert John Heeg

Daniel Jacob Goertzen

Yan Cui

Canan Uslu Hardwicke

Pazhayannur Ramanathan Subramanian

Timothy Joseph Trapp

Jonathan Matthew Lomas

John David Ward, Jr

Christopher Edward Thompson

Liangde Xie

Jerry Ellison Gould

Dennis William Cavanaugh

Steven English Richard

Ethan Conrad Schaeffer

James Ryan Connor

Stephen Gerard Pope

Ronald Lee Souther

Mehmet Suleyman Ciray

Blake Allen Fulton

Joseph P Bellino

Eric Eicher McConnell

Karen Broadwell Lausier

John Gregory Obeirne

Frederick Whitfield Dantzler

Mathew D Skiliter

Michael J Caulfield

John David Ward

Mark Carmine Belling

A tip rail cooling insert for attaching into a tip rail pocket in a tip rail of a turbine blade is disclosed. The insert includes a first inner layer defining at least one first insert cooling channel therein, the first inner layer including a pair of spaced legs defining a first coolant collection plenum with at least the tip rail pocket for directing coolant from at least one internal cooling cavity in the turbine blade to the at least one first insert cooling channel. Each of the pair of spaced legs has an angled outer end configured to accommodate rounded inner corners of the tip rail pocket. A first outer layer is on a first side of the first inner layer, and a second outer layer is on a second side of the first inner layer.

Tip rail cooling insert for turbine blade tip cooling system and related method

A turbine blade tip cooling system includes a turbine blade having a tip cavity, a tip rail surrounding at least a portion of the tip cavity and at least one internal cooling cavity. The tip rail has an inner rail surface, an outer rail surface, an end surface and at least one tip rail pocket open at the end surface and fluidly connected to the at least one internal cooling cavity that carries a coolant. A tip rail cooling insert attaches to the at least one tip rail pocket, and has insert cooling channel(s) and a coolant collection plenum for directing coolant from the at least one internal cooling cavity to the insert cooling channel(s).

Turbine blade tip cooling system including tip rail cooling insert

A hybrid diffusion-brazing process and hybrid diffusion-brazed article are disclosed. The hybrid diffusion-brazing process includes providing a component having a temperature-tolerant region and a temperature-sensitive region, brazing a braze material to the temperature-tolerant region during a localized brazing cycle, then heating the component in a furnace during a diffusion cycle. The brazing and the heating diffusion-braze the braze material to the component, and the localized brazing cycle is performed independent of the diffusion cycle in the hybrid diffusion-brazing process. The hybrid diffusion-brazed article includes a component, and a braze material diffusion-brazed to the component with a filler material. The filler material has a melting temperature that is above a tolerance temperature of the component.

Hybrid diffusion-brazing process and hybrid diffusion-brazed article

Blockages of turbomachine cooling circuit cooling holes resulting from coating processes can be removed by introducing a cleaning agent into the cooling circuit. The cooling circuit can be connected to a cleaning agent supply under pressure, adding force on the blockage to chemical action by the cleaning agent. The cleaning agent is chemically reactive with the coating material and substantially chemically non-reactive with the underlying material of the cooling circuit and other parts of the turbomachine. A neutralization agent can also be introduced to reduce toxicity and/or action of the cleaning agent. A turbomachine cooling hole cleaning method includes introducing a cleaning agent into a cooling circuit of a turbomachine part, pressurizing the cleaning agent in the cooling circuit until a first defined condition is met, and introducing a neutralization agent to the turbomachine part while the cleaning agent is applied to the cooling circuit.

Cooling hole cleaning method

A modification process and modified article are disclosed. The modification process includes locating an area in an article, removing the area by machining to form a machined region, inserting a modification material into the machined region, securing the modification material to the article, machining the modification material flush with a geometry of the article, and applying a coating over at least a portion of the article. Another modification process includes locating an area under a suction side leading edge tip shroud fillet of an airfoil, removing the area by machining to form a hole, inserting a modification material having improved material properties as compared to an original base material into the hole, securing the modification material in place, machining the modification material and the airfoil to form a new fillet contour, and applying a coating over at least a portion of the airfoil. Also disclosed is the modified article.

Modification process and modified article

Blockages of turbomachine cooling circuit cooling holes resulting from coating processes can be removed by introducing a cleaning agent into the cooling circuit. The cooling circuit can be connected to a cleaning agent supply under pressure, adding force on the blockage to chemical action by the cleaning agent. The cleaning agent is chemically reactive with the coating material and substantially chemically non-reactive with the underlying material of the cooling circuit and other parts of the turbomachine. A neutralization agent can also be introduced to reduce toxicity and/or action of the cleaning agent.

Cooling hole cleaning method and apparatus

A system for performing remote welding operations on an apparatus is disclosed. The system may generally include a welding chamber configured to house the apparatus and a robotic welder positioned within the welding chamber. The robotic welder may be configured to perform an actual welding operation on the apparatus. In addition, the system may include a welding simulation device positioned outside the welding chamber and a controller communicatively coupled to the robotic welder and the welding simulation device. The welding simulation device may be configured to perform a simulated welding operation corresponding to the actual welding operation. The controller may be configured to track the movement of the welding simulation device and control the operation of the robotic welder based on the movements of the welding simulation device.

System and method for performing remote welding operations on an apparatus

A method for repairing a shroud tile of a gas turbine is disclosed. The method may generally include removing a portion of the shroud tile along at least one of a first side and a second side of the shroud tile and securing at least one side rail to the shroud tile in place of the removed portion of the shroud tile.

Method for repairing a shroud tile of a gas turbine

Methods of reducing an initial cross-sectional area of a hole in a component to a predetermined cross-sectional area including preparing a composition comprising at least an aluminum alloy with a melting temperature higher than aluminum, applying the composition to an interior surface of the hole, and then heating the component to cause a metal within the component to diffuse from the component into the composition and react with the aluminum alloy in the composition to form a coating on the interior surface of the hole. The heating step is performed to selectively modify the initial cross-sectional area of the hole and thereby directly attain the predetermined cross-sectional area thereof.

Methods of resizing holes

A fixture assembly for securing at least one side rail to a shroud tile of a gas turbine is disclosed. The fixture assembly may include a first support member, a second support member, a first guide block and a second guide block. The first and second guide blocks may be formed from a material that has the same or a similar coefficient of thermal expansion as the material used to form at least one of the shroud tile and the at least one side rail. In addition, the first and second support members may be formed from a material that has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than the material used to form the first and second guide blocks.

Fixture assembly for repairing a shroud tile of a gas turbine

Automated polishing systems include a polisher for polishing the coating on the article and a robotic positioner for moving the polisher relative to the article on an automated path, wherein the polisher polishes at least a part of the coating during movement, a force feedback sensor for determining a force of the polisher against the article during polishing, and a controller for maintaining the polisher within a predetermined force range against the article based at least in part on the force determined by the force feedback sensor.

Automated polishing systems and methods

A composite turbine blade and a method of manufacture thereof is disclosed. The composite turbine blade comprises a turbine blade portion comprising a first material and a first tip plate comprising a second material. The turbine blade portion has an exterior wall and an interior wall surrounding a hollow interior cavity, and a top surface extending from the exterior wall to the interior wall bounding an orifice that is fluidly connected to the hollow interior cavity. The first tip plate may be attached to the turbine blade along the top surface and extending from proximate the exterior wall of the turbine blade across the orifice to cover the orifice.

Composite turbine blade and method of manufacture

A method for creating a platform cooling passage in a turbine rotor blade, wherein the turbine rotor blade comprises a platform at an interface between an airfoil and a root, wherein the platform includes a platform topside along an outboard surface. The method may include the steps of forming a recessed area along the platform topside; forming a coverplate; and affixing the coverplate to the platform topside. The coverplate may be configured to correspond to the shape of the recessed area such that, when affixed to the platform topside in a desired manner, the coverplate substantially encloses the recessed area to form the platform cooling passage therein.

Platform cooling passages and methods for creating platform cooling passages in turbine rotor blades

Composite turbine blade and method of manufacture thereof

The present invention provides a friction stir welding apparatus and associated thermal management systems and methods for joining one or more similar or dissimilar materials forming a workpiece along a joint to be welded. The friction stir welding apparatus includes a pin tool apparatus selectively disposed adjacent to and in direct contact with a first surface of the workpiece along the joint to be welded and a heating member disposed adjacent to a second surface of the workpiece along the joint to be welded, the heating member operable for controllably heating at least a portion of the workpiece adjacent to the joint to be welded. The friction stir welding apparatus also includes an annular spindle having an interior portion and an axis, the interior portion of the annular spindle at least partially defining one or more cooling channels, the one or more cooling channels operable for containing a cooling fluid. The friction stir welding apparatus further includes a shoulder disposed adjacent to the annular spindle and substantially aligned with the axis of the annular spindle and a pin tool disposed adjacent to the shoulder and substantially aligned with the axis of the annular spindle. The cooling fluid is operable for cooling at least one of the shoulder and the pin tool.

Friction stir welding apparatus and associated thermal management systems and methods

Growing community of inventors

Simpsonville, SC, United States of America

Mark Lawrence Hunt