Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation

Mohan A Hebbar

Michael Anthony Burke

Brij B Seth

Thomas Walter Zagar

Gary W Swartzbeck

Paula D Freyer

High efficiency, thin-walled turbine components such as turbine blade airfoils comprise a superalloy substrate covered by a thin skin. The thin skin may be bonded to the inner spar structure of a turbine blade airfoil by a transient liquid phase bonding process. The inner spar preferably comprises a cast single crystal nickel base superalloy. The thin skin may comprise a single crystal or polycrystalline nickel base superalloy or the like.

Turbine components comprising thin skins bonded to superalloy substrates

Large gas turbine blades made from separate cast segments of superalloys are disclosed. The turbine blade is designed such that bond lines between adjacent segments are placed in low stress regions of the blade. The cast superalloy segments of the blades are aligned and fitted together with specified tolerances. The turbine blade segments are then joined by transient liquid phase bonding, followed by a controlled heat treatment which produces the desired microstructure in the bond region. The method allows for the production of large, high quality turbine blades by joining small, high quality cast superalloy sections, in comparison with prior attempts to cast large turbine blades as single pieces which have produced very low yields and high individual component costs.

Turbine blades made from multiple single crystal cast superalloy segments

A method of bonding cast superalloys is disclosed. The method includes the steps of casting separate superalloy component parts, machining the mating surfaces of the separate parts in a controlled manner to avoid recrystallization of the material and to ensure a tight fit between the parts, bonding the parts together, and thermally treating the bonded component. In a preferred embodiment, the component is a turbine blade for a land-based gas turbine.

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Oviedo, FL, United States of America

Mohan A Hebbar