General Electric Company

Peter Wayte

Andrew Philip Woodfield

Thomas Froats Broderick

Michael James Weimer

Eric Allen Ott

Clifford Earl Shamblen

Ming Cheng Li

Jerome A Juenger

Mike Eugene Mechley

Brian Francis Mickle

Nancy Ann Sullivan

Bernard Harold Lawless

Wesley Douglas Pridemore

Fredrick C Herzner

An elongated rod assembly is made by preparing a plurality of rods. Each rod is prepared by the steps of furnishing at least one nonmetallic precursor compound, thereafter chemically reducing the precursor compounds to produce the metallic material, and thereafter consolidating the metallic material to form the rod, wherein the rod has a rod length equal to the assembly length. The rods are bundled together to form a bundled rod assembly. The rod assembly may be used as a consumable feedstock in a melting-and-casting operation.

Method for making and using a rod assembly

A Ti-6Al-4V-0.2O (Ti64) forged article is fabricated by forging a workpiece to make a forged gas turbine engine component having a thick portion thereof with a section thickness greater than 2&#xbc; inches. The forged article is heat treated by solution heat treating at a temperature of from about 50&#xb0; F. to about 75&#xb0; F. below the beta-transus temperature of the alloy, thereafter water quenching the gas turbine engine component to room temperature, and thereafter aging the gas turbine engine component at a temperature of from about 900&#xb0; F. to about 1000&#xb0; F. The resulting machined gas turbine engine component has a 0.2 percent yield strength of from about 120 ksi to about 140 ksi at its centerline, and a 0.2 percent yield strength of from about 160 ksi to about 175 ksi at a location about &#xbd; inch below a surface thereof.

Method for fabricating a thick Ti64 alloy article to have a higher surface yield and tensile strengths and a lower centerline yield and tensile strengths

A titanium-alloy article is produced by providing a workpiece of an alpha-beta titanium alloy having a beta-transus temperature, and thereafter mechanically working the workpiece at a mechanical-working temperature above the beta-transus temperature. The mechanically worked workpiece is solution heat treated at a solution-heat-treatment temperature of from about 175&#xb0; F. below the beta-transus temperature to about 25&#xb0; F. below the beta-transus temperature, quenched, overage heat treated at an overage-heat-treatment temperature of from about 400&#xb0; F. below the beta-transus temperature to about 275&#xb0; F. below the beta-transus temperature, and cooled from the overage-heat-treatment temperature.

Method for producing a beta-processed alpha-beta titanium-alloy article

A BLISK having a damaged blade, with a repair region that has a thickness less than a specified thickness as a result of damage during manufacture or prior service, is repaired by depositing repair metal onto the repair region to increase its thickness to greater than its specified thickness dimension. Only the repair region is stress relieved by heating the repair region to a stress-relieving temperature of from about 1150&#xb0; F. to about 1250&#xb0; F. for a time of at least about 1 hour. The intentional manipulation of microstructure in only the thinner airfoil sections allows multiple repairs, which are not possible in the thicker sections of the BLISK. An alpha-case thickness of repair metal, preferably of at least about 0.0002 inches of repair metal, is removed from a surface of the repair region.

Method for repairing a damaged blade of a Blisk

A process for detecting an aluminum-based material deposited onto a titanium-based gas turbine engine component during engine operation is disclosed. The process comprises immersing at least a portion of the titanium-based component, which has been subjected to engine operation, into an acid solution to form an etched component. The acid solution comprises sodium fluoride, sulphuric acid and water. The etched component may then be removed from the solution and visually inspected for dark areas in contrast to light areas, the dark areas indicating deposited aluminum-based material.

Method for inspecting a titanium-based component

A dry film, low coefficient of friction lubricant for titanium pieces is prepared by mixing together solid lubricant particles, poly(tetrafluoroethylene), a suspending agent, and a curable resin in an evaporable carrier. The mixture is applied to titanium or titanium alloy surfaces that contact each other in service. The carrier is evaporated during a subsequent thermal cure, leaving a lubricating film on the surfaces.

Curable dry film lubricant for titanium alloys

An improved type wear protection system for a turbine engine rotor and blade, in which a multilayer clad shim is interposed between a dovetail portion of a blade and the dovetail slot portion of a rotor, is described. The shim, preferably comprised of surface layers of phosphor bronze and a center layer of austenitic stainless steel, is especially effective in preventing fretting damage to titanium engine components.

Wear protection system for turbine engine rotor and blade

A metallic reinforced shim is attached to the dovetail of turbine or compressor blades. The shim reduces frictionally induced wear damage to the rotor. In one form, a single ply shim reinforced with a metallic doubler has an anti-fretting layer deposited on the shim face contacting the dovetail slot pressure face, and a doubler layer fastened to the anti-fretting layer in the non-contacting regions to prevent slippage of the shim on the blade. In another form, a multi-layer shim has two layers interposed between the blade dovetail and the disk dovetail slot, with the layers treated so that they do not readily slip relative to the titanium pieces, but do slip relative to each other. The shim is also reinforced with a metallic doubler. Fretting is confined to the consumable shim, and therefore the disk dovetail slot and the mating blade dovetails are not subject to surface degradation with corresponding reduction in fatigue capability.

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Maineville, OH, United States of America

Peter Wayte