General Electric Company

Roger Owen Barbe

Todd Jay Rockstroh

Seetha Ramaiah Mannava

Robert William Bruce

Robert Proctor

David Edwin Budinger

Clifford Earl Shamblen

Michael J Epstein

Thomas Froats Broderick

Ronald Lance Galley

Julius John Montgomery

Mitchell Jay Headley

Andrew David Kemp

Bryan Keith Doloresco

John William Hanify

Hai Buu Sam

Scott Howard Pelletier

Reed Roy Oliver

James Bernar Ogzewalla

David N Rosenow

Erosion- and impact-resistant ceramic coatings suitable for protecting surfaces subjected to collisions with particles, including nominally round particles that typically inflict impact damage and more aggressive irregular-shaped particles that typically inflict erosion damage. The ceramic coating is formed to have one of three compositions: at least one layer of titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) having a thickness of about 25 to about 100 micrometers; multiple layers of chromium nitride (CrN) and TiAlN, each layer having a thickness of about 0.2 to about 1.0 micrometers to yield a total coating thickness of at least about 3 micrometers; and at least one layer of titanium silicon carbonitride (TiSiCN) having a thickness of about 15 to about 100 micrometers. The ceramic coating preferably has a total coating thickness of up to about 100 micrometers, and is deposited by a physical vapor deposition process to have a columnar and/or dense microstructure.

Erosion- and impact-resistant coatings

A method enables a variable vane assembly for a gas turbine engine including a casing and an inner shroud to be assembled. The method comprises providing at least one variable vane including a radially inner spindle that has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape, and coupling the variable vane radially between the casing and the inner shroud such that the radially inner spindle is rotatably coupled within an opening extending through the inner shroud, wherein the opening has a non-circular cross-sectional profile.

Methods and apparatus for assembling gas turbine engines

A method for assembling a vane sector for a gas turbine engine, the vane sector including an airfoil vane and a platform includes depositing a wear coating material onto a selected area of the platform, positioning the platform adjacent to the airfoil vane, and executing a brazing operation such that the airfoil vane is permanently coupled to the platform portion and such that the wear coating material is bonded across a predefined area of the platform.

Method for coating gas turbine engine components

A gas turbine engine blade is laser shock peened by laser shock peening a thin airfoil of the blade, forming a laser shock induced twist in the airfoil, and shot peening a portion of the airfoil to counter the laser shock induced twist in the airfoil. The shot peening may be performed before or after the laser shock peening. The shot peening may be applied over a laser shock peened surface formed by the laser shock peening. The shot peening may be performed asymmetrically on asymmetrically shot peened pressure and suction side areas of pressure and suction sides, respectively, of the airfoil. A shot peened patch near a blade tip may be formed on one of pressure and suction sides of the airfoil wherein the airfoil extends radially outwardly from a blade platform to the blade tip of the blade.

Countering laser shock peening induced airfoil twist using shot peening

A method for laser shock peening a gas turbine engine blade includes laser shock peening a thin airfoil of the blade, forming a laser shock induced twist in the airfoil, and altering a root of the blade to counter the laser shock induced twist in the airfoil. The altering may be done after the laser shock peening. The altering may be done before the laser shock peening during casting or forging of the blade or during a machining or broaching procedure which cuts a shape of the root. One embodiment of the altering includes forming the root with an altered root centerline having an altered centerline angle with respect to a predetermined root centerline designed for a non-laser shock peened airfoil of the blade.

Countering laser shock peening induced blade twist

A gas turbine engine includes a compressor including a casing and a stator assembly. The casing extends around the stator assembly, the stator assembly including a plurality of stator vanes, and a plurality of bleed scoops. Adjacent stator vanes define a static high-pressure region, the bleed scoops formed at least partially within the high pressure region.

Gas turbine engine bleed scoops

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Roger Owen Barbe