The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 21, 2001
Filed:
Oct. 25, 1999
Michael Francis Xavier Gigliotti, Jr., Scotia, NY (US);
Shyh-Chin Huang, Latham, NY (US);
Roger John Petterson, Fultonville, NY (US);
Ji-Cheng Zhao, Niskayuna, NY (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A liquid metal cooled directional solidification process provides improved solidification characteristics at the solidification front. In the process, a mold is filled with molten metal; and a solidification interface is caused to pass through the molten metal by progressively immersing the mold into a cooling liquid. The cooling liquid is a eutectic or near eutectic metal composition. A directional solidification furnace includes a heating furnace, a liquid cooling bath and a mold positioner. The heating furnace has an open bottom end through which a heated mold containing molten metal is lowered from the furnace. The liquid cooling bath comprises a molten eutectic or near eutectic metal composition positioned beneath the open end of the furnace. The mold positioner gradually lowers the heated mold from the furnace, through the open end and immerses the mold into the liquid cooling bath.