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:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Jul. 14, 2000
Frederic Joseph Klug, Schenectady, NY (US);
Robert Arthur Giddings, Slingerlands, NY (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A method for fabricating a fired ceramic article, a green product, and a fired ceramic article, all for use as a core in the investment casting of directionally solidified eutectic and superalloy material. A ceramic slurry is prepared of alumina, aluminum and a solution of a polymerizable binder in a liquid. The slurry is extruded under low pressure into a closed cavity to form a gelled green product which is subsequently heated in an oxygen-containing atmosphere, wherein the oxygen reacts with the aluminum in the green product to form alumina which advantageously causes an increase in volume of the green product which counters the shrinkage effects of heating. The polymerizable binder is of a type which cross-links with the alumina and upon heating the liquid component of such binder vaporizes and the remaining polymer component subsequently gasifies on further heating to leave desired interstitial pores within the green product, which assist in allowing the oxygen to permeate the green product, which assists in oxidation of the aluminum through the green product. The green product is thereafter sintered to form a substantially dimensionally precise ceramic article suitable for precision-casting of superalloy materials.