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US 10,227,704 B2Granted
High-modulus coating for local stiffening of airfoil trailing edges
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsWendell V. Twelves, Grant O. Cook, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An airfoil is disclosed. The airfoil may comprise a leading edge, a body portion and a trailing edge formed from a high-modulus plating. The body portion of the airfoil may be formed from a material having a lower elastic modulus than the high-modulus plating. The high-modulus plating may improve the stiffness of the trailing edge, allowing for thinner trailing edges with improved fatigue life to be formed.
Claims16
An airfoil, comprising:
- a leading edge;
- a body portion;
- and
- a trailing edge formed from a high-modulus plating, the body portion being formed from a material that has a lower elastic modulus than the high-modulus plating, wherein the body portion is truncated at a backside prior to the trailing edge, and wherein the high-modulus plating is applied to a back surface of the back side to form the trailing edge.
1 more element
An airfoil, comprising:
- a body portion forming a leading edge and an intact trailing edge;
- and
- a high-modulus plating applied to and forming an extension of the intact trailing edge, wherein the body portion is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of titanium and a composite material and wherein the high-modulus plating is applied to the intact trailing edge by a method selected from the group consisting of electrolytic plating, electroless plating, brush plating, spray metal deposition, chemical vapor deposition, plasma vapor deposition, and a powder spray deposition process.
A method for fabricating an airfoil, comprising:
- forming a body portion of the airfoil;
- and
- applying a high-modulus plating to the body portion to form a trailing edge, the body portion of the airfoil being formed from a material having a lower elastic modulus than the high-modulus plating, wherein the material forming the body portion is selected from the group consisting of titanium and a composite material, and wherein the high-modulus plating is formed from one or more layers of a metal or a metal alloy selected from the group consisting of nickel, iron, cobalt, and an alloy of any of the foregoing elements comprising at least 50 wt. % of the alloy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.