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US 11,684,997 B2Granted
Manufacture of a hollow aerofoil
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsMichael J. Wallis, Andrew R. Fearn, Paul Mason
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of manufacturing a hollow aerofoil component 100 for a gas turbine engine 10 comprises joining a first panel 200 to a second panel 300 using bonding, and hot forming the panels into shape. The bonding step and the hot forming step are performed in the same rig, thereby optimizing process time and component quality.
Claims18
A method of forming a hollow aerofoil for a gas turbine engine, the aerofoil having a pressure surface and a suction surface, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a first panel having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip edge extending between first ends of the leading edge and the trailing edge, and a root edge extending between second ends of the leading edge and the trailing edge opposite the first ends;
- laying a second panel over at least a part of the first panel, the second panel having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip edge extending between first ends of the leading edge and the trailing edge, and a root edge extending between second ends of the leading edge and the trailing edge opposite the first ends;
- providing a bonding material between a first joining region of the first panel and a second joining region of the second panel to form an aerofoil sub-assembly, wherein the first joining region of the first panel is spaced apart from the leading edge, the trailing edge, and the tip edge of the first panel so as to define a first unjoined region between the first joining region and the leading edge, the trailing edge, and the tip edge, and wherein the second joining region of the second panel is spaced apart from the leading edge, the trailing edge, and the tip edge of the second panel so as to define a second unjoined region between the second joining region and the leading edge, the trailing edge, and the tip edge;
- loading the aerofoil sub-assembly into a forming rig and performing a bonding step in which the temperature of the first panel, second panel, and bonding material is raised to a bonding temperature at which the first panel and the second panel are joined together;
- and
- performing a hot forming step to generate the shape of the pressure surface and suction surface;
- wherein the hot forming step and bonding step are performed in the same forming rig,
- wherein the first panel and the second panel remain unbonded in the first unjoined region and the second unjoined region.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.