# US 12,180,120 B2 · Rapid processing of laminar composite components

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- Number: US 12,180,120 B2
- Document ID: US12180120B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/649,750
- Filed: 2022-02-02
- Published: 2022-05-19
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2019-05-17
- Assignees: Rtx Corporation
- Applicants: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
- Inventors: Wayde R. Schmidt; Paul Sheedy
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12180120B2

## CPC

- C04B 35/64: Burning or sintering processes (C04B33/32 takes precedence {; powder metallurgy B22F})
- C04B 35/80: Fibres, filaments, whiskers, platelets, or the like
- B32B 18/00: Layered products essentially comprising ceramics, e.g. refractory products
- C04B 35/565: based on silicon carbide
- C04B 35/573: obtained by reaction sintering {or recrystallisation}
- C04B 35/6269: {Curing of mixtures}
- C04B 35/62863: {Silicon carbide}
- C04B 35/62884: {by gas phase techniques}
- C04B 35/62886: {by wet chemical techniques}
- C04B 35/657: for manufacturing refractories (C04B35/05, C04B35/107, C04B35/484 take precedence)
- F01D 5/00: Blades; Blade-carrying members (nozzle boxes F01D9/02); Heating, heat-insulating, cooling or antivibration means on the blades or the members {(special arrangements in rotors dealing with breaking off of part thereof F01D21/045)}
- F01D 5/282: {Selecting composite materials, e.g. blades with reinforcing filaments}
- F01D 5/284: {Selection of ceramic materials}
- C04B 2235/3826: Silicon carbides
- C04B 2235/5244: Silicon carbide
- C04B 2235/5252: having a specific pre-form
- C04B 2235/5256: Two-dimensional, e.g. woven structures
- C04B 2235/6025: Tape casting, e.g. with a doctor blade
- C04B 2235/614: Gas infiltration of green bodies or pre-forms
- C04B 2235/616: Liquid infiltration of green bodies or pre-forms
- C04B 2235/661: Multi-step sintering
- C04B 2235/665: Local sintering, e.g. laser sintering
- C04B 2235/666: Applying a current during sintering, e.g. plasma sintering [SPS], electrical resistance heating or pulse electric current sintering [PECS]
- C04B 2235/667: Sintering using wave energy, e.g. microwave sintering
- C04B 2235/9669: Resistance against chemicals, e.g. against molten glass or molten salts
- F01D 5/02: Blade-carrying members, e.g. rotors (rotors of non-bladed type F01D1/34; stators F01D9/00 {; selecting particular materials F01D5/28})
- F01D 5/147: {Construction, i.e. structural features, e.g. of weight-saving hollow blades (F01D5/148, F01D5/16 and F01D5/20 take precedence; blade shape F01D5/141; blades with cooling or heating channels or cavities F01D5/18; heating, heat-insulating or cooling means on blades F01D5/18)}
- F01D 9/02: Nozzles; Nozzle boxes; Stator blades; Guide conduits {, e.g. individual nozzles (nozzle boxes F01D9/047)}
- F01D 25/08: Cooling (of machines or engines in general F01P); Heating; Heat-insulation (of blade-carrying members, of blades F01D5/00)
- F01D 25/24: Casings (modified for heating or cooling F01D25/14); Casing parts, e.g. diaphragms, casing fastenings (casings for rotary machines or engines in general F16M {; special arrangements in stators dealing with breaking-off of part of rotor F01D21/045})
- F05D 2230/22: by sintering
- F05D 2300/20: Oxide or non-oxide ceramics
- F05D 2300/21: Oxide ceramics
- F05D 2300/2261: of silicon
- F05D 2300/228: Nitrides
- F05D 2300/603: Composites; e.g. fibre-reinforced
- F23R 3/002: {Wall structures (F23R3/02 and F23R3/007 take precedence)}
- C04B: LIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE {(roofing granules E04D7/005)}; CERAMICS (devitrified glass-ceramics C03C10/00); REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
- B32B: LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- F01D: NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES (machines or engines for liquids F03; non-positive displacement pumps F04D)
- F05D: INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS
- F23R: GENERATING COMBUSTION PRODUCTS OF HIGH PRESSURE OR HIGH VELOCITY, e.g. GAS-TURBINE COMBUSTION CHAMBERS (fluidised bed combustion apparatus specially adapted for operation at superatmospheric pressures F23C10/16)

## Abstract

A method of manufacturing a CMC structure includes infiltrating a porous substrate with a composite material and performing a first densification on the infiltrated porous substrate, forming a first densified porous substrate, wherein the first densification includes techniques selected from the group of techniques comprising photonic curing, photonic sintering, pulsed thermal heating, or combinations thereof.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A turbine engine component, comprising:
a laminar Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) structure manufactured by the method comprising:
infiltrating a porous substrate with a composite material;
performing a first densification on the infiltrated porous substrate and the composite material, forming a first densified porous substrate, wherein the first densification includes techniques selected from the group of techniques consisting of photonic curing, photonic sintering, pulsed thermal heating, and combinations thereof;
repeating the above steps a predetermined number of times to form a plurality of first densified porous substrates;
assembling the plurality of the first densified porous substrates, forming a layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates, wherein forming a layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates includes forming an interface layer between at least some of the first densified porous substrates, wherein the interface layer comprises a particulate composition, chopped fibers, or a suspension or dispersion of ceramic, metal, or carbonaceous particulates, platelets, nanotubes, or nanofibers; and
performing a second densification on the layered structure of the plurality of first densified porous substrates, forming a second densified porous substrate;
wherein the laminar CMC structure comprises a second densified porous substrate having a plurality of first densified porous substrates that have an interface layer positioned between at least some of the first densified porous substrates.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1 wherein performing a second densification is via at least one of a Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST), a Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process, or a localized heating at a bonding interface.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein the porous substrate is selected from the group consisting of cellular foams, unitapes, woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knits, braids, chopped fiber mats, and combinations thereof and the porous substrate is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, glasses, ceramics, carbon, polymers, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein infiltrating a porous substrate is selected from the group of techniques consisting of slurry infiltration, vapor infiltration, resin infiltration, doctor blading, filtration, polymer infiltration, melt infiltration (MI), preceramic polymer infiltration, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI), Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), and combinations thereof.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein the composite material is selected from the group consisting of a carbides, oxides, nitrides, borides, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first densified substrates comprises a silicon carbide matrix with silicon carbide fibers.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein the first densification is performed on individual cut plies of the porous substrate.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein the first densification is performed on a continuous tow of a single ply of the porous substrate.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The turbine engine component of claim 1, wherein the CMC structure is one of an airfoil, blade, vane, disk, nozzle, diffuser, combustor, seal, rotor, case, heatshield, beam, or plate.

### Claim 10

A gas turbine engine component, manufactured by the method comprising:
infiltrating a porous substrate with a composite material;
performing a first densification on the infiltrated porous substrate and the composite material, forming a first densified porous substrate, wherein the first densification includes techniques selected from the group of techniques consisting of photonic curing, photonic sintering, pulsed thermal heating, and combinations thereof;
repeating the above steps a predetermined number of times to form a plurality of first densified porous substrates;
assembling the plurality of the first densified porous substrates, forming a layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates, wherein forming a layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates includes forming an interface layer between at least some of the first densified porous substrates, wherein the interface layer comprises a particulate composition, chopped fibers, or a suspension or dispersion of ceramic, metal, or carbonaceous particulates, platelets, nanotubes, or nanofibers; and
performing a second densification on the layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates, forming a second densified porous substrate, wherein performing the second densification is via at least one of a Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST), a Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process, or a localized heating at a bonding interface;
wherein the gas turbine engine component comprises a second densified porous substrate having a plurality of first densified porous substrates that have an interface layer positioned between at least some of the first densified porous substrates.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 10, wherein the porous substrate is selected from the group consisting of cellular foams, unitapes, woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knits, braids, chopped fiber mats, and combinations thereof and wherein the porous substrate is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, glasses, ceramics, carbon, polymers, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 10, wherein infiltrating a porous substrate is selected from the group of techniques consisting of slurry infiltration, vapor infiltration, resin infiltration, doctor blading, filtration, polymer infiltration, melt infiltration (MI), preceramic polymer infiltration, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Chemical Vapor Infiltration (CVI), Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), and combinations thereof.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 10, wherein the composite material is selected from the group consisting of a carbides, oxides, nitrides, borides, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of first densified substrates comprises a silicon carbide matrix with silicon carbide fibers.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 10, wherein the gas turbine engine component is one of an airfoil, blade, vane, disk, nozzle, diffuser, combustor, seal, rotor, case, heatshield, beam, or plate.

### Claim 16

A gas turbine engine component, comprising:
a densified porous substrate that comprises a densified layered structure of a plurality of first densified porous substrates, wherein each of the plurality of first densified substrates comprises a porous substrate infiltrated with composite material, wherein:
the porous substrate is selected from the group consisting of cellular foams, unitapes, woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, knits, braids, chopped fiber mats, and combinations thereof and is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, glasses, ceramics, carbon, polymers, and combinations thereof; and
the composite material is selected from the group consisting of a carbides, oxides, nitrides, borides, and combinations thereof;
wherein the densified layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates includes an interface layer between at least some of the first densified porous substrates, wherein the interface layer comprises a particulate composition, chopped fibers, or a suspension or dispersion of ceramic, metal, or carbonaceous particulates, platelets, nanotubes, or nanofibers
wherein the densified layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates has been subjected to a second densification step to form a second densified porous substrate having a plurality of first densified porous substrates that have an interface layer positioned between at least some of the first densified porous substrates.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of first densified substrates comprises a silicon carbide matrix with silicon carbide fibers.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 16, wherein the layered structure of the plurality of the first densified porous substrates has been densified to form the densified porous substrate via at least one of a Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST), a Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process, or a localized heating at a bonding interface; and each of the plurality of first densified substrates comprises a porous substrate infiltrated with composite material, wherein the porous substrate infiltrated with composite material has been densified using techniques selected from the group of techniques consisting of photonic curing, photonic sintering, pulsed thermal heating, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 16, wherein the gas turbine engine component is one of an airfoil, blade, vane, disk, nozzle, diffuser, combustor, seal, rotor, case, heatshield, beam, or plate.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The gas turbine engine component of claim 16, wherein the a densified porous substrate is coated to increase structural integrity, heat resistance, or environmental protection.