Photoetched cooling slots for diffusion bonded airfoils
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsNicholas Damlis, James A. Martus, Edward H. Goldman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Cooling passages are accurately formed along the faying surfaces of a pair of diffusion bonded members such as a pair of half sections used to fabricate an airfoil. A particularly advantageous application of the invention is the photoetching of cooling air grooves into the opposed surfaces of a diffusion bonding foil used to form a diffusion bond between the faying surfaces of a trailing edge portion of a turbine blade or turbine vane. Such grooves may be made extremely small and in high numbers to promote efficient cooling of the trailing edge portions of these airfoils.
Claims14
An airfoil, comprising:
- a first casting comprising a first dovetail portion, a first shank portion, a first tip portion and a first bonding surface extending from said first dovetail portion to said first tip portion;
- a second casting comprising a second dovetail portion, a second shank portion, a second tip portion and a second bonding surface extending from said second dovetail portion to said second tip portion;
- and
- a foil forming a diffusion bond between said first and second bonding surfaces, said bond having a photoetched groove formed adjacent thereto for allowing cooling fluid to pass between and cool said first and second castings.
A method for providing a fluid coolant groove in a cast airfoil having a first casting section bonded to a second casting section via a diffusion bonding foil extending from a root portion of said airfoil to a tip portion of said airfoil, wherein said method comprises:
- photoetching a groove within a surface portion of said diffusion bonding foil;
- sandwiching said diffusion bonding foil between said first and second casting sections;
- and
- forming a diffusion bond extending between said first and second casting sections from said root portion to said tip portion by the application of heat and pressure across said diffusion bonding foil such that said groove extends between said first and second sections after forming of said diffusion bond.
An airfoil comprising a one-piece cast body having a diffusion bonding slot formed therein defining a pair of opposed diffusion bonding surfaces, and a photoetched diffusion bonding foil diffusion bonded within said slot and interconnecting said diffusion bonding surfaces and defining a fluid flow channel adjacent said slot, said flow channel comprising one portion defined by a photoetched portion of said foil and another portion defined by one of said pair of diffusion bonding surfaces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.