CMC articles having small complex features
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJames Dale Steibel, Douglas Melton Carper, Suresh Subramanian, Stephen Mark Whiteker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ceramic matrix composite (CMC) component for gas turbine engines, the component having fine features such as thin edges with thicknesses of less than about 0.030 inches and small radii of less that about 0.030 inches formed using the combination of prepreg plies layed up with non-ply ceramic inserts. The CMC components of the present invention replace small ply inserts cut to size to fit into areas of contour change or thickness change, and replace the small ply inserts with a fabricated single piece discontinuously reinforced composite insert, resulting in fewer defects, such as wrinkles, and better dimensional control.
Claims9
A hot section gas turbine engine component, comprising:
- a cured, reinforced, ceramic matrix composite portion comprising a plurality of continuous tows extending substantially parallel to each other in a matrix;
- a discontinuously reinforced composite portion having substantially isotropic properties located at regions of contour changes and thickness changes of the component, the discontinuously reinforced composite portion comprising discontinuous fiber-including material selected from the group consisting of fiber, tow, and chopped pre-preg plies in a matrix material;
- wherein the discontinuously-reinforced composite portion is adjacent to the reinforced ceramic matrix composite portion comprising the plurality of continuous tows, and
- the discontinuously reinforced composite portion is cured to the reinforced ceramic matrix composite portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.