Sprayed weld strip for improved weldability

Abstract

A method for welding to a superalloy material without causing cracking of the material. The method includes the steps of depositing a weld strip (18) of a weldable material onto a superalloy substrate material (12) using a spray deposition process (20) and then forming a weldment (26) to the weld strip. None or a controlled amount of the substrate material (12) is melted during the weld in order to maintain the concentration of strengthening elements in the local melt within a zone of weldability. The spray deposition process may be a thermal process such as HVOF or a cold spray process. A groove (16) may be formed in a surface (10) of the superalloy substrate material to receive the weld strip. A diffusion heat treatment step may be used to improve adhesion between the weld strip and the superalloy material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.