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Liquid Metal Directional Casting Process

Inactive Publication Date: 2009-05-21
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Any heat loss or a thermal gradient in the radial direction (i.e., radially outwards of the mold assembly) can result in uncontrolled crystal growth.
However, one of the problems with current designs is the effectiveness of the seal between the chill plate and the shell mold.
Current designs are prone to leakage, i.e., ingress of liquid metal into the mold assembly and egress of cast metal from the mold assembly into the cooling bath.
Without an effective seal, the cast metal is oftentimes subject to surface attack, e.g., oxidation, hot corrosion, and thermal fatigue, by the liquid metal from the melt.
In addition, the melt metal will also get contaminated from the escaped cast metal.
Therefore, without an effective seal, the reliability of the casting process is compromised.

Method used

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  • Liquid Metal Directional Casting Process
  • Liquid Metal Directional Casting Process
  • Liquid Metal Directional Casting Process

Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0018]Disclosed herein is an apparatus and process for effectively sealing an interface between a shell mold and a chill plate in a casting mold assembly. FIG. 1 shows a cutaway perspective view of a mold assembly 10 sitting on a chill plate 12. The mold assembly 10 generally includes an opening 14, e.g., funnel in fluid communication with runners 16 that are in fluid communication with one or more shell mold 18. The shell molds, i.e., cavities, define the shape of the part to be cast. A mold assembly having more than one shell mold is often referred to as a cluster mold assembly. A skirt 20 extends laterally across a bottommost portion of the mold assembly. A groove (i.e., channel) 22 is formed in a bottom surface of the skirt such that the shell molds 18 are contained within a perimeter defined by the groove, i.e., the channel circumscribes the shell mold.

[0019]In one embodiment, the chill plate 12 includes a substantially planar surface 24 and a boss 26 radially circumscribing ab...

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Abstract

Processes for directionally casting liquid metal to form an articles can include compressing a seal intermediate a mold chill plate and a mold assembly, wherein the seal circumscribes a shell mold in the mold assembly; filling the shell mold in the mold assembly with molten metal; immersing the mold assembly into a liquid metal cooling bath from a bottom portion to a top portion of the mold assembly; and transmitting heat from the mold assembly to the liquid metal cooling bath to solidify the molten metal from the bottom portion to the top portion of the mold assembly.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present disclosure generally relates to processes for casting an article, and more specifically, to processes for directionally casting an article.[0002]Certain components, such as turbine blades and stator vanes for gas turbine engines, are often manufactured using a directional solidification casting. In this process, a shell mold is specifically configured for the particular component being cast, such as the turbine engine blade or vane.[0003]Directional solidification casting can enhance the strength of these components by obtaining single crystal components. Here, a mold assembly generally, includes a shell mold (cavity) and a chill plate, wherein the chill plate is at the lowest position of the mold assembly. The entire mold assembly is then raised into a heating chamber where it is preheated, and subsequently filled with a desired superalloy in a superheated liquid melt condition. Thereafter, the bottom of the mold assembly is then subject...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): B22D27/04B22D15/04
CPCB22D27/045
Inventor HUANG, SHYH-CHINELLIOTT, ANDREW JOHNGIGLIOTTI, MICHAEL FRANCIS XAVIERMAKINDE, ADEGBOYEGA MASUDPETTERSON, ROGER J.RUTKOWSKI, STEPHEN FRANCIS
Owner GENERAL ELECTRIC CO