Small laser-plasma composite deposition device for blade coating

Abstract

The utility model designs a small laser-plasma composite deposition blade coating device which integrates key components such as a tool heating system, a gas protection device, a powder feeding system, a laser control system, a plasma control system and an integrated control system. The device is simplified in design and convenient to disassemble, install and maintain. The four-axis workbench provides high machining freedom, can easily deal with machining of complex parts, has efficient production capacity and flexible operability, and is particularly suitable for machining requirements of blades of complex structures. The contact area of the clamp and the blade increases the heat transfer efficiency on the basis of external heating equipment. External heating equipment regulates and controls the temperature of the workpiece in the deposition process, and the thermal stress of the coating is greatly reduced. Besides, by means of the laser and plasma composite technology, high-quality coating deposition of the aero-engine blade is achieved, the abrasion resistance of the blade in the high-temperature, high-pressure and complex stress environment is remarkably improved, and the service life of the blade is prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of aviation engine blade manufacturing, in particular to a small laser-plasma composite deposition blade coating device. Background Art

[0002] As the heart of an aircraft, aircraft engines play a decisive role in aircraft performance, manufacturing costs, and reliability. With the advancement and development of science and technology, countries with developed aviation industries believe that advanced engine technology can bring significant military and commercial competitiveness, and their design and manufacturing have always been a focus of research. As core components of aircraft engines, engine blades are constantly exposed to high temperatures, high pressures, and complex stress coupling. Superalloys, due to their excellent high-temperature performance, are widely used in the manufacture of critical components in extremely high-temperature environments, playing a particularly important role in the aviation and aerospace industries. They are primarily used in the manufacture of high-temperature components such as turbine blades, heat shields, tail nozzles, and afterburners in aircraft engines. These components operate under high temperatures, high pressures, and high speeds, placing extremely high demands on material performance. Furthermore, as aircraft engine performance improves, superalloy blades are subjected to increasingly harsh service environments. Constant erosion from rain, sand, volcanic ash, and other factors, coupled with increasing temperatures, poses significant challenges to the wear resistance of superalloys, severely hindering the upgrade of new aircraft engines. Therefore, research on surface modification and protective technologies for superalloy coatings used in engine blades is urgently needed. Plasma spraying technology is becoming increasingly prominent in the modern manufacturing industry due to its diversity of material selection, low thermal impact on the base material and wide range of applications. However, despite its significant advantages, the coatings prepared by this technology have limitations in terms of bonding strength. Specifically, the coating and the metal substrate mainly rely on mechanical bonding, and this bonding mechanism is relatively fragile, which limits the bonding strength of the coating. In addition, defects such as pores and microcracks often appear inside the coating. These unfavorable factors jointly weaken the density and wear resistance of the coating, resulting in its actual service life often failing to fully achieve theoretical expectations. In view of this, the present utility model is proposed, a device for small-scale laser-plasma composite deposition of blade coatings. Utility Model Content

[0003] This utility model provides a small laser-plasma composite deposition device for blade coatings, which aims to improve the wear resistance of aircraft engine blades in high temperature, high pressure and complex stress environments, extend their service life, and thus enhance the overall performance and reliability of aircraft engines.

[0004] Specifically, the present invention includes the following contents:

[0005] The device includes a tooling heating system, a gas protection device, a powder feeding system, a laser control system, a plasma control system, an integrated control system, external terminals, an integrated equipment box, a laser head, a plasma gun, blades, a flexible fixture and a four-axis workbench.

[0006] The tooling heating system is connected to the external terminals on the workbench to heat the fixture and even the blade workpiece.

[0007] The integrated equipment box includes 9 external ports, which are respectively connected to the gas protection device, laser control system, laser head, plasma control system and plasma gun.

[0008] The four-axis dedicated worktable provides positional movement in the X, Y, A, and B directions. XY provides two linear translations, and AB provides two axial rotations. The A direction has a rotation angle of ±100°, and the B direction has no rotation restrictions. The worktable is connected to an external heating device to preheat and maintain the workpiece, with a rated operating temperature of 750°C.

[0009] The flexible clamp can contact the groove at the bottom of the blade, increasing the clamping force and heat transfer area, and can handle blades of different sizes and shapes.

[0010] The integrated control system is mainly controlled by a single chip microcomputer, and the output end is connected to the powder feeding system, plasma control system, laser control system and heating device respectively.

[0011] This utility model utilizes a low-angle laser-plasma composite energy field deposition method to deposit coatings on blades. The device's integrated control system enables high-quality, efficient production of complex blade materials and even other small, complex parts. The integrated equipment box design greatly simplifies the equipment's disassembly, installation, and maintenance processes. As a small deposition device, it offers the advantage of convenience. The precise adjustment of the angle between the plasma gun and the laser nozzle further improves coating quality.

[0012] The four-axis worktable in this utility model provides a high degree of machining freedom, easily handling the machining of complex parts. The flexible blade fixture can secure blades of various sizes and models. The fixture increases the contact area with the blade, increasing heat transfer efficiency on top of the external heating device. The external heating device regulates the temperature of the workpiece during the deposition process, greatly reducing thermal stress in the coating. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of a small laser-plasma composite deposition blade coating device

[0014] Figure 2 SEM scan image in Example 1

[0015] Figure 3 Hardness distribution diagram in Example 1

[0016] Figure 4 The wear performance of the coating and substrate in Example 1 at different temperatures DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Figure 1 What is shown is a schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of the present invention. It should be emphasized that this embodiment is only a manifestation of the present invention and does not represent all possible implementation methods of the present invention.

[0018] The specific technical solutions involved in this utility model have broad flexibility and applicability and can be appropriately adjusted and optimized according to actual needs to meet the needs of use in different occasions and conditions. The core of this utility model lies in its unique technical concept and innovation, which are specifically embodied and demonstrated through this embodiment, but should not be limited to the specific form and details of this embodiment.

[0019] The following will be combined with the Figure 1 A specific device introduction is provided for the embodiment of the utility model.

[0020] like Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of a small laser-plasma composite deposition blade coating device, which includes a tooling heating system 1, a gas protection device 2, a powder feeding system 3, a laser control system 4, a plasma control system 5, an integrated control system 6, an integrated equipment box 7, an external terminal 8, a laser head 9, a plasma gun 10, a blade 11, a flexible fixture 12 and a four-axis workbench 13.

[0021] The tool heating system 1 is connected to the external terminal 8 on the workbench to heat the fixture and thus the blade workpiece.

[0022] The integrated equipment box 7 includes nine external connection ports, a through e. Ports a and b are pipeline ports. The powder delivery system 3 connects the transition layer powder to port a and the thermal barrier coating powder to port b, respectively. Port c is the gas delivery port. The laser head 9 and plasma gun 10 are both connected to port c in the integrated equipment box 7 to ensure powder delivery, with one spare port reserved. Port d is the external connection port for the plasma gun, with one spare port reserved. Port e is the external connection port for the laser head, with two spare ports reserved.

[0023] The four-axis worktable 13 provides positional movement in the X, Y, A, and B directions. XY provides two linear translations, and AB provides two axial rotations. The A direction has a rotation angle of ±100°, while the B direction has no rotation restrictions. The worktable is connected to an external heating device to preheat and maintain the workpiece, with a rated operating temperature of 750°C.

[0024] The flexible clamp 12 can contact the groove at the bottom of the blade to increase the clamping force and heat transfer area, and can cope with blades of different sizes and shapes.

[0025] The integrated control system 6 is mainly controlled by a single chip microcomputer, and the output ends are connected to the powder feeding system 3, the plasma control system 5, the laser control system 4, and the tooling heating system 1 respectively.

[0026] Example 1

[0027] This example uses an aircraft engine blade as the base material, made of GH4098. GH4098 alloy maintains high strength and toughness even at high temperatures, making it an excellent choice for workpieces subject to high temperatures and pressures. Its long-term operating temperature can reach over 1000°C, making it ideal for manufacturing high-temperature components. The specific steps are as follows:

[0028] Step 1: Clean the aircraft engine blades thoroughly to remove oil, oxides and other impurities on the surface to ensure that the surface is clean and free of impurities.

[0029] Step 2: After checking that the blade is free of damage, deformation and other defects, it is precisely fixed on the four-axis workbench 13 using a flexible clamp 12.

[0030] Step 3: Preheating the workpiece to be processed through the external terminals 8 by the fixture 12 and heating it during the subsequent deposition process.

[0031] Step 4: Ensure that all equipment, namely the powder feeding system 3, the plasma control system 5, the laser control system 4, the integrated control system 6, the integrated equipment box 7, etc., are correctly connected and powered on.

[0032] Step 5: Select powder material: NiCrAlY-β-NiAl powder with excellent high-temperature strength, oxidation resistance, hot corrosion resistance, and good hot working performance is used as the transition layer material. The surface layer material is selected from YSZ-Al2O3 composite ceramic material with low thermal conductivity and the ability to maintain good mechanical properties, wear resistance, and thermal shock resistance at high temperatures. The transition layer powder is connected to the pipe port a through the powder feeding system 3, and the thermal barrier coating powder is connected to the pipe port b.

[0033] Step 6: Parameter settings are further adjusted based on the desired coating material properties and blade size. Parameters such as power coordination, scanning speed, and powder feed rate are strictly controlled to ensure coating quality and performance. Transition layer material parameters: spraying parameters: 20kW power; powder feed rate: 40g / min; spray distance: 250mm; carrier gas flow rate: 4.2L / min; laser parameters: 3000W laser power, 150mm / s scanning speed, 4mm spot diameter, 10L / min argon gas flow rate, 0.2 overlap ratio; surface thermal barrier coating parameters: spraying parameters: 40kW power; powder feed rate: 30g / min; spray distance: 250mm; carrier gas flow rate: 4.2L / min; laser parameters: 2500W laser power, 150mm / s scanning speed, 4mm spot diameter, 10L / min argon gas flow rate, 0.3 overlap ratio. Transition layer process parameters: 5 layers with a thickness of 150μm; surface thermal barrier coating process parameters: 5 layers with a thickness of 200μm.

[0034] Step 7: SEM test is performed on the sample formed after cooling. The SEM photo of the composite coating is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the surface coating is dense and has almost no defects such as cracks and pores. The average hardness of the coating can reach 597.6HV 0.5 , hardness distribution as Figure 3 As shown in Figure 2. The wear resistance of the coating has been greatly improved compared with the substrate, and the wear rate is as follows: Figure 4 shown.

Claims

1. A small laser-plasma composite deposition device for blade coating, characterized in that: The device includes a tool heating system (1), a gas protection device (2), a powder feeding system (3), a laser control system (4), a plasma control system (5), an integrated control system (6), an integrated equipment box (7), an external terminal (8), a laser head (9), a plasma gun (10), a blade (11), a flexible fixture (12) and a four-axis workbench (13); The tool heating system (1) is connected to the external terminal (8) on the four-axis workbench (13); The integrated equipment box (7) includes external ports a to e, ports a and b are pipeline ports, and the powder feeding system (3) connects the transition layer powder to the pipeline port a and the thermal barrier coating powder to the pipeline port b respectively; port c is a gas feeding port, and the laser head (9) and the plasma gun (10) are both connected to port c in the integrated equipment box (7) to ensure the transportation of powder; port d is an external port for the plasma gun; and port e is an external port for the laser head; A flexible clamp (12) for clamping a blade is placed on a four-axis workbench (13); and an external terminal (8) is arranged on the four-axis workbench (13).

2. A small laser-plasma composite deposition device for blade coating according to claim 1, characterized in that: Port c is a gas delivery port c, and the laser head (9) and the plasma gun (10) are both connected to port c in the integrated equipment box (7) to ensure the delivery of powder, and one spare interface is reserved; port d is an external port of the plasma gun (10), and one spare interface is reserved; port e is an external port of the laser head, and two spare interfaces are reserved.

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