Blading Member Assembly for Cooling Hole Access and Coating Quality
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing blading members for fluid flow machines, particularly gas turbines, faces challenges due to restricted tooling access and complex geometries, which hinder the accurate placement and quality of cooling holes and coatings, especially at dead angles and transitions between airfoils and platforms.
Innovation Solution
The method involves processing individual airfoil and platform members separately without undercuts or concave corners, allowing for unrestricted access and improved coating control, enabling the manufacture of complex cooling openings and uniform coatings by machining and coating each component before assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cooling holes are arranged to intersect platforms or other airfoils on the exterior, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but tooling access is blocked making manufacturing impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The blading member is divided into separate platform and airfoil sections that are manufactured independently. This segmentation allows cooling holes to be drilled through the airfoil without interference from platforms, as each component is processed separately before final assembly. The cooling holes can extend to intersect the platform location without blocking tooling access during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling holes are drilled and coatings are applied to individual components before assembly. By performing these operations preliminarily on separate parts, the tooling can access all necessary surfaces without interference, and the operations can be completed before the components are joined into the final assembled configuration.
2Productivity
If coatings are applied to platforms and airfoils simultaneously, then production time is reduced, but coating quality deteriorates due to overspraying in fillets
Solution Approach 1:
The platform and airfoil are separated into distinct components that can be coated independently. This allows each component to receive precise coating application without overspraying into fillet areas, as the coating process is performed on isolated parts rather than attempting to coat multiple complex surfaces simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Coatings are applied to individual components before assembly. This preliminary coating operation allows for controlled, high-quality coating application on each part separately, avoiding the overspraying problems that would occur if attempting to coat the entire assembled structure in one operation.
3Reliability
If complex diffuser-like geometries are manufactured for cooling hole outlets, then cooling performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to tooling restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The airfoil is separated from the platform, allowing the complex diffuser geometry at the cooling hole outlet to be manufactured independently. This segmentation enables the use of specialized tools and processes to create the complex outlet geometry without interference from other structural elements, reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a blading member assembly (10) for a fluid flow machine, wherein the blading member assembly comprises at least one airfoil member (14) and one platform member (16). The method comprises manufacturing a platform member blank, manufacturing an airfoil member blank, and processing at least one of said blanks thus obtaining the at least one airfoil member and at least one platform member, and subsequently joining the at least one platform member and the at least one airfoil member, thus providing the blading member assembly. The method, for instance, provides larger flexibility in arranging cooling openings (144).