Bonded Multi-Piece Ceramic Airfoil for Complex Geometry Fabrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The fabrication of complex airfoil components in turbomachines, such as gas turbine engines, faces challenges due to the need for high-temperature alloys and ceramic materials, which often require intricate geometries and sacrificial cores, complicating the processing and introducing reproducibility issues, especially in forming small passages and accurate placement of fiber plies.
Innovation Solution
The airfoil component is formed from multiple segments of ceramic-based materials, bonded together with a refractory interlayer, allowing for the creation of complex geometries without the need for sacrificial cores and enabling precise placement of fiber plies, using bonding techniques like partial transient liquid phase (PTLP) bonding to achieve strong and reliable joints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If complex airfoil geometries are formed using traditional casting methods with sacrificial cores, then the desired complex shapes can be achieved, but the processing becomes complicated and reproducibility issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The airfoil component is divided into multiple segments that are formed separately and then joined together. This eliminates the need for complex sacrificial cores in traditional casting, as each segment can be formed more simply and assembled to create the final complex geometry. The segmentation approach directly resolves the contradiction by simplifying individual segment formation while achieving the desired complex overall shape through assembly.
2Manufacturing precision
If small passages and fiber plies are formed using traditional methods, then the required structural details can be achieved, but accurate placement becomes difficult and reproducibility suffers
Solution Approach 1:
Fiber plies and passage structures are pre-formed and positioned within each segment before the segments are joined together. This preliminary placement ensures accurate positioning is achieved during the simpler segment formation process, and the precision is maintained through the bonding process. This approach improves both manufacturing precision and reproducibility compared to attempting to form these features in the final assembly step.
3Strength
If single-piece ceramic components are manufactured, then structural integrity is simplified, but the ability to create complex geometries and incorporate multiple materials is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The airfoil component uses multiple ceramic-based materials with different properties in different segments. Each material can be optimized for specific functional requirements (e.g., thermal resistance, mechanical strength) while the segmented structure enables complex geometries that would be difficult to achieve in a single-piece component. The bonding process maintains structural integrity across the segment interfaces.
4Adaptability or versatility
If bonding techniques are used to join segments, then complex geometries and material versatility are achieved, but the bond joint reliability must be ensured under high-temperature conditions
Solution Approach 1:
A refractory interlayer is used as an intermediary between the ceramic-based segments to facilitate bonding while withstanding high-temperature service conditions. This interlayer acts as a mediator that enables the joining of segments made from different ceramic materials, ensuring bond joint reliability under the thermal and mechanical conditions experienced by airfoil components in gas turbine engines.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies the fabrication process, enhances the reproducibility of complex shapes, and allows for precise control of small passages, improving the structural integrity and thermal resistance of airfoil components in turbomachines.
Implementation Method 1
bonding techniques like partial transient liquid phase (PTLP) bonding to achieve strong and reliable joints
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~3
Figure 4A~6
AI summary
An airfoil component includes a first segment that has a first piece of a mount and a first piece of an airfoil. The first segment is formed of a first ceramic-based material. A second segment includes a second piece of the mount and a second piece of the airfoil. The second segment is formed of a second ceramic-based material. The first and second segments are bonded together along a bond joint such that the first and second pieces of the mount are bonded to each other and the first and second pieces of the airfoil are bonded to each other.