Additive Manufacturing Cooling Channels with Overhang Features
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for forming cooling channels and holes in turbine systems, such as drilling and electrical discharge machining, are costly and inefficient, leading to increased scrap and difficulty in controlling the geometry of cooling features during vertical builds using additive manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A method involving Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM) or other additive manufacturing techniques, where a metallic powder is heated and formed into layers with a focused energy source to create hollow spaces and overhang features, increasing the surface area and heat transfer coefficient of cooling holes, while reducing material waste and machining requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If drilling or electrical discharge machining is used to form cooling channels, then cooling channels can be formed in metal components, but the manufacturing cost increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing approach from subtractive (drilling, machining) to additive (direct metal laser melting), fundamentally altering the process parameters and enabling complex cooling channel geometries to be formed directly in the metal component without requiring complex tooling or multiple machining operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical drilling and electrical discharge machining processes with a laser-based additive manufacturing process, substituting mechanical and electrical systems with a thermal field-based system that melts and fuses metal powder layer by layer to create cooling channels directly within the component
2Productivity
If additive manufacturing is used for vertical builds, then manufacturing efficiency can be improved, but control of cooling hole geometry becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an overhang feature that extends into the hollow space of the cooling channel, creating a three-dimensional structural solution that maintains precise geometric control in vertical additive manufacturing by utilizing the build direction and creating self-supporting structures during the layer-by-layer fabrication process
Solution Approach 2:
The overhang feature is designed and fabricated in advance as part of the additive manufacturing process, preliminarily establishing the precise geometry of the cooling channel before final component assembly, thereby ensuring geometric accuracy is maintained throughout the manufacturing process
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional machining methods are used, then cooling channels can be formed, but material waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from subtractive manufacturing (machining away material to create cooling channels) to additive manufacturing (building the component with cooling channels integrated), fundamentally changing the material utilization parameter from high waste to near-net-shape fabrication with minimal material waste
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 enhances the surface area and heat transfer efficiency of cooling holes, improves manufacturing efficiency, and allows for greater control over cooling hole geometry during vertical builds, reducing material waste and machining needs.
Implementation Method 1
heating the metallic powder to a temperature sufficient to joint at least a portion of the metallic powder to form an initial layer
Implementation Method 2
heating the distributed layer of the metallic powder to a temperature sufficient to join at least a portion of the distributed layer of the metallic powder and join the formed additional layers to underlying layers
Implementation Method 3
increasing the surface area and heat transfer coefficient of cooling holes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are an article and a method of forming an article. The method includes providing a metallic powder, heating the metallic powder to a temperature sufficient to joint at least a portion of the metallic powder to form an initial layer, sequentially forming additional layers in a build direction by providing a distributed layer of the metallic powder over the initial layer and heating the distributed layer of the metallic powder, repeating the steps of sequentially forming the additional layers in the build direction to form a portion of the article having a hollow space formed in the build direction, and forming an overhang feature extending into the hollow space. The article includes an article formed by the method described herein.