Guide Surface for Uniform Liquid-Solid Mixture Polishing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for smoothing turbomachine components, such as those in aircraft engines, often result in uneven material removal, requiring multiple orientations and increased processing time to achieve uniformity, which can lead to aerodynamic inefficiencies like flow stall.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a liquid-solid mixture with a guide surface that directs the flow and solid particles to uniformly press against the component surface, ensuring consistent material removal without the need for component reorientation, using a device where the component is placed in a bath with a liquid-solid mixture and a guide surface that guides the flow to impose directional pressure for uniform polishing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If material removal is achieved by conventional machining or chemical-mechanical polishing without a guide surface, then the component surface can be smoothed, but the material removal is uneven requiring multiple orientations and increased processing time
Solution Approach 1:
A guide surface is introduced as an intermediary element between the liquid-solid mixture and the component surface. This guide surface directs the flow of the mixture and imposes a directional component towards the component surface, ensuring uniform pressure distribution and consistent material removal across the entire surface without requiring multiple reorientations of the component.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface modifies the flow parameters of the liquid-solid mixture by directing it along its surface. This changes the pressure distribution parameter from non-uniform to uniform across the component surface, enabling consistent polishing effect throughout the processing time without needing to change component orientation.
2Manufacturing precision
If a guide surface is introduced to direct the liquid-solid mixture flow, then uniform material removal is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface serves multiple functions simultaneously: it directs the flow of the liquid-solid mixture, imposes a directional component towards the component surface, and ensures uniform pressure distribution. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the liquid-solid mixture flows without directional guidance, then the device structure remains simple, but the material removal rate varies across the surface leading to aerodynamic inefficiencies
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface acts as a mediating structure that is relatively simple in form but provides the necessary flow direction control. It transforms the simple bath structure into an effective polishing system by adding only the essential flow-guiding function, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving uniform surface smoothing.
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 allows for homogeneous smoothing of component surfaces, preventing flow stall and reducing processing time by ensuring uniform material removal in a single orientation, thus enhancing aerodynamic performance.
Implementation Method 1
The present subject matter relates to such a method, specifically the smoothing of turbomachinery and engine components. When the mixture flows along the surface to be smoothed, a combined chemical-mechanical material removal process is achieved
Implementation Method 2
a guide surface is provided in the bath or container with the mixture, along which the mixture flows. The guide surface directs the flow and, in particular, pushes the solid component towards the component surface, thus superimposing a directional component towards the component surface
Implementation Method 3
The solids can be, for example, in the form of particles, especially spherical particles. Due to the guide surface, these spheres roll along the component surface with sufficient pressure to achieve the desired polishing effect
Implementation Method 4
The solids content in the mixture can be so high that a cohesive agglomerate of particles or spheres forms between the guide surface and the component surface. This creates a force chain between the guide surface and the component, reliably pressing the particles/spheres against the component surface
Data Source
Figure 1~2c
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for smoothing a surface (2.1) of a component (2), in which the method consists of: - placing the component (2) into a liquid-solid mixture (4); - generating a relative movement (5) between the liquid-solid mixture (4) and the component (2), i.e., a flow (6) of the liquid-solid mixture (4) along the surface (2.1); wherein a guide surface (20) is provided in the liquid-solid mixture (4), along which the liquid-solid mixture (4) flows, and wherein a directional component (21) towards the surface (2.1) is imposed on the flow (6).