Jacketed Core for Complex Internal Passages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming components with internal passages and interior features are limited by fragile ceramic cores, high production costs, and geometrical complexity constraints, as well as time-consuming post-forming processes.
Innovation Solution
A method using a jacketed core with a hollow structure and an inner core, where the hollow structure is absorbable by molten component material, allowing the inner core to define interior passage features without a discrete boundary, facilitating the formation of complex shapes and reducing core fragility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If complementary features are formed on the surface of the ceramic core prior to forming the component, then interior passage features are created, but the ceramic core becomes more fragile and difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The core is divided into two distinct parts: a hollow structure (jacket) and an inner core. The hollow structure contains the interior passage features and is made of a material compatible with the component material, while the inner core is made of ceramic and defines the internal passage. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the hollow structure can have complex features without compromising the inner core's structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The core uses composite construction with two different materials: the hollow structure is made from a material that is absorbed by the molten component material (such as a metal or polymer), while the inner core is made of ceramic material. This composite approach allows the hollow structure to provide geometric complexity while the ceramic inner core maintains structural strength and reliability.
2Reliability
If interior passage features are added after the component is formed, then core fragility is reduced, but the process becomes time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow structure with interior passage features is prepared in advance before the component forming process. By pre-forming the hollow structure with the desired interior features, the complex geometry is established before casting, eliminating the need for time-consuming post-forming operations while maintaining core reliability during handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The formation of the hollow structure with interior passage features is merged with the component forming process itself. The hollow structure is positioned in the mold cavity and the component material is cast around it, creating both the component and the interior passage features in a single integrated operation, thereby improving productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If complex interior passage features are formed, then passage performance is improved, but the geometrical complexity that can be formed is substantially limited by known methods
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter of the hollow structure to be compatible with and absorbable by the molten component material. This parameter change allows the hollow structure to be made from materials that can be easily formed into complex geometries (such as metals or polymers) rather than being constrained to ceramic materials, thereby enabling much higher geometrical complexity in the interior passage features.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow structure acts as an intermediary that transfers the desired interior passage feature geometry to the final component. By using a hollow structure made of a different material that is absorbed by the molten component material, the geometry can be precisely defined during casting, enabling complex features that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional ceramic core methods.
4Ease of manufacture
If a discrete boundary exists between the hollow structure and component material, then core removal is easier, but component integrity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow structure is made from a material that is homogeneous with or compatible with the component material, such that when the component material solidifies, there is no discrete boundary between the two. This homogeneity ensures component integrity and strength while the hollow structure is automatically removed as it is absorbed by the molten material, eliminating the need for separate core removal operations.
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 enables the reliable and cost-effective formation of components with complex internal passage features, reducing fragility issues and enabling precise, repeatable shaping of nonlinear and high-complexity internal passages, while maintaining component integrity and performance.
Implementation Method 1
The hollow structure is formed from a material that is absorbed by the molten component material such that no discrete boundary delineates hollow structure from component material after component material is cooled
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (1300) of forming a component (80) having an internal passage (82) defined therein includes positioning (1302) a jacketed core (310) with respect to a mold (300). The jacketed core includes a hollow structure (320) that includes an interior portion (360) shaped to define at least one interior passage feature (98) of the internal passage. The jacketed core also includes an inner core (324) disposed within the hollow structure and complementarily shaped by the interior portion of the hollow structure. The method also includes introducing (1304) a component material (78) in a molten state into a cavity (304) of the mold to form the component, such that the inner core defines the internal passage including the at least one interior passage feature defined therein.