Micro-cooled Coating Groove Bridging for Gas Turbine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current micro-channel cooling techniques for gas turbine engines are inefficient and require complex fabrication processes, including the use of sacrificial fillers and strict tolerances, which can lead to residual material issues and increased fabrication time.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the deposition of a structural coating on a substrate, forming grooves in the coating, and applying additional coatings to create micro-channels for cooling, with surface processing to reduce the gap at the top of the grooves, allowing for direct bridging without sacrificial fillers and relaxing machining specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If sacrificial fillers are used to form micro-channels, then coating deposition is enabled, but fabrication time increases and residual material issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the sacrificial filler material completely from the process. Instead of depositing coating over fillers and then removing them, the method forms grooves directly in the substrate, deposits coating only on the exposed surfaces, and allows the coating to bridge across the grooves without any filler material present during or after deposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves are formed in the substrate before coating deposition, preparing the surface geometry in advance. This preliminary groove formation allows the coating to be deposited directly onto the structured surface, eliminating the need for subsequent filler removal steps.
2Ease of manufacture
If re-entrant grooves are used for coating deposition, then micro-channels are formed, but machining complexity and tolerances increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating re-entrant grooves where the opening is smaller than the base (which requires complex machining), the patent uses conventional grooves where the opening is larger or equal to the base. The coating bridges across these simpler grooves, achieving the same micro-channel formation function with much less complex machining.
3Manufacturing precision
If angular deposition techniques are used, then coating particles are reduced in channels, but deposition efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies coating material selectively to specific regions - the tops and sides of the grooves - while allowing the grooves themselves to remain unfilled during deposition. This local quality approach ensures coating is deposited where needed (on load-bearing surfaces) while avoiding unnecessary deposition in the channel interiors, maintaining both precision and efficiency.
4Weight of moving object
If thin walls of superalloy metals are used, then component weight is reduced, but cooling requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a micro-channeled structure within the coating layer that provides efficient cooling pathways. The grooves filled with coating material form integrated micro-channels that enable effective heat dissipation, allowing thin-walled components to maintain adequate cooling performance despite reduced material thickness.
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 reduces fabrication time and complexity, improves heat transfer efficiency, and results in more uniform temperature profiles and easier repair of components, while avoiding the use of porous materials and complex machining techniques.
Implementation Method 1
processing at least a portion of a surface of the coating so as to plastically deform the coating at least in a vicinity of a top of a groove
Implementation Method 2
the substrate, the coating and the additional coating define one or more channels for cooling a component
Implementation Method 3
Micro-channel cooling places the cooling as close as possible to the heat flux source, thus reducing the temperature difference between the hot side and cold side of the load bearing substrate material
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~8B
Figure 9~10
AI summary
A manufacturing method 60 includes providing a substrate 32 with an outer surface 34 and at least one interior space 38, applying a coating 42 on a portion of the substrate 32 and forming one or more grooves 44 in the coating 42, wherein each groove extends at least partially along the coating 42. The method further includes processing at least a portion of the surface 46 of the coating to plastically deform the coating in the vicinity of the top of a respective groove 44. An additional coating 50 is applied over at least a portion of the surface of the coating. A component is disclosed and includes a substrate 32, a coating 42 disposed on at least a portion of the substrate, and defining one or more grooves 44 therein, and an additional coating 50 disposed over at least a portion of the coating. The substrate 32, the coating 42 and the additional coating 50 together define one or more channels 40 for cooling the component.