Monolithic Injector Head Structure to Prevent Fuel Leakage

The patent merges multiple subassemblies into a single monolithic injector head component manufactured by additive layer manufacturing. This eliminates the brazed or welded joints between subassemblies that cause internal leakages, while still enabling the injector head to be formed with integrated fuel passages, cooling channels, and structural features that would traditionally require assembly of multiple parts.

The patent combines multiple subassemblies into a single monolithic component manufactured by additive layer manufacturing, eliminating the need for brazing or welding operations. This reduces manufacturing complexity by removing joint fabrication steps, quality inspection of joints, and assembly procedures, while the additive manufacturing process itself enables complex internal geometries to be created directly in the monolithic structure.

The patent creates a monolithic injector head without brazed or welded joints, eliminating the repair difficulties associated with joint failures. The single-piece construction removes the need for complex repair procedures involving joint rebrazing or welding, which are difficult to perform in the high-temperature, high-pressure environment of fuel injectors and require expensive specialized tooling and expertise.

The patent extracts and removes the support pins and fins from the final injector head product. These support structures were temporarily incorporated during additive layer manufacturing to enable formation of complex geometries and overhanging features, but are not needed in the final functional component. The manufacturing process includes steps to remove these support structures, leaving a clean monolithic injector head without the additional complexity of permanent support features.