Partial Coating Device for Gas Turbine Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Components in gas turbines and aircraft engines, especially those under high mechanical stress, face premature failure due to cracks in anti-erosion ceramic layers that can penetrate the base material, reducing fatigue strength and service life.
Innovation Solution
A device and method for partial coating that uses a plate-like cover to mask high-stress areas, allowing for selective coating based on stress patterns, using a base receptacle and a cover with recesses matching the component's profile, enabling secure and rapid coating while avoiding critical stress zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If ceramic hard material layers are applied to protect against erosion, then erosion resistance is improved, but fatigue strength and service life deteriorate due to crack formation in high stress areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface treatments to different areas of the component: ceramic coating is applied only to low-stress areas (leading edge, suction side), while high-stress areas (trailing edge, pressure side) are left uncoated or receive different treatment. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing erosion protection where needed without compromising fatigue strength in critical stress zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The component surface is segmented into distinct coating zones based on stress distribution. The trailing edge region is specifically excluded from ceramic coating application, creating separate functional zones: coated zones for erosion protection and uncoated zones for maintaining fatigue strength. This segmentation allows simultaneous achievement of both erosion resistance and reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ceramic coating is applied to high stress areas, then erosion protection is improved, but crack formation increases leading to premature failure
Solution Approach 1:
The coating application is locally optimized by identifying and excluding high-stress regions (trailing edge, pressure side) from ceramic coating. This ensures that ceramic layers are only applied where they provide benefit without causing harm, thereby extending service life while maintaining erosion protection in critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of ceramic coating (crack initiation in high stress areas) into benefit by using stress analysis to identify exactly which areas should remain uncoated. The harmful effect is transformed into a design criterion for selective coating application, improving both service life and erosion resistance.
3Reliability
If selective coating is applied to avoid high stress areas, then fatigue strength is maintained, but coating complexity increases due to masking requirements
Solution Approach 1:
Masking elements are pre-positioned or pre-formed to match the component geometry before coating application. This preliminary preparation simplifies the coating process by eliminating the need for complex real-time masking adjustments, thereby maintaining fatigue strength through selective coating without proportionally increasing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Masking elements serve as intermediaries between the coating application system and the component surface. These masks enable selective coating of low-stress areas while protecting high-stress areas, simplifying the overall process by providing a straightforward mechanical solution rather than requiring complex coating system control.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If complete coating is applied for maximum erosion protection, then erosion resistance is maximized, but coating time increases and critical areas are unnecessarily protected
Solution Approach 1:
Coating is applied selectively only to areas where erosion protection is needed (leading edge, suction side) rather than uniformly across the entire component. This local application maintains maximum erosion resistance in critical zones while significantly reducing total coating time by excluding high-stress areas from the coating process.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying coating to the entire component surface (excessive action), the patent applies coating only to the necessary partial areas (leading edge, suction side). This partial action achieves sufficient erosion protection while improving productivity by reducing coating time and material consumption.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device for the partial coating of a components (12), particularly for the coating of components of a gas turbine or an aircraft engine, wherein the device (10) comprises at least one base receptacle (14) for at least partially receiving the component (12) and a first partial region (20) of the component (12) not to be coated, and further comprises at least one plate-shaped cover (16) that can be positioned in the base receptacle (14), and wherein the cover (16) comprises at least one recess or opening (18) for a second partial region (22) of the component (12) to be coated to pass through, wherein the shape of the recess or opening (18) corresponds to the profile of the component (12) in the region between the partial region not to be coated and the partial region to be coated (20, 22) The invention further relates to a method for the partial coating of a component (12), particularly for the coating of components of a gas turbine or an aircraft engine, and to the use of the device (10) according to the invention and of the method according to the invention, and to a component of a gas turbine or an aircraft engine, which is produced using the device (10) and/or the method described.