Re-entrant Cooling Channels Eliminate Sacrificial Fillers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current micro-channel cooling techniques for gas turbine engines require the use of sacrificial fillers to support coatings during deposition, which complicates the processing and can lead to residual material issues and inefficient heat transfer due to low heat transfer rates and non-uniform temperature profiles.
Innovation Solution
The method involves forming re-entrant shaped grooves in the substrate surface with access holes to create micro-channels for cooling, allowing direct coating deposition without a sacrificial filler, thereby eliminating the need for filling and removal processes and enhancing heat transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If sacrificial filler is used to support coating during deposition, then coating can be deposited over microchannels, but processing complexity increases and residual material issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the sacrificial filler from the process entirely. Instead of adding a filler material to support coating deposition and then removing it later, the method directly deposits coating material into open microchannels formed by re-entrant grooves, eliminating the filler addition and removal steps that complicate processing
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than filling grooves with sacrificial material and coating over it, the invention inverts the approach by forming re-entrant grooves with narrow openings that naturally contain the coating material through surface tension and geometry, allowing coating deposition without any filler
2Ease of manufacture
If sacrificial filler is used to support coating during deposition, then coating can be deposited over microchannels, but residual filler material remains causing potential problems
Solution Approach 1:
The invention completely extracts the sacrificial filler from the manufacturing process. By forming re-entrant grooves with narrow openings and depositing coating directly, there is no filler material to leave residuals, eliminating potential reliability issues associated with incomplete filler removal
Solution Approach 2:
The re-entrant groove geometry acts as a temporary containment structure that serves its purpose during coating deposition and then becomes part of the final component structure, eliminating the need for disposable filler materials that must be completely removed
3Temperature
If conventional cooling passages are used, then cooling is provided to hot gas path components, but heat transfer rates are low and temperature profiles are non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from conventional internal serpentine cooling passages to surface-level microchannels formed by re-entrant grooves. This dimensional change places cooling channels at the surface where they can more effectively intercept heat from the hot gas path, significantly improving heat transfer rates and temperature uniformity
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 improves heat transfer rates and uniformity by allowing direct coating over the grooves, reducing the need for sacrificial fillers and their removal processes, leading to more efficient cooling and potentially longer engine lifetimes.
Implementation Method 1
The grooves and the coating define one or more re-entrant shaped channels for cooling the component
Data Source
AI summary
A method of fabricating a component is provided. The method includes forming one or more grooves in a surface of a substrate, where the substrate has at least one hollow interior space. Each of the one or more grooves extends at least partially along the substrate surface and has a base and a top. The base is wider than the top, such that each of the one or more grooves comprises a re-entrant shaped groove. The method further includes forming one or more access holes through the base of a respective groove, to connect the groove in fluid communication with respective ones of the hollow interior space(s), and disposing a coating over at least a portion of the substrate surface. The one or more grooves and coating define one or more re-entrant shaped channels for cooling the component. A component with one or more re-entrant shaped channels and a method of coating a component are also provided.