Method and assembly for forming components using a jacketed core

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10286450-B2
Application number	US-201615140050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 27, 2016
Priority date	Apr 27, 2016
Publication date	May 14, 2019
Grant date	May 14, 2019

Abstract

A mold assembly for use in forming a component having an outer wall of a predetermined thickness includes a mold and a jacketed core. The jacketed core includes a jacket that includes a first jacket outer wall coupled against an interior wall of the mold, a second jacket outer wall positioned interiorly from the first jacket outer wall, and at least one jacketed cavity defined therebetween. The at least one jacketed cavity is configured to receive a molten component material therein. The jacketed core also includes a core positioned interiorly from the second jacket outer wall. The core includes a perimeter coupled against the second jacket outer wall. The jacket separates the perimeter from the interior wall by the predetermined thickness, such that the outer wall is formable between the perimeter and the interior wall.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a component having an outer wall of a predetermined thickness, said method comprising:
introducing a component material in a molten state into at least one jacketed cavity defined in a mold assembly, the mold assembly including a jacketed core positioned with respect to a mold, wherein the mold includes an interior wall that defines a mold cavity within the mold, and the jacketed core includes:
a jacket that includes a first jacket outer wall coupled against the interior wall, a second jacket outer wall positioned interiorly from the first jacket outer wall, and the at least one jacketed cavity defined therebetween; and
a core positioned interiorly from the second jacket outer wall, the core including a perimeter coupled against the second jacket outer wall, wherein the jacket separates the perimeter from the interior wall by the predetermined thickness;

cooling the component material to form the component, wherein the perimeter and the interior wall cooperate to define the outer wall of the component therebetween; and
forming the jacket around a precursor component, wherein the precursor component is shaped to correspond to a shape of at least portions of the component and an outer wall of the precursor component includes at least one outer wall aperture defined therein and extending therethrough, and forming the jacket further comprises forming at least one stand-off structure on the at least one outer wall aperture, the at least one stand-off structure separates the perimeter from the interior wall by the predetermined thickness.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising locally coupling the first jacket outer wall to the second jacket outer wall to define at least one stand-off structure that separates the perimeter from the interior wall by the predetermined thickness.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said jacket further comprises a filler material inserted into each said at least one stand-off structure, such that a shape of said first jacket outer wall corresponds to an exterior shape of the component proximate said at least one stand-off structure.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the jacket comprises depositing a jacket material on the precursor component in a plating process.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the precursor component at least partially using an additive manufacturing process.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
separately forming a plurality of precursor component sections; and
coupling the plurality of sections together to form the precursor component.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein forming the jacket comprises forming the jacket on each of the sections prior to coupling the sections together, said method further comprising masking at least one mating surface of the plurality of sections prior to forming the jacket, such that formation of the jacket on the at least one mating surface is inhibited.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
adding the core to the jacketed precursor component to form a jacketed cored precursor component; and
removing the precursor component from the jacketed cored precursor component to form the jacketed core.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the mold around the jacketed core by an investment process.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a combined thickness of said first jacket outer wall, said second jacket outer wall, and said at least one jacketed cavity corresponds to the predetermined thickness.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said jacket further comprises opposing jacket inner walls positioned interiorly from said second jacket outer wall, said opposing jacket inner walls define at least one inner wall jacketed cavity therebetween, said at least one inner wall jacketed cavity configured to receive the component material in the molten state and form an inner wall of the component therein.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said core comprises at least one chamber core portion positioned between a first of said jacket inner walls and said second jacket outer wall.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein said core comprises at least one plenum core portion positioned interiorly from a second of said jacket inner walls.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein said core comprises at least one return channel core portion configured to define at least one fluid return channel within the component, the at least one fluid return channel in flow communication with a chamber of the component defined by said at least one chamber core portion.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein said core comprises a plurality of inner wall aperture core portions each extending through said at least one inner wall jacketed cavity.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the component material is an alloy, and said jacket is formed from a jacket material that comprises at least one constituent material of the alloy.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Tallman James Albert
• Rutkowski Stephen Francis

Classifications

• F01D5/186

  Film cooling (F01D5/187 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2260/201

  by impingement of a fluid · CPC title

• B22C9/10

  Cores; Manufacture or installation of cores {(breaker cores B22C9/084)} · CPC title

• F01D9/041

  using blades (F01D5/148 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B22C9/24 Primary

  for hollow articles · CPC title