Method of creating a component via transformation of representative volume elements

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10948237-B2
Application number	US-201916353206-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2019
Priority date	Mar 14, 2019
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

A method of forming a component includes defining a component volume discretized by a target mesh formed by a plurality of volume elements, each volume element defined, at least in part, by a shape function. The method further includes defining a parting surface within a representative volume element and discretizing the parting surface using a surface mesh that includes a plurality of surface elements and a plurality of surface nodes. The method further includes mapping the surface mesh into each volume element of the target mesh according to the quartic, or higher order, shape functions of the target mesh and forming a component based on the component surface structure produced by the mapped surface mesh.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of forming a component comprising:
defining a component volume discretized by a target mesh having a plurality of volume elements, wherein each volume element of the plurality of volume elements is defined, at least in part, by a shape function and a plurality of volume nodes, and wherein the shape function is a quartic or higher order shape function;
defining a parting surface within a representative volume element, wherein an intersection of the parting surface and boundary faces of the representative volume element define boundary edges of the parting surface;
discretizing the parting surface using a surface mesh that includes a plurality of surface elements defined by a plurality of surface nodes, wherein the plurality of surface nodes includes boundary surface nodes located along one of the boundary edges of the parting surface;
mapping the surface mesh into each volume element of the plurality of volume elements according to the shape function of each volume element of the plurality of volume elements to produce a component surface structure; and
forming a component based on the component surface structure.

2. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the component volume has a shape that is dissimilar to a shape of the representative volume element.

3. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes partitioning the representative volume element into two or more discrete volumes using the parting surface.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes partitioning the representative volume element into at least three discrete volumes using the parting surface.

5. The method of claim 3 , and further comprising:
enclosing portions of each representative volume element at the boundaries of the component to form two or more discrete volumes of a heat exchanger core, each discrete volume having an input and an output that is discrete from the other discrete volumes.

6. The method of claim 1 , and further comprising inflating the surface mesh using a field function to produce the component structure after mapping the surface mesh to the target mesh, wherein the component structure has a thickness distribution based on the field function.

7. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes locating the boundary surface nodes at identical relative positions along respective boundary edges; and
wherein the boundary edges formed on each boundary face of the representative volume element are identical.

8. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes forming a first boundary edge on a first boundary face of the representative volume element that is identical to a second boundary edge on a second boundary face of the representative volume element that is opposite the first boundary face.

9. The method of claim 8 ,
wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes forming a third boundary edge on a third boundary face of the representative volume that is identical to a fourth boundary edge on a fourth boundary face of the representative volume element that is opposite the third boundary face; and
wherein the third boundary face and the fourth boundary face join the first boundary face to the second boundary face.

10. The method of claim 9 ,
wherein defining the parting surface within the representative volume element includes forming a fifth boundary edge on a fifth boundary face of the representative volume that is identical to a sixth boundary edge on a sixth boundary face of the representative volume element that is opposite the fifth boundary face; and
wherein the fifth boundary face and the sixth boundary face join the first boundary face to the second boundary face and join the third boundary face to the fourth boundary face.

11. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the target mesh has fewer elements per unit of component volume than the surface mesh.

12. The method of claim 11 ,
wherein defining the component volume includes enhancing the target mesh by applying a plurality of control points to each volume element of the target mesh, a first portion of the control points positioned between adjacent volume nodes of each volume element of the target mesh and a second portion of the control points positioned within each volume element of the target mesh.

13. The method of claim 12 ,
wherein defining the component volume includes projecting control points associated with boundary elements of the target mesh adjacent a boundary of the component volume from the boundary elements onto the boundary of the component volume.

14. The method of claim 13 ,
wherein defining the component volume includes using a smoothing function to minimize spacing variation between adjacent control points.

15. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein defining the component volume includes defining the shape function such that, after mapping the surface mesh to the target mesh, the surface mesh is normal to the boundaries of each element.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp
• Raytheon Tech Corp

Inventors

• Wiedenhoefer James F

Classifications

• F28F2250/10

  Particular pattern of flow of the heat exchange media · CPC title

• F28F13/06

  by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media {(F28F13/003 takes precedence; static flow control means in header boxes F28F9/026)} · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• G05B19/4097

  characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM (G05B19/4093 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F2119/08

  Thermal analysis or thermal optimisation · CPC title