Turbine engine blade or vane made of composite material, turbine nozzle or compressor stator incorporating such vanes and method of fabricating same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9506355-B2
Application number	US-201213607371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2012
Priority date	Dec 14, 2009
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

A method for fabricating turbine engine blade or vane made of composite material includes: performing three-dimensional weaving to make a single-piece fiber blank; shaping the fiber blank to obtain a single-piece fiber preform having a first portion forming a preform for at least a blade/vane airfoil, at least one second portion forming a preform for an inner part of a blade/vane inner platform or for an outer part of a blade/vane outer platform, and at least one third portion forming a preform for an outer part of a blade/vane inner platform or for an inner part of a blade/vane outer platform; and densifying the fiber preform with a matrix to obtain a composite material blade, and forming a single piece with an inner and/or outer platform(s) incorporated therein.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a turbine engine blade or vane out of composite material comprising fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix, the method comprising:
performing three-dimensional weaving to make a single-piece fiber blank;
shaping the fiber blank to obtain a single-piece fiber preform having a first portion forming a preform for at least a blade or vane airfoil, at least one second portion forming a preform for an inner part of a blade or vane inner platform or for an outer part of a blade or vane outer platform, and at least one third portion forming a preform for an outer part of the blade or vane inner platform or for an inner part of the blade or vane outer platform, wherein said second and third portions of the single-piece fiber preform each cross the first portion of said single-piece fiber preform; and
densifying the fiber preform with the matrix in order to obtain the composite material blade or vane having fiber reinforcement constituted by the preform and densified by the matrix, and forming a single piece with at least one of the inner platform and the outer platform incorporated therein.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein in a longitudinal direction corresponding to a longitudinal direction of the fiber blank that is to be fabricated, the fiber blank comprises:
a first set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together to form the first portion of the fiber blank corresponding to at least the blade or vane airfoil preform;
a second set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together at least locally to form at least the second portion of the fiber blank corresponding to the inner part of the blade or vane inner platform preform or to the outer part of the blade or vane outer platform preform; and
a third set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together at least locally to form at least the third portion of the fiber blank corresponding to the outer part of the blade or vane inner platform preform or to the inner part of the blade or vane outer platform preform;
the yarns of the first set of yarn layers being not linked with the yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers; and
yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers crossing through the first set of yarn layers at a level of the or each second portion of the fiber blank and at a level of the or each third portion of the fiber blank, respectively.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the fiber blank is woven with second and third continuous sets of yarn layers and the shaping of the fiber blank includes eliminating portions of the second and third sets of yarn layers that lie outside the or each second fiber blank portion and the or each third fiber blank portion by cutting the portions of the second and third sets of yarn layers that lie outside the or each second fiber blank portion and the or each third fiber blank portion off.

4. A method according to claim 2 , wherein yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers cross through the first set of yarn layers in the same direction.

5. A method according to claim 2 , wherein yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers cross through the first set of yarn layers in opposite directions.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the blade or vane airfoil has a profile of varying thickness and the first portion of the fiber reinforcement corresponding to the first portion of the blade or vane has, in a longitudinal direction of the blade or vane, a constant number of layers of yarns.

7. A method according to claim 6 , wherein the yarns of the first set of yarn layers are of varying weight.

8. A method according to claim 6 , wherein the thread count of the yarns of the first set of yarn layers varies.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein three-dimensional weaving is used to make a strip comprising a succession of fiber blanks.

10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the blank is woven with a longitudinal direction thereof that corresponds to a direction of the blade or vane that is to be fabricated extending in a weft direction.

11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the blank is woven with a longitudinal direction thereof that corresponds to a direction of the blade or vane that is to be fabricated extending in a warp direction.

12. A turbine engine fitted with at least one blade or vane fabricated using a method according to claim 1 .

13. A method of fabricating a turbine engine blade out of composite material comprising fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix, the method comprising:
performing three-dimensional weaving to make a single-piece fiber blank;
shaping the fiber blank to obtain a single-piece fiber preform having a first portion forming a preform for a blade root and an airfoil, at least one second portion forming a preform for a blade inner platform or for wipers of a blade outer platform, and at least one third portion forming a preform for a blade inner platform reinforcement or for overhangs of the blade outer platform, wherein said second and third portions of the single-piece fiber preform each cross the first portion of said single-piece fiber preform; and
densifying the fiber preform with the matrix in order to obtain the composite material blade having fiber reinforcement constituted by the preform and densified by the matrix, and forming a single piece with at least one of the inner platform and the outer platform incorporated therein.

14. A method according to claim 13 , wherein, in a longitudinal direction corresponding to a longitudinal direction of the fiber blank that is to be fabricated, the fiber blank comprises:
a first set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together to form the first portion of the fiber blank corresponding to the preform for the blade root and airfoil;
a second set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together at least locally to form at least the second portion of the fiber blank corresponding to the preform for the blade inner platform or for the wipers of the blade outer platform; and
a third set of a plurality of yarn layers that are linked together at least locally to form at least the third portion of the fiber blank corresponding to the preform for the reinforcement of the blade inner platform or for the overhangs of the blade outer platform;
the yarns of the first set of yarn layers being not linked with the yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers; and
yarns of the second and third sets of yarn layers crossing through the first set of yarn layers at the level of the or each second portion of the fiber blank and at the level of the or each third portion of the fiber blank, respectively.

15. A method of fabricating a turbine engine vane out of composite material comprising fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix, the method comprising:
performing three-dimensional weaving to make a single-piece fiber blank;
shaping the fiber blank to obtain a single-piece fiber preform having a first portion forming a preform for a vane airfoil, at least one second portion forming a preform for hooks or overhangs of a vane inner platform on the inside of the vane inner platform or forming a preform for hooking legs of a vane outer platform on an outside of the vane outer platform portion, and third portions forming a preform for a vane inner platform portion forming a flowpath delimiting inner platform portion and forming a preform for a vane outer platform portion forming a flowpath delimiting outer wall portion, wherein said second and third portions of the single-piece fiber preform each cross the first portion of

Assignees

• Nunez Romain
• Blanchard Stephane
• Renon Guillaume
• Coupe Dominique
• Roussille Clement
• Beaujard Antoine Jean-Philippe
• Fremont Elric Georges Andre
• Snecma
• Herakles

Inventors

• Nunez Romain
• Blanchard Stephane
• Renon Guillaume
• Coupe Dominique
• Roussille Clement
• Beaujard Antoine Jean-Philippe
• Fremont Elric Georges Andre

Classifications

• C04B2237/128

  The active component for bonding being silicon · CPC title

• C04B2235/5256

  Two-dimensional, e.g. woven structures · CPC title

• B29L2031/08

  Blades for rotors, stators, fans, turbines or the like, e.g. screw propellers · CPC title

• C04B2235/612

  Machining · CPC title

• C04B2235/5244

  Silicon carbide · CPC title