Repair of coated turbine vanes installed in module

• Main Authors: DEMICHAEL THOMAS, GERST RICHARD, BUNTING BILLIE W, RUTZ DAVID A, TRYON BRIAN S
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 31.08.2016
• Subjects: BLASTING; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COMBINED OPERATIONS; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; HEATING; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; LIGHTING; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; METALLURGY; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAMTURBINES; OTHER WORKING OF METAL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; STEAM ENGINES; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; TRANSPORTING; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS; WEAPONS

A method of repairing a damaged coated vane (16) from a turbine module (10) without removing the vane (16) from the module (10) is taught. The method includes locally removing the coating in the vicinity of the damage as well as any underlying damage in the superalloy substrate. A diffusible coating precursor is then applied to the damage site. A heat treating fixture (240) is then mounted on the vane (16) and the repair site is heated to up to 2000°F (1090 °C) in an inert environment to interdiffuse the coating precursor and the substrate. After the diffusion anneal, the vane (16) is cleaned and the module (10) is returned to service. And a corresponding system for repairing a damaged coated vane (16) from a turbine module (10) without removing the vane (16) from the module (10).