Methods and tooling assemblies for the manufacture of metallurgically-consolidated turbine engine components

• Main Authors: SMOKE, JASON, JAN, DAVID K, MITTENDORF, DON
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 09.03.2016
• Subjects: BLASTING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; COMBINED OPERATIONS; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HEATING; INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TONON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES ORJET-PROPULSION PLANTS; INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUSSUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04; LIGHTING; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAMTURBINES; OTHER WORKING OF METAL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; STEAM ENGINES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSPORTING; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS; WEAPONS; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

Embodiments of a method (84) for manufacturing a turbine engine component (60) are provided, as are embodiments of a thermal growth constraint tool (118) for the manufacture of turbine engine components (60). In one embodiment, the method (84) includes the steps of obtaining (86) a plurality of arched pieces (88), arranging (110) the plurality of arched pieces (88) in a ring formation (112), and bonding (116) the plurality of arched pieces (88) together to produce a monolithic ring (162) by heating the ring formation (112) to a predetermined bonding temperature while constraining the outward radial growth thereof. Bonding (116) comprises, in turn, positioning a thermal growth constraint ring (120, 122) around the ring formation (112), and heating the ring formation (112) to a predetermined bonding temperature at which the ring formation (112) grows into the thermal growth constraint ring (120, 122).