The present invention relates to the field of turbomachine blades, especially to that of blades obtained by casting a molten alloy in a mold using the technique of lost wax casting.
The search for enhanced performance levels in engines involves in particular more effective cooling of the turbine blades located immediately downstream of the combustion chamber. This requirement means that more elaborate internal cavities have to be formed inside these blades for the circulation of the cooling fluid. These blades have the particular feature of having several metal walls and therefore require the manufacture of increasingly complex ceramic cores.
The technique of manufacturing blades of this type therefore includes a first step of forming the core. The core is made of a ceramic with a generally porous structure and is produced from a mixture consisting of a refractory filler in the form of particles and a relatively complex organic fraction forming a binder. Examples of compositions are given in patents EP 328 452, FR 2 371 257 and FR 1 785 836. As is known, the cast core is formed by molding, for example using an injection molding machine. This forming is followed by a binder-removal operation during which the organic fraction of the core is removed by a means such as sublimation or thermal degradation, depending on the materials used. This results in a porous structure. The core is then consolidated by heat treatment in a furnace. A finishing step may be necessary in order to remove and deflash the traces of parting lines and to obtain the desired geometry of the core. Abrasive tools are used for this purpose. It may also be necessary to reinforce the core so that it is not damaged during subsequent operating cycles. In this case, the core is impregnated with an organic resin.
Next, a pattern, made of wax or another, equivalent material, is molded over the core, so as to constitute a replica of the blade to be cast. In the next step, of forming the mold for casting the alloy, the pattern is dipped into slips so as to constitute a ceramic shell. The wax is then removed so as to leave a space in the shell mold, into which the alloy will be cast. After the metal has been cast and cooled, the shell mold is broken and the core removed in order to free the part.
Owing to the complexity of the cooling cavities to be formed with their separate partitions, and owing to their arrangement, the core is produced in several portions, which are then assembled and bonded. The elementary cores are generally linked together at the root and at the tip. This requires the thickness of the walls and of the partitions formed to be carefully controlled during casting. The assembly operation must allow the core to withstand the stresses undergone during the wax injection, dewaxing and then casting steps.
The current techniques known to the present Applicant do not, however, allow the squealer at the blade tip to be obtained directly by casting.
It will be recalled that the squealer is the cavity at the blade tip radially open to the outside. An example of a squealer may be seen in
At the present time, a hollow blade with its cavities is produced by casting using the method presented above, but without the squealer bottom wall. The wall is added, in the form of a plate, to the as-cast blade and fastened by brazing. This operation is lengthy and expensive.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to produce this bottom wall without having to perform the brazing operation.
This objective can be achieved according to the invention with a ceramic core used in the manufacture, by lost wax casting, of a turbomachine blade with internal cooling cavities and a squealer, formed, in particular, by assembling cores, comprising at least a main core, wherein the main core comprises an element shaped so as to constitute the squealer and an element shaped so as to constitute at least one cavity beneath the squealer, the two elements leaving between them a space shaped so as to constitute, at least in part, the bottom wall of the squealer. Preferably, the two elements—the squealer element and the element beneath the squealer—are joined together by at least one ceramic rod.
The advantage of the solution according to the invention is that the squealer bottom wall is formed in an industrial process during the casting operation.
According to another feature, the core includes a secondary core beneath the squealer. This secondary core is joined to the main core by at least one ceramic rod fastened to said element shaped so as to constitute the squealer.
This therefore allows relatively precise positioning of the assembled core elements, which is reproducible in an industrial process. Preferably, these rods also define orifices for extraction of the cooling fluid through the squealer.
More particularly, the secondary core provides, partly with the portions of the main core that are beneath the squealer, squealer the bottom wall.
The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a core thus characterized, it being possible for this method to be implemented in several alternate ways.
According to a first way of manufacturing a core with a secondary core, the method comprises the following steps: manufacture of said main core; formation of at least one notch in the element shaped so as to constitute the squealer; fitting of the secondary core with the rod; and plugging of the notch. More particularly, the notch may be formed on the core before the latter is fired.
According to a variant, it comprises the following steps: manufacture of said main core; drilling of at least one hole in the element shaped so as to constitute the squealer; and fitting of the secondary core with the rod. More particularly, the drilling is carried out in the core before the latter is fired.
According to another variant, as the secondary core is drilled so as to form a housing for the rod, the secondary core is positioned without the rod and then the rod is fitted into its housing.
Other features and advantages will become apparent on reading the following description of two embodiments of the invention, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
This main core 10 here consists of a plurality of elements, separated from one another by spaces, constituting the walls of the cooling cavities after the metal has been cast. The schematic drawing of
The part 10SB to the left of the space 13 in the figure is shaped so as to provide cavities beneath the squealer on the blade as cast. In the embodiment shown, there are four elements 10SB1, 10SB2, 10SB3 and 10SB4, each giving rise to the formation of a cavity beneath the squealer. These elements are each joined to the transverse element 10B of the squealer by a ceramic rod TG1, TG2, TG3, TG4. These rods support the element 10B and keep the space 13 open.
Formed in the element 10B are two notches 11 and 12 parallel to the axis XX. These notches 11 and 12 are visible in
It may be seen in
A secondary core 100 is shown in
The rods 110 and 120 are engaged in the notches 11 and 12 of the element 10B of the main core 10. After insertion of the rods, the notches are plugged by means of a ceramic adhesive comprising a mineral filler and a mineral binder. This may for example be a mixture of zircon and colloidal silica, or else alumina and ethyl silicate, or else silica and ethyl silicate. This is left to dry.
The core thus prepared then undergoes the conventional series of operations resulting in the manufacture of the blade: molding of the pattern, formation of the shell and casting of the alloy. It will be observed that this core results in the formation of a squealer bottom wall corresponding to the space 13.
According to the variant shown in
As in the previous case, the core 200 is provided with two rods 210 and 220. The core 2000 is assembled by guiding the rods into the holes 21 and 22, respectively, and then by holding them in place, where appropriate by bonding.
When the geometry is complex, for example with a secondary core 300 as shown in
In this case, the secondary core 300 is drilled with two holes 310 and 320. The secondary core is presented parallel to the elements 20SB of the main core in such a way that the holes 310 and 320 face the holes 21 and 22. The rods are then slipped into the holes 21 and 310 on the one hand, and into the holes 22 and 320 on the other.
The core is ready for the subsequent operations in the manufacture of the blade.
The assembly of the cores has been shown in a simplified manner in order to bring out the principle of the invention. Of course, this is applicable to multiple cores consisting of a plurality of elementary cores or the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0508154 | Jul 2005 | FR | national |