Patent Application
20090142221
The inventive subject matter generally relates to engine components, and more particularly relates to methods of forming engine components for use in high temperatures.
Components, such as turbine disks, may be subjected to relatively high temperatures (e.g., temperatures up to about 675° C.). These components may be formed by several manufacturing methods. For example, the components may be formed from a metal powder, such as a nickel-based superalloy material, which is placed in a container that is subsequently evacuated and sealed, and then consolidated to full density at high temperatures (e.g., temperatures greater than about 1150° C.). Consolidation may be performed by techniques known in the art (e.g., by hot isostatic pressing, extrusion and forging) to compact the metal powder to full density. The compacted metal powder may then be machined, or otherwise shaped, to form a turbine component, such as a turbine disk, a hub insert for a dual alloy turbine, or a rotating seal.
Although the above-mentioned alloys are adequate for forming engine components that operate at temperatures up to 675° C., they may be improved. In particular, the powder metallurgy superalloys used to make the engine components typically have sulfur contents of up to 50 parts per million by weight. The presence of the sulfur in such amounts may contribute to grain boundary fracture under high-temperature sustained-peak low cycle fatigue and creep conditions, which may prevent the alloys from being used to make components for use in temperatures greater than about 675° C. Thus, it would be desirable to have a method for forming components that operate at temperatures higher than 675° C. More particularly, it would be desirable to have a method to form components, such as turbine disks, that are capable of operating at temperatures in the 675° C. to 815° C. range.
Methods are provided for forming high temperature engine components, such as turbine disks.
In an embodiment, by way of example only, the method includes flowing a gas into a can with a metal powder therein, the gas comprising hydrogen, the can configured to be used for a consolidation process, and the metal powder comprising sulfur, removing at least a portion of the gas from the can, determining a sulfur content of the removed gas, and subjecting the can and the metal powder therein to a consolidation process, if a determination is made that a sulfur content of the metal powder is below a threshold value, the threshold value being a value below about 5 parts per million by weight.
In another embodiment, the method includes flowing a gas into a can with a metal powder therein, the gas comprising hydrogen, the can configured to be used for a hot isostatic pressing process, and the metal powder comprising sulfur, removing at least a portion of the gas from the can, determining a sulfur content of the removed gas, after a determination is made that the sulfur content of the metal powder is below a threshold value, the threshold value being below about 1 part per million by weight, subjecting the can and the metal powder therein to the hot isostatic pressing process to form compacted metal powder
In still another embodiment, an engine component is provided. The engine component includes a compacted powder material comprising a nickel-based superalloy having less than 5 parts per million sulfur, by weight.
The inventive subject matter will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the inventive subject matter or the application and uses of the inventive subject matter. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
The component 100 may comprise a powder metallurgy superalloy material. In an embodiment, the powder metallurgy superalloy material may be a nickel-based powder metallurgy superalloy. Suitable superalloys include, but are not limited to, Alloy 10 (available through Honeywell International, Inc. of Morristown, N.J.). To ensure that the component 100 may be capable of operating at high temperatures, the component 100 may include by weight about 5 parts per million of sulfur or less. In some embodiments, the component 100 may have about one part per million of sulfur. In still other embodiments, the component 100 may be substantially free of sulfur (e.g. less than one part per million of sulfur by weight).
To form the above-described component 100, a method 200 of manufacturing the component 100 depicted in
As briefly mentioned above, a metal powder is disposed in a can, step 202. The metal powder may be any one of numerous powders that may be suitable for use during a powder metallurgy process. For example, the metal powder may be a nickel-base powder metallurgy superalloy, such as Alloy 10. In an embodiment, the metal powder may include sulfur as an impurity. In another embodiment, the metal powder may include trace amounts of sulfur (e.g., up to about 50 parts per million by weight of sulfur). In another embodiment, more or less sulfur may alternatively be included in the metal powder.
The can may be configured to contain the metal powder during the desulfurization process. In an embodiment, the can may be configured such that it may be subsequently used in the consolidation process of step 208.
The can 304 may have walls 316 (e.g., top, bottom, and side walls) that form a cavity 318 to receive the metal powder. In an embodiment, the cavity 318 may have a cylindrical shape, and an opening 320 may be formed in one of the walls 316. The opening 320 may have a diameter that is suitable for receiving the metal powder and for flowing gas therethrough. For example, the diameter of the opening 320 may be between about 0.5 cm and about 5.0 cm. In an embodiment, the can 304 is completely closed, except for the opening 320.
As shown in
After the can 304 is filled with the metal powder, it may be evacuated. For example, residual powder atomization gas (e.g., argon) or air impurities may be removed from the can 304. Following evacuation, the valve 309 in the fill pipe 306 may be closed to prevent entry of air while the powder-filled can 304 is transferred into the desulfurization treatment system 302.
The can 304 may be disposed in the treatment system 302 to de-sulfurize the metal powder. Generally, as shown in
In an embodiment, the fill pipe 306, the gas connection tube 322, and the vacuum connection tube 308 are connected to a junction fixture 325. The junction fixture 325 is configured to enable communication between the can 304, the gas source 330, and the vacuum source 332. To control flow through the system 302, in some embodiments, one or more valves 309, 310, 312 may be included. In an embodiment, one or more of the valves 309, 310, 312 may be vacuum-capable valves capable of opening and closing a flowpath. Suitable valves include, but are not limited to, gate valves. As mentioned to briefly above, a first valve or “fill pipe valve” 309 may be disposed in the fill pipe 306 and may control gas flow into and out of the can 304. A second valve 312 controls gas flow into the vacuum connection tube 308 and may be positioned therein. A third valve 310 controls gas flow out of the gas source 330 and may be disposed in the gas connection tube 322.
The treatment system 302 may also include a heater 334. In an embodiment, the heater 334 may be a furnace, oven, or other device suitably sized to receive and heat the can 304.
The controller 336 is adapted to provide commands to and receive data from, either wirelessly or via other transmission means, the gas source 330, the vacuum source 332, and the valves 309, 310, 312 to control the flow of gas through the system 302. The particular commands from the controller 336 may depend on data related to an amount of sulfur that may be present in the metal powder in the can 304. In this regard, one or more sensors 338, adapted to detect the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the evacuated gas and to communicate the detected amount to the controller 336, may be appropriately placed to evaluate gas exposed to the metal powder. In an embodiment, the sensor 338 may be disposed in the vacuum line 308, as shown in
Referring again to
The metal powder may then be de-sulfurized, and desulfurizing gas that comprises hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide may be removed from the can, step 206.
After the predetermined amount of time has passed, at least a portion of the gas may be removed from the can 304, step 404. The gas may include H2S, hydrogen, and, in some embodiments, an inert gas. In an embodiment, substantially all of the gas is removed from the can 304. To remove the gas, the valve 312 may be opened and the vacuum source 332 may be activated to remove the gas from the can 304.
In an embodiment, the steps 402 and 404 may be performed within a particular temperature range. For example, the steps may be performed within 300° C. of an incipient melting temperature of the metal powder. In another example, the steps may be performed in a range of between about 1150° C. and about 1200° C.
A determination is then made as to a sulfur content of the metal powder, step 406. This determination may include establishment of a correlation between the amount of sulfur in the removed gas and the amount of sulfur remaining in the metal powder. In an embodiment, the sulfur content of the metal powder is calculated based upon data collected from the sensor 338. The sensor 338 may sense the sulfur content in the removed gas. For example, the sensor 338 may sense a hydrogen sulfide content of the removed gas. The sensor detection capability for sulfur may be about 1 part per million by weight, or may be lower. If the sulfur content is above the desired threshold value for the metal powder, steps 406 and 408 (e.g., the flowing and removing steps) may be repeated. In this way, each time steps 406 and 408 are repeated, a portion of the remaining sulfur in the metal powder is allowed to diffuse to an exposed surface of the metal powder, the gas flowed into the can 304 can react with the sulfur to form H2S gas, and the gas may be removed. These steps may be repeated over a time period of between about one hour to twenty hours. The particular time period selected may depend on a quantity of metal powder that may be in the can 304 and/or the amount of sulfur that may have initially been included in the metal powder.
Turning back to
The consolidation process may be performed on the can 304 and its contents by using particular process parameters that are suitable for forming a compacted solid having negligible porosity (e.g., having a porosity of less than 0.1 percent by volume) For example, the consolidation process may be a hot isostatic pressing process in which parameters may include pressure, temperature, and time. In an embodiment, the hot isostatic pressing process may be performed at parameters where a selected temperature is in a range of between about 1090° C. and 1290° C. and a selected pressure is in a range of between about 15 to 30 ksi. The process may be performed for between about 2 to 8 hours. In another embodiment, the hot isostatic pressing process may be performed at a temperature within a range of between about 1140° C. to 1260° C. at a pressure in a range of between about 20 to 30 ksi for between about 2 to 6 hours. The process alternatively may be performed within different temperature and/or pressure ranges, and/or for different time periods, in other embodiments. In other embodiments, the consolidation process may be an extrusion or forging process. In particular, the compacted metal powder may be pushed through a die having a cutout of a particular shape to thereby form a particular profile. In still another embodiment, the compacted metal powder may be forged (e.g., plastically deformed) to form the engine component. It will be appreciated that two or more of the aforementioned embodiments may be combined, when performing this step. For example, the compacted metal powder may be initially compacted by hot isostatic pressing or extrusion to form a billet.
In another embodiment, after desulfurization of the metal powder has been completed, all or a portion of the desulfurized metal powder may be transferred to another can for the consolidation process. For example, the can 304 and the metal powder may be removed from the treatment system 302 and transferred to a compaction apparatus (not shown). The compaction apparatus may be used for hot isostatic pressing, extrusion or forging. Using a compaction method, the powder may be consolidated to form a compacted metal billet or other geometry.
After the metal powder is consolidated, the can 304 is removed, and the compacted metal powder may be contoured or machined to form the component, step 210. In an embodiment, the compacted metal powder may be machined into a predetermined shape to form the component.
The compacted metal powder may be heat treated to improve properties, step 212. In an embodiment, the component is heated treated after it is contoured (machined) in step 210. In another embodiment, heat treatment may occur after the powder is consolidated in step 208, but before the engine component is contoured, in step 210.
Methods have now been provided for forming components. By employing the above-described method for de-sulfurizing metal powder materials, the components formed by the manufacturing methods above may be capable of being subjected to higher temperatures (e.g., greater than 675° C.). In particular, de-sulfurizing the metal powder to include less than 5 parts per million sulfur by weight allows very little sulfur from the metal powder material to diffuse to interfaces and/or grain boundaries. The substantial absence of sulfur in the alloy may inhibit intergranular cracking and, consequently, improve creep strength and sustained peak low cycle fatigue strength of the component.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the inventive subject matter, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the inventive subject matter in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the inventive subject matter. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matter as set forth in the appended claims.
