This application claims the benefits of European Patent application No. 06000339.9 filed Jan. 9, 2006. All of the applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a holder for holding a metal component part, especially a component part of a turbine, which has at least one internal passage which is accessible by an opening in the external surface of the component part, during a coating process for internal coating of the internal passage.
Thermally highly stressed component parts, for example turbine blades or elements of combustion chamber linings, are provided with thermal barrier protective coatings for protection against excessive temperatures. In addition, such component parts can have cooling passages through which a cooling fluid is directed during the duration of the thermal stress in order to rapidly dissipate the heat which is transmitted to the component part. In order to protect such cooling passages against oxidation, or to decelerate the oxidation, as the case may be, it is the aim to provide the walls of the passages with a protective coating. As a protective coating, especially an aluminum coating is a possibility, which, under oxidizing conditions, forms an aluminum oxide surface which counteracts a further oxidization.
A method for aluminizing internal holes of turbine blades, therefore for forming an aluminum coating on the walls of the internal holes, is disclosed in DE 28 05 370 A1. In the method for producing an aluminized coating, which is described there, a vapor deposition of the aluminum (Al) by subchloride compounds takes place, therefore compounds of the form Al (Cl)x, with x=1.2. For implementation of the method, the turbine blade is installed in a special holder which enables a subchloride gas stream to be directed through the cooling passages. The subchloride disproportionates in the cooling passages, forming aluminum and aluminum chloride (AlCl3), wherein the deposited aluminum forms the aluminum coating.
It is the object of the present invention to make available an advantageous holder for holding a component part during an aluminizing process, in which the vapor deposition of aluminum takes place.
This object is achieved by a holder for holding a metal component part, which has at least one internal passage which is accessible by an opening in the external surface of the component part. The dependent claims contain advantageous developments of the invention.
A holder for holding a metal component part, according to the invention, which has at least one internal passage which is accessible by an opening in the external surface of the component part, comprises:
The outlet opening of the flow passage, which is adapted to the opening of the passage in the component part, enables a calculated feed of the gas phase, from which the aluminum deposition takes place, into the passage of the component part. In the prior art, the holders, on the other hand, have no outlet openings for the gas phase which are adapted to the component part. This leads to detrimental flow conditions at the transition between the holder and the opening of the passage of the component part, which can lead, inter alia, to uneven deposition. By means of the calculated feed of the gas phase, moreover, the gas flow which is necessary for the desired aluminization can be ensured since the leak rate can be reduced.
In an advantageous development of the invention, the edge of the outlet opening of the flow passage is encompassed by a seal in order to further reduce the leak rate.
The flow passage can especially have a plurality of closable outlet openings which are located at different places on the bearing surface. By this design, it is possible to design the size and distribution of the outlet openings in the bearing surface so that the holder can be used for a plurality of different component parts, therefore used for component parts with differently disposed openings of the internal passages, by means of opening and closing of the corresponding outlet openings in the bearing surface. The appropriate opening merely needs to be opened and the remaining openings need to be closed. If the component part has a plurality of internal passages and/or a plurality of openings in the external surface, a plurality of openings in the bearing surface can also be opened at the same time.
The bearing surface of the holder, in a further development, can be adapted to the shape of the external surface of the component part which is to be supported. In this way, a good, extensive support can be achieved, and the outlet openings in the bearing surface can be optimally led up to the openings in the external surface of the component parts so that a very low leakage and a flow with especially little interruption at the transition are possible.
In a particular development, the holder can be equipped with at least one connector which projects beyond the bearing surface of the bearing element. The flow passage then also leads through the connector, wherein the outlet opening is located at the end of the connector which is remote from the bearing surface. The connector is located in or is to be disposed in the bearing surface in such a way that, with the component part seated, it is adjacent to the opening in the external surface of the component part, or projects into this. This development then is especially useful if, for example, only the edge of the bearing surface serves as a support for the component part, and in the other regions, the external surface of the component part is away from the bearing surface. By means of the connector, the outlet opening of the flow passage, therefore, can be led up very close to the opening of the internal passage of the component part in the external surface. By the use of different connectors, the holder, moreover, can be adapted to different component parts. Since only the edge of the holder serves as an effective support surface for the component part, especially component parts, the external surfaces of which differ except in the region of the supported edge, can be supported. The adaptation to the shape of the external surfaces can be carried out then by suitable selection of the connectors. As a result, a high degree of flexibility of the holder is possible.
If, with the component part seated, the connector is adjacent to the opening in the external surface of the component part, and the shape and the opening cross section of the outlet opening correspond to the shape and the opening cross section of the opening of the internal passage of the component part, then, by means of the connectors, a flow with little interruption and low loss at the transition between holder and component part can be achieved. The edge of the outlet opening can especially also be encompassed by a seal which projects in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the connector, in order to further reduce the leak rate.
The connector, however, can also be designed so that, with the component part seated, it projects into the opening in the external surface of the turbine component part. As a result, an especially calculated feed of the gas phase to the internal passage of the component part which is to be coated can be achieved. In particular, if the shape and the dimension of the external circumference of the connector corresponds to the shape and the dimension of the opening in the external surface of the component part, the leak rate and the necessary gas phase flow can be kept low.
Alternatively, it is also possible, however, to design the external dimension of the connector smaller than the opening cross section of the opening in the external surface of the component part. This makes it possible for some of the gas phase flow to flow back along the connector up to the edge of the opening in the external surface of the component part. In this way, a satisfactory aluminization of that region of the internal passage of the component part in which the connector is located can also be achieved. The distance between the external wall of the connector and internal wall of the internal passage of the component part in this case should be as small as possible, however should be large enough that the return flow is not obstructed.
If the connector is to project into the internal passage, then for further reducing of the leak rate it can have a seal which encompasses its outer circumferential surface, which seal is connected to the bearing surface and extends over a part of the axial length of the connector.
In a further development of the design with connectors, the flow passage can have a chamber in the bearing element and a plurality of closable chamber openings which are located in the bearing surface. The connectors are provided with through-passages and in the region of the chamber opening are fixable on the bearing element in such a way that the through-passage of a fixed connector aligns with the corresponding chamber opening. The through-passage then represents a part of the flow passage of the holder. By means of a suitable arrangement of the closable openings and suitable sets of different connectors, the holder of this development can be optimally adapted to the shape of the external surface of the supported component part. Chamber openings which are not used can be closed in this case in order to avoid an uncontrolled escape of the gas phase.
The holder according to the invention can be designed especially for holding a component part of a turbine, for example a rotor blade or a stator blade of a turbine, or for holding a heat shield element for a combustion chamber.
Further features, characteristics and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the subsequent description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached figures.
The annular combustion chamber 106 communicates with a hot gas passage 111, for example an annular hot gas passage. There, turbine stages 112, for example four turbine stages, which are connected one behind the other, form the turbine 108.
Each turbine stage 112 is formed from blade rings, for example two blade rings. Viewed in the flow direction of a working medium 113, a row 125 which is formed from rotor blades 120 follows a stator blade row 115 in the hot gas passage 111.
The stator blades 130 in this case are fastened on an inner casing 138 of a stator 143, whereas the rotor blades 120 of a row 125 are attached on the rotor 103, for example by means of a turbine disk 133.
A generator or driven machine (not shown) is coupled to the rotor 103.
During operation of the gas turbine 100, air 135 is inducted by the compressor 105 through the intake duct 104, and compressed. The compressed air which is made available at the end of the compressor 105 on the turbine side is guided to the burners 107 and mixed there with a fuel. The mixture is then combusted in the combustion chamber 110, forming the working medium 113. The working medium 113 flows from there along the hot gas passage 111 past the stator blades 130 and the rotor blades 120. On the rotor blades 120, the working medium 113 expands with impulse-transmitting effect so that the rotor blades 120 drive the rotor 103, and the latter drives the driven machine which is coupled to it.
The component parts which are exposed to the hot working medium 113 are subjected to thermal stresses during operation of the gas turbine 100. The stator blades 130 and rotor blades 120 of the first turbine stage 112, viewed in the flow direction of the working medium 113, are thermally stressed most of all next to the heat shield blocks which line the annular combustion chamber 106.
In order to withstand the temperatures which prevail there, these can be cooled by means of a cooling medium.
Also, substrates of the component parts can have a directional structure, i.e. they are single-crystal (SX-structure) or have only longitudinally oriented grains (DS-structure).
As material for the component parts, especially for the. turbine blades 120, 130 and component parts of the combustion chamber 110, for example iron-based, nickel-based or cobalt-based superalloys are used. Such superalloys are known, for example, from EP 1204776 B1, EP 1306454, EP 1319729 A1, WO 99/67435 or WO 00/44949; these documents are part of the disclosure.
Also, the blades 120, 130 can have coatings against corrosion (MCrAlX; M is at least one element of the iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) group, X is an active element and represents yttrium (Y) and/or silicon and/or at least one element of the rare earths or hafnium, as the case may be). Such alloys are known from EP 0 486 489 B1, EP 0 786 017 B1, EP 0 412 397 B1 or EP 1 306 454 A1, which are to be part of this disclosure.
A thermal barrier coating can still be provided on the MCrAlX, and. for example consists of ZrO2, Y2O3—ZrO2, i.e. it is not partially or completely stabilized by yttrium oxide and/or by calcium oxide and/or by magnesium oxide.
By suitable coating methods, such as electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD), stalk-shaped grains are created in the thermal barrier coating.
The stator blade 130 has a stator blade root (not shown here) which faces the inner casing 138 of the turbine 108, and a stator blade head which lies opposite the stator blade root. The stator blade head faces the rotor 103 and is fixed on a fastening ring 140 of the stator 143.
The turbo-machine can be a gas turbine of an aircraft or a gas turbine of a power generating plant for generating of electricity, a steam turbine, or a compressor.
The blade 120, 130 has a fastening section 400, a blade platform 403 which adjoins it, and also a blade airfoil 406, located one after the other along the longitudinal axis 121. As a stator blade 130, the blade 130 can have an additional platform (not shown) on its blade tip 415.
A blade root 183 is formed in the fastening section 400, which serves for fastening of the rotor blades 120, 130 on a shaft or on a disk (not shown).
The blade root 183, for example is designed as an inverted T-root. Other developments as fir-tree roots or dovetail roots are possible.
The blade 120, 130 has a leading edge 409 and a trailing edge 412 for a medium which flows past the blade airfoil 406.
In conventional blades 120, 130, for example solid metal materials, especially superalloys, are used in all sections 400, 403, 406 of the blade 120, 130. Such superalloys are known, for example, from EP 1204776 B1, EP 1306454, EP 1319729 A1, WO 99/67435 or WO 00/44949; these documents are part of the disclosure. The blade 120, 130, in this case, can be produced by a casting process, also by means of directional solidification, by a forging process, by a milling process, or by combinations of these.
Workpieces with a single-crystal structure, or structures, are used as component parts for machines which, in operation, are exposed to high mechanical, thermal and/or chemical stresses. The manufacture of such single-crystal workpieces, for example, is carried out by directional solidification from the melt. This involves casting processes in which the liquid metallic alloy solidifies to form the single-crystal structure, i.e. the single-crystal workpiece, or solidifies directionally. In this case, dendritic crystals are oriented along the thermal flux and form either a stalk-like crystal grain structure (columnar, i.e. grains which extend over the whole length of the workpiece, and which here, in accordance with the language customarily used, are referred to as directionally solidified), or a single-crystal structure, i.e. the whole workpiece consists of one single crystal. In these processes, the transition to globulitic (polycrystal) solidification needs to be avoided since non-directional growth inevitably forms transverse and longitudinal grain boundaries which negate the favorable characteristics of the directionally solidified or single-crystal component part. Where the text refers in general terms to directionally solidified microstructures, this is to be understood as meaning both single crystals, which have no grain boundaries or at most have small-angle grain boundaries, and also stalk-like crystal structures, which no doubt have grain boundaries which extend in the longitudinal direction but have no transverse grain boundaries. In these second-mentioned crystal structures, reference can also be made to directionally solidified microstructures (directionally solidified structures). Such processes are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,792 and EP 0 892 090 A1; these documents are part of the disclosure.
The blades 120, 130 can also have coatings against corrosion or oxidation (MCrAlX; M is at least one element of the iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) group, X is an active element and represents yttrium (Y) and/or silicon and/or at least one element of the rare earths, or hafnium (Hf), as the case may be). Such alloys are known from EP 0 486 489 B1, EP 0 786 017 B1, EP 0 412 397 B1, or EP 1 306 454 A1, which are to be part of this disclosure.
A thermal barrier coating can still be provided on the MCrAlX, and for example consists of ZrO2, Y2O3—ZrO2, i.e. it is not partially or completely stabilized by yttrium oxide and/or by calcium oxide and/or by magnesium oxide. By suitable coating processes, such as electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD), stalk-shaped grains are created in the thermal barrier coating.
Refurbishment means that component parts 120, 130, after their use, if necessary need to be freed of protective coatings (for example, by sand-blasting). After that, a removal of the corrosion and/or oxidation layers, or products, as the case may be, is carried out. If necessary, cracks in the component part 120, 130 are repaired as well. Then, a recoating of the component part 120, 130 and a refitting of the component part 120, 130 is carried out.
The blade 120, 130 can be constructed hollow or solid. If the blade 120, 130 is to be cooled, it is hollow and, if necessary, still has film cooling holes 418 (shown by broken lines).
To achieve a comparatively high efficiency, the combustion chamber 110 is designed for a comparatively high temperature of the working medium M of about 1000° C. to 1600° C. In order to also enable a comparatively long period, in service, even at these operating parameters which are unfavorable for the materials, the combustion chamber wall 153, on its side facing the working medium M, is provided with an inner lining which is formed from heat shield elements 155.
Each heat shield element 155 is equipped on the working medium side with an especially heat-resistant protective coating or is manufactured from high temperature-resistant material. This can be solid ceramic blocks or alloys with MCrAlX and/or ceramic coatings. The materials of the combustion chamber wall and their coatings can be similar to the turbine blades.
On account of the high temperatures inside the combustion chamber 110, moreover, a cooling system can be provided for the heat shield elements 155 or for their mounting elements, as the case may be.
The combustion chamber 110 is designed especially for a detection of losses of the heat shield elements 155. For this purpose, a number of temperature sensors 158 are positioned between the combustion chamber wall 153 and the heat shield elements 155.
A first exemplary embodiment for the holder according to the invention is shown in
The feeding of the subhalide compound is carried out by a holder 1 upon which the turbine blade 3 is seated during the process. The holder 1 comprises a basic body 5 with a cavity 7 which is in communication with a feed passage 9 for feeding the subhalide compound. Outlet openings 15 are located in the upper side 11 of the basic body 5, through which the subhalide compound can emerge from the cavity 7.
The basic body 5 forms a bearing element for a turbine blade 3 which is to be supported, the upper side 11 of which forms a support surface 13 for an external side of the turbine blade 3, in particular, its underside 8. In the present exemplary embodiment, the feed passage 9 and the cavity 7 form a flow passage, through which the subhalide compound is fed to internal cooling passages 4 of the turbine blade 3 while carrying out the internal aluminization process. The holder 1 is adapted to the turbine blade 3 which is to be supported in such a way that the outlet openings 15 are located in the upper side 11 of the basic body 5 exactly where the openings 6 of the internal cooling passages 4 in the external surface 8 of the turbine blade 3 are located when the turbine blade 3 is mounted. The outlet openings 15 of the holder 1 then lie exactly opposite the openings 6 of the internal cooling passages. The shape and the opening cross section of the outlet openings 15 are the same as the shape and the opening cross section of the opening 6 of the internal passages 4. In this way, the subhalide compound can flow from the cavity 7 in the basic body 5 into the internal cooling passages 4 of the turbine blade 3 without large interruptions of flow.
As a result of the upper side 11 of the holder 1 being adapted to the underside 8 of the turbine blade 3, a relatively leak-tight support of the turbine blade 3 on the holder 1 can be achieved. Therefore, a relatively low leak rate can be achieved during passage of the subhalide compound from the cavity 7 into the internal cooling passages 4. In order to further reduce the leak rate, the edge of the outlet opening 15 can be encompassed by a deformable seal 12, preferably an elastically deformable seal, which is recessed a little into the upper side 11 of the basic body and projects beyond its surface. With a turbine blade 3 seated on the holder 1, the seal 12 is compressed, so that the underside 8 of the turbine blade 3 rests upon the upper side 11 of the holder 1. The arrangement of the seal is shown in detail in
During the aluminizing process, the holder 1 is supported in the region of its outer edges by a support ring 17.
The holder 1 which is shown in
An alternative development of the holder according to the invention is shown in
A third exemplary embodiment for the holder according to the invention is shown in
A fourth exemplary embodiment of the holder according to the invention is shown in detail in
The connectors 74a or 74b, as the case may be, have different lengths in the exemplary embodiment which is shown in
If, instead of the turbine blade 63 which is shown in
In the exemplary embodiments which are shown, a feed passage for feeding the subhalide compound was provided in each case. However, a plurality of feed passages can also be provided for feeding the subhalide compound into the cavity. Also, the feed passage does not need to be located in the center of the underside, although this can be advantageous with regard to an optimum distribution of the flow in the cavity.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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06000339.9 | Jan 2006 | EP | regional |