Patent Application
20230108259
The present disclosure relates generally to fluid injection components, and more particularly to fluid injectors for gas turbine engines.
Fluid injectors for gas turbine engines usually have threaded inlet fittings to connect to a fluid manifold. In an assembly, the inlet fitting is a separate component which must be brazed to the feed arm or fluid tube. The conventional techniques have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is an ever present need for improved systems and methods for improved fluid injection components and methods of making fluid injection components. This disclosure provides a solution for this need.
A method of making a threaded inlet fitting on a fluid injection component for a gas turbine engine includes depositing material onto a piece of tube stock. The method includes machining threads into the deposited material.
Depositing can include laser cladding, electron beam cladding, cold spaying, and/or plasma spraying the material onto the piece of tube stock. Depositing material can include depositing material proximate an axial end of the piece of tube stock. Depositing material can include depositing material around a whole circumference of an outer surface of the piece of tube stock. Machining threads can include machining the threads on an outward facing surface of the deposited material. The method can include threading the threads to a fluid system component of a gas turbine engine. The fluid system component can be a fluid manifold of the gas turbine engine.
Depositing material can include depositing material proximate a first axial end of the piece of tube stock. The method can include joining a nozzle component to a second axial end of the piece of tube stock opposite the first axial end. A passage for fluid can extend through the threads and piece of tube stock and into the nozzle component.
The method can include machining wrench flats into the deposited material. The piece of tube stock can be of a first material, and depositing material can include depositing a non-galling material onto the first material. The piece of tube stock can be of a material that is less durable and resistant to galling than the deposited material. The method can include assembling a mounting flange onto the piece of tube stock.
A fluid injector includes a feed arm and a threaded inlet fitting. A metallurgical joint joins the feed arm to the threaded inlet fitting. The metallurgical joint includes a metallurgical crystal structure including only one crystal structure boundary between the feed arm and the threaded inlet fitting.
The crystal structure boundary can be devoid of braze. The threaded inlet fitting can be proximate a first axial end of the feed arm. A nozzle component can be joined to a second axial end of the feed arm opposite the first axial end. A set of wrench flats can be defined in the threaded inlet fitting A mounting flange can be assembled to the feed arm proximate the threaded inlet fitting. A passage for fluid can extend through the threads and piece of tube stock and into the nozzle component.
These and other features of the systems and methods of the subject disclosure will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings.
So that those skilled in the art to which the subject disclosure appertains will readily understand how to make and use the devices and methods of the subject disclosure without undue experimentation, preferred embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein below with reference to certain figures, wherein:
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subject disclosure. For purposes of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, a partial view of an embodiment of a fluid injector in accordance with the disclosure is shown in
In a method in accordance with this disclosure includes beginning with a piece of tube stock 102, as shown in
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While shown and described herein in the exemplary context of a threaded fitting for a fluid injector, those skilled in the arts will readily appreciate that systems and methods as disclosed herein can be applied to threaded fittings for other fluid injection related components without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Potential benefits of the systems and methods disclosed herein include the following. Elimination of the inlet fitting as a separate piece that is brazed to the feed arm can save cost because of elimination of the inlet fitting component and removal of a braze joint from the final fluid injection component. Material for the threads can be different than the base material, which is useful for making threads harder or galling less than the base material, while the base material may be more inexpensive or have different thermal characteristics for thermal expansion or better brazing to other joints. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that any other suitable joining technique besides brazing can be used, such as welding.
The methods and systems of the present disclosure, as described above and shown in the drawings, provide for construction of threaded inlet fittings on fluid injectors and other fluid injection components such as used in gas turbine engines. While the apparatus and methods of the subject disclosure have been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that changes and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.
