Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to apparatus and methods relating to the application of coatings, and more particularly to a two-stage kinetic energy spray device.
2. Description of Related Art
Thermal spraying is generally described as a coating method in which powder or other feedstock material is fed into a stream of energized gas that is heated, accelerated, or both heated and accelerated. The feedstock material becomes entrapped by the stream of energized gas, from which the feedstock material receives thermal and/or kinetic energy. This absorbed thermal or kinetic energy softens and energizes the feedstock. The energized feedstock is then impacted onto a surface where it adheres and solidifies, forming a relatively thick thermally sprayed coating by the repeated cladding of subsequent thin layers.
Conventional cold spray devices either inject the powder feedstock before or after the throat of a Laval type convergent/divergent nozzle. When the feedstock is injected before the nozzle it is typically performed in an axial orientation at or near the beginning of the convergent nozzle section, and the powder feedstock is heated and accelerated through the Laval nozzle. This allows the particles to have a relatively uniform acceleration profile, however the particles are also subjected to the same elevated gas temperatures that are required for optimal performance of the Laval nozzle since the gas velocity is a function of the square root of the gas temperature. These optimal temperatures, typically in excess of 500 C, pre-soften the powder feedstock which can and often results in the powder sticking to the nozzle walls at the throat. Another limitation is that the particle temperature cannot be independently controlled since the gas temperature directly controls both the particle velocity and the particle temperature.
Injection of the feedstock after the throat is performed radially anywhere along the divergent section of the nozzle. This method has the advantages of not loading the nozzle throat with powder as well as providing some independence to the particle temperature because the powder feedstock is injected when the gas is expanding and cooling rapidly. A significant disadvantage is that the powder feedstock is injected into a supersonic gas stream and the difference in velocity between the gas and the particles results in considerable and significant drag heating and energy waste. The result is that a measureable portion of the kinetic gas energy is transferred into heat both in the gas and the particles. Accordingly, the greater the difference in velocities between the particles and the gas, the wasted kinetic energy increases exponentially.
It has been previously recognized that, in the case of some thermal spray applications, injecting feedstock axially into an energized gas stream presents certain advantages over other feedstock injection methods. Typically, feedstock is fed into a stream in a direction generally described as radial injection. In other words, in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the general direction of travel of the gaseous stream. Radial injection is commonly used as it provides an effective means of mixing particles into an effluent stream and thus transferring the energy to the particles in a short span. This is the case with plasma where short spray distances and high thermal loading require rapid mixing and energy transfer for the process to apply coatings properly. Axial injection can provide advantages over radial injection due to the potential to better control the linearity and the direction of feedstock particle trajectory when axially injected. Other advantages include having the particulate in the central region of the effluent stream, where the energy density is likely to be the highest, thus affording the maximum potential for energy gain into the particulate. Still further, axial injection tends to disrupt the effluent stream less than radial injection techniques currently practiced.
Accordingly, in many thermal spray process guns, axial injection of feedstock particles is preferred for the injection of particles, using a carrier gas, into the heated and/or accelerated gas simply referred to in this disclosure as effluent. The effluent can be plasma, electrically heated gas, combustion heated gas, cold spray gas, or combinations thereof. Energy is transferred from the effluent to the particles in the carrier gas stream. Due to the nature of stream flow and two phase flow, this mixing and subsequent transfer of energy is limited in axial flows and requires that the two streams, effluent and particulate bearing carrier, be given sufficient time and travel distance to allow the boundary layer between the two flows to break down and thus permit mixing. During this travel distance, energy is lost to the surroundings through heat transfer and friction, resulting both in lost efficiency and the slowing down of the mixed-flow. Many thermal spray process guns that do utilize axial injection are then designed longer than would normally be required to allow for this mixing and subsequent energy transfer.
These limitations to mix the particulate bearing carrier and effluent streams becomes even more pronounced when the particulate-bearing carrier fluid is a liquid, and, in many cases, they have prevented the effective use of liquid feeding into axial injection thermal spray process guns. For liquid injection techniques the use of gas atomization to produce fine droplet streams aids in getting the liquid to mix with the effluent stream more readily to enable liquid injection to work at all. However, this method still requires some considerable distance to allow the gas and fine droplet stream and effluent stream to mix and transfer energy. This method also produces a certain amount of turbulence in the stream flows.
Attempts at promoting mixing such as introduction of discontinuities and impingement of the flows also produces turbulence. Radial injection, commonly used with thermal spray processes such as plasma to ensure mixing in a short distance also produces turbulence as the two streams intersect at right angles. In fact, most acceptable methods of injection that promote rapid mixing currently use methods that deliberately introduce turbulence as the means to promote the mixing. The turbulence serves to break down the boundary layer between the flows and once this is accomplished mixing can occur.
The additional turbulence often results in unpredictable energy transfer between the effluent and particulate bearing carrier stream because the flow field is constantly in flux. This additional turbulence produces variations within the flow field that affect the transfer of energy. Turbulence represents a chaotic process and causes the formation of eddies of different length scales. Most of the kinetic energy of the turbulent motions is contained in the large scale structures. The energy “cascades” from the large scale structures to smaller scale structures by an inertial and essentially inviscid mechanism. This process continues creating smaller and smaller structures which produces a hierarchy of eddies. Eventually this process creates structures that are small enough that molecular diffusion becomes important and viscous dissipation of energy finally takes place. The scale at which this happens is in the Kolmogorov length scale. In this manner the turbulence results in conversion of some of the kinetic energy to thermal energy. The result is a process that produces more thermal energy rather than kinetic energy for transfer to the particles, limiting the performance of such devices. Complicate the process by having more than one turbulent stream and the results are unpredictable as stated.
Turbulence also increases energy loss to the surroundings because turbulence results in loss of at least some of the boundary layer in the effluent flow field and thus promotes the transfer of energy to the surroundings as well as frictional affects within the flow when flows are contained within walls. For flow in a tube the pressure drop for a laminar flow is proportional to the velocity of the flow. In contrast, for turbulent flow the pressure drop is proportional to the square of the velocity. This gives a good indication of the scale of the energy loss to the surroundings and internal friction.
The original design of a cold spray gun was patented as U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,414, utilizing a single convergent/divergent nozzle to accelerate a stream of particles injected into a flow of gas that is then passed through the nozzle. The gas flow was heated to further increase the velocity. This velocity increase of the gas was preferably a result of the relationship that gas velocity is proportional to the square root of the gas temperature.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and apparatus to promote rapid mixing of axially injected matter into thermal spray process guns, that limits the generation of turbulence in the flow streams as a result, and improves the kinetic efficiency of the mixed stream.
The invention as described provides an improved apparatus and method for promoting mixing of axially fed particles in a carrier stream with a heated and/or accelerated effluent stream with increased efficiency and without introducing significant turbulence into either the effluent or carrier streams. Embodiments of the invention utilize a thermal spray apparatus having a first nozzle with an axial injection port a nozzle end with or without chevrons, set into a second nozzle for the introduction of effluent gas, whereby the particulate nozzle end injects the particle stream downstream of the throat of the second nozzle. For purposes of this application, the term ‘chevron nozzle’ may include any circumferentially non-uniform type of nozzle.
A two stage kinetic energy spray device has a first stage having a first nozzle, the first nozzle having a first nozzle receiving end that receives a feedstock and carrier gas stream, and a first nozzle injection end located axially to the first nozzle receiving end, the first nozzle injection end receiving the feedstock and carrier gas stream from the first nozzle receiving end, a cross-section of the receiving end being larger than a cross-section of the injection end; a second stage having a second nozzle, the second nozzle having a gas receiving portion that receives an effluent gas, a convergent portion that is downstream from the gas receiving portion and a divergent portion that is downstream from the convergent portion, the convergent portion and the divergent portion meeting at a throat; wherein the first nozzle is located within the second nozzle; wherein the particle stream is accelerated to a first velocity in the first nozzle; wherein the effluent gas is accelerated to a second velocity in the second nozzle; and wherein the first nozzle injection end is located in the second nozzle divergent portion.
Stated differently, a two stage kinetic energy spray device has a first stage having a first nozzle, the first nozzle having a first nozzle receiving end that receives a feedstock and carrier gas stream, and a first nozzle injection end located axially to the first nozzle receiving end, the first nozzle injection end receiving the feedstock and carrier gas stream from the first nozzle receiving end, and the cross-section of the receiving end is larger than the cross-section of the injection end. This first nozzle is generally set axially into a second nozzle. The second stage has the second nozzle, and the second nozzle has a gas receiving portion that receives an effluent gas, a convergent portion that is downstream from the gas receiving portion and a divergent portion that is downstream from the convergent portion. The convergent portion and the divergent portion meeting at a throat. The effluent gas enters the gas receiving portion radially, and transitions to axial movement as the gas enters the convergent portion. The gas then accelerates. In one embodiment, the second nozzle convergent/divergent portion is a form of a de Laval nozzle. The particle stream is accelerated to a first velocity in the first nozzle, and the effluent gas is accelerated to a second velocity in the second nozzle. In one embodiment the particle stream in the first nozzle is accelerated to subsonic speed or sonic speed, and the gas in the second nozzle is accelerated to supersonic speed. It should be noted that these speeds are relative to mach, that is, the actual speed of sound under the local conditions of temperature, pressure and the composition of the medium. For mixing purposes and to maximize the transfer of kinetic energy, the first nozzle injection end is located in the second nozzle divergent portion. In one embodiment, this location is just past the throat.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a coating using a two stage kinetic energy spray device comprises the steps of: receiving a feedstock and carrier gas stream at a first nozzle receiving end; axially transmitting the feedstock and carrier gas stream through a first nozzle; receiving the feedstock and carrier gas stream at a first nozzle injection end; injecting the feedstock and carrier gas stream from the first nozzle injection end; optionally heating an effluent gas; receiving the effluent gas at a second nozzle gas receiving portion; accelerating the effluent gas through a convergent portion of the second nozzle, the convergent portion downstream from the gas receiving portion; accelerating the effluent gas through a divergent portion of the second nozzle that is downstream from the convergent portion, the convergent portion and the divergent portion meeting at a throat; and mixing the feedstock and carrier gas stream with the effluent gas; wherein a cross-section of the receiving end being larger than a cross-section of the injection end; wherein the first nozzle is located inside the second nozzle; wherein the particle stream is accelerated to a first velocity in the first nozzle; wherein the effluent gas is accelerated to a second velocity in the second nozzle; and wherein the first nozzle injection end is located in the second nozzle divergent portion.
Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
While
Almost any number of chevrons can be used to aid in mixing. Four chevrons 120, 130 are shown in the embodiment of
In some embodiments, the chevrons shown in the various figures are generally a uniform extension of the axial injection port. In other embodiments, chevrons may be retrofit onto existing conventional axial injection ports by, for example, mechanical attachment. Retrofit applications may include use of clamps, bands, welds, rivets, screws or other mechanical attachments known in the art. While the chevrons would typically be made from the same material as the axial injection port, it is not required that the materials be the same. The chevrons may be made from a variety of materials known in the art that are suitable for the flows, temperatures and pressures of the axial feed port environment.
Spray paths exiting nozzle shapes depicted in
The inclusion of chevrons on axial injection ports can benefit any thermal spray process using axial injection. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are well-suited for axially-fed liquid particulate-bearing streams, as well as gas particulate-bearing streams. In another embodiment, two particulate-bearing streams may be mixed. In still another embodiment two or more gas streams may be mixed by sequentially staging axial injection ports along with an additional stage to mix in a particulate bearing carrier stream. In yet another embodiment, the chevrons can be applied to a port entering an effluent flow at an oblique angle by incorporating one or more chevrons at the leading edge of the port as is enters the effluent stream chamber.
In another embodiment, stream mixing in accordance with the present invention may be conducted in ambient air, in a low-pressure environment, in a vacuum, or in a controlled atmospheric environment. Also, stream mixing in accordance with the present invention may be conducted in any temperature suitable for conventional thermal spray processes.
As can be seen in
In one embodiment, when the feedstock/carrier gas mixture exits the first stage 122 and mixes with the gas stream, the velocity of the gas stream F1 in the second stage is greater than the velocity of the feedstock/carrier gas mixture F2. In another embodiment, the velocity of the gas stream F1 is supersonic when it mixes with the sonic or subsonic feedstock/carrier gas mixture.
Line 300 shows particle velocity versus distance along gun axis for a conventional cold spray gun with powder injection past the throat 302. Line 310 shows particle velocity versus distance along gun axis for a conventional cold spray gun with powder injection before the throat 302. Both lines 300 and 310 show rapid particle acceleration just past the nozzle throat 302, followed by a tapering off of particle acceleration shortly thereafter.
In contrast, line 320 shows particle velocity versus distance along gun axis for a two-stage kinetic gun of the invention. It can be readily seen that particle velocity increases steadily prior to the nozzle throat 302 in the first stage 322, and accelerates smoothly and continuously as the particles travel through the second stage 324. Rapid acceleration due to venture effect can be seen a occurring around the region 304 just past the throat 302.
Anyone skilled in the art can envision further enhancements to the apparatus as well as the use of shapes other than triangular for the chevrons. This apparatus will work on any thermal spray gun using axial injection to introduce particulate bearing carrier gas as well as liquids, additional effluent streams, and reactive gases.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general invention concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 11/923,298 filed Oct. 24, 2007, incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US08/12024 | 10/23/2008 | WO | 00 | 9/13/2010 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11923298 | Oct 2007 | US |
Child | 12739621 | US |