SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR REPAIR OF COMPONENTS

• US 20100170878A1
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Original Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation (Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc)
• Inventors: Krause, Gregory Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 10,016,846 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/74
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/001 Turbines
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/14 Titanium or alloys thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/32 taking account of the properties of the material involved
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/34 Laser welding for purposes other than joining
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 35/325 Ti as the principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 6/007 using only additive methods, e.g. build-up welding
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/005 Repairing methods or devices

Abstract

A method is disclosed including operations for repairing a component. The method includes providing a component including one of titanium and a titanium alloy, providing a laser deposition device, and providing a shielding means that ensures an oxygen content remains below a first threshold and that a water vapor content remains below a second threshold in a target area of the component. The method further includes depositing a metal material on the component, where the depositing includes operating the deposition device along a tool path including a plurality of tool passes, wherein the tool path further comprises a deposition device velocity specification, a laser power specification, and a specified delay time between each of the plurality of tool passes.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a component including one of titanium and a titanium alloy;

providing a laser deposition device;

shielding the component to ensure an oxygen content remains below a first threshold and that a water vapor content remains below a second threshold in a target area of the component; and

depositing a metal material on the component, wherein the depositing comprises operating the deposition device along a tool path including a plurality of tool passes, wherein the tool path further comprises a deposition device velocity specification, and a laser power specification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tool path further comprises a specified delay time between each of the plurality of tool passes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the component comprises a bladed disk.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposition device includes a laser having a power output between about 50 Watts and 2,000 Watts.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser further includes a power output below about 500 Watts.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser is a solid state laser.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser includes at least one of a fiber laser and an Nd:

YAG laser.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the tool path further comprises at least four tool passes for each of at least one deposition layer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of tool passes overlays a previous tool path by at least 30%.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising testing the component at a stress load greater than 70% of a maximum expected stress load.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a performance index at least one of the component and a deposit coupon of the component, and determining whether the performance index is greater than a performance threshold, wherein the determining the performance index comprises implementing at least one test selected from a tensile strength test and a fatigue cycle test.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the performance threshold comprises a threshold greater than about 70% of a new component performance index.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the performance threshold comprises a threshold greater than about 90% of a new component performance index.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is not greater than about 10 ppm.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is not greater than about 5 ppm.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the second threshold is a dew point of about −

55°

C.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the deposition device velocity specification, a laser power specification, and the specified delay time between each of the plurality of tool passes are configured such that the deposited metal material cools at a cooling rate between a low cooling rate and a high cooling rate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the cooling rate comprises a cooling rate that prevents an appearance of a grain boundary alpha phase.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser power specification comprises a duty cycle for a pulse-width modulated laser.

20-31. -31. (canceled)

32. An apparatus, comprising:

a laser deposition device including a laser, a metal delivery device, and a plurality of position actuators structured to control a position of the deposition device;

shielding means that ensures an oxygen content remains below a first threshold and that a water vapor content remains below a second threshold in a target area of the component; and

a controller, comprising;

a tool path module structured to interpret a deposition device tool path, wherein the deposition device tool path includes a plurality of tool passes, a deposition device velocity specification, and a laser power specification;

a tool position module structured to control the position actuators in response to the deposition device tool path; and

a deposition conditions module structured to control a powder delivery rate and a laser power value in response to the deposition device tool path and a deposition device position.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the tool path further comprises a specified delay time between each of the plurality of tool passes.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the shielding means includes a sealed enclosure filled with a first inert gas, an oxygen scavenging means that removes trace oxygen from the sealed enclosure, and a gas delivery means that provides a stream of a second inert gas.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the oxygen scavenging means includes a zeolite oxygen adsorber.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the first inert gas comprises one of argon and helium, and wherein the second inert gas comprises helium.

37. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the deposition device velocity specification, the laser power specification, and the specified delay time between each of the plurality of tool passes are configured such that the deposited metal material cools at a cooling rate between a low cooling rate and a high cooling rate.

38. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first threshold is not greater than about 10 ppm.

39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the second threshold is a dew point of about −

55°

C.

40. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the tool path further comprises at least four tool passes for each of at least one deposition layer.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein each of the plurality of tool passes overlays a previous tool path by at least 30%.

42. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a component repaired by the laser deposition device, wherein the repaired component has a performance index value greater than 70% of a new component performance index value, wherein the performance index value comprises at least one of a tensile strength value and a fatigue performance value.

43. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a component repaired by the laser deposition device, wherein the repaired component has a performance index value greater than 90% of a new component performance index value, wherein the performance index value comprises at least one of a tensile strength value and a fatigue performance value.

44. An apparatus, comprising:

a laser deposition device including a laser, a metal delivery device, and a plurality of position actuators structured to control a position of the deposition device; and

a deposition material cooling control means structured to control a cooling rate of a deposited metal such that the deposited metal does not form micro-porosity and does not form a grain boundary alpha phase.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the deposition material cooling control means includes:

a shielding means that ensures an oxygen content remains below a first threshold and that a water vapor content remains below a second threshold in a target area of the component; and

a controller, comprising;

a tool path module structured to interpret a deposition device tool path, wherein the deposition device tool path includes a plurality of tool passes, a deposition device velocity specification, and a laser power specification;

a tool position module structured to control the position actuators in response to the deposition device tool path; and

a deposition conditions module structured to control a powder delivery rate and a laser power value in response to the deposition device tool path and a deposition device position.