METHOD OF BLADE CONSTRUCTION

• US 3,872,563 A
• Filed: 11/13/1972
• Issued: 03/25/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bruce T. Brown, William H. Brown
• Original Assignee: Bruce T. Brown, William H. Brown
• Inventors: Brown, William H., Brown, Bruce T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lanham, C. W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Crane, Dan C.
• Application Number:
  US05/306,134
• Time in Patent Office: 862 Days
• Field of Search: 29/156.8B,23.5,156.8H 416/97,229 156/253,257,258,263,252,264,265 415/115
• US Class Current: 29/889.721
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 15/04 turbine or like blades from several pieces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1064 Partial cutting [e.g., grooving or incising]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49341 with cooling passage

Abstract

A method of forming a blade by the use of wafers which when placed together form a block big enough for the size of the blade desired. The wafers have coolant grooves placed thereon to provide the coolant passages for the finished blade. The wafers are placed together with a passageway being formed longitudinally therein intersecting the inner ends of the grooves. The wafers, after they are bonded together, have the outer contour of the blade completed with the outer ends of the coolant grooves being intersected by the outer contour. The blade root can be formed integrally with the airfoil portion of the blade. An opening extends through the blade root to deliver a coolant to the passageway formed in the wafers.

Claims

1. In a method of making a finished blade from a plurality of wafers, the steps of:

1. selecting a plurality of oversized wafers of approximately the same area so as to form a block big enough for the size of the finished blade;

2. forming coolant grooves on at least one mating surface of a plurality of said wafers which do not intersect the edge of said wafers;

3. forming internal openings in a plurality of said wafers to form a longitudinal internal passage in the finished blade;

4. intersecting said coolant grooves with said internal openings to form the inner ends of said coolant grooves;

5. stacking said wafers together;

6. bonding said stack of wafers together;

7. forming an external contour on said wafers to form the external surface of the finished blade;

8. intersecting said coolant grooves with said external surface to form the outer ends of said coolant grooves.

2. forming coolant grooves on at least one mating surface of a plurality of said wafers which do not intersect the edge of said wafers;

3. forming an inner opening in each of said wafers having coolant grooves, said opening extending in a lengthwise direction so as to form a span-wise segment of a longitudinal internal passage in the finished blade;

4. bonding said stack of wafers together;

5. stacking said wafers together;

6. A method of making a finished blade from a plurality of wafers as set forth in claim 1 wherein step (2) said coolant grooves are on both mating surfaces of at least some of adjacent pairs of wafers.

7. As in claim 1 wherein step (5) said wafers are stacked to accurately position each wafer relative to each other thereby accurately positioning coolant grooves on each wafer.

8. intersecting the coolant grooves on each wafer with each cooperating external surface to form the outer ends of said coolant grooves.

9. forming locating holes in said wafers for accurately locating coolant grooves, for properly stacking said wafers together, and for properly shaping the internal opening and external contour.

10. In a method of making a finished blade from a plurality of wafers, the steps of:

11. In a method of making a finished blade from a plurality of wafers, the steps of:

12. A method of making a finished blade from a plurality of wafers as set forth in claim 11 wherein step (2) said coolant grooves are formed of two rows of grooves, wherein one row of grooves will form passages through one side of the finished blade and the other row of grooves will form passages through the other side of a finished blade.