Direct metal laser sintered flow control element
First Claim
1. A flow control element comprising:
- an element body having a bore formed therethrough and defining inner and outer peripheral surfaces with a plurality of tortuous flow passages extending radially from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface;
wherein;
the flow control element is configured as a unitary structure consisting essentially of laser sintered layers of powdered material independent of a plurality of stacked disks;
each of the flow passages extends through the flow control element along at least two axes; and
the flow passages are formed such that at least one of the flow passages defines a first passage pattern having a first number of right angle turns in a first radial cross section of the element body, and at least one of the flow passages defines a second passage pattern having a second number of right angle turns differing from the first number in a second radial cross section of the element body different from the first radial cross section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flow control element comprises a cylindrical element body having a bore formed therethrough. The cylindrical element body may include inner and outer peripheral surfaces and define a plurality of tortuous flow passages which extend between the inner and outer peripheral surfaces. The flow control element is formed as a unitary structure wherein the flow passages are oriented along at least two axes. The flow control may be formed by direct to metal laser sintering wherein successive layers of powdered metallic material are solidified by applying laser energy to the selected portions until the flow element is formed as a unitary structure with a plurality of flow passages extending therethrough. The laser energy is selectively applied to the powdered metallic material according to a computer model of the flow control element.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A flow control element comprising:
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an element body having a bore formed therethrough and defining inner and outer peripheral surfaces with a plurality of tortuous flow passages extending radially from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface; wherein; the flow control element is configured as a unitary structure consisting essentially of laser sintered layers of powdered material independent of a plurality of stacked disks; each of the flow passages extends through the flow control element along at least two axes; and the flow passages are formed such that at least one of the flow passages defines a first passage pattern having a first number of right angle turns in a first radial cross section of the element body, and at least one of the flow passages defines a second passage pattern having a second number of right angle turns differing from the first number in a second radial cross section of the element body different from the first radial cross section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of fabricating a flow control element comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a layer of powered metallic material; (b) applying laser energy to portions of the layer of powdered metallic material until the portions solidify; and (c) repeating steps (a) and (b) with successive layers of powered metallic material until the flow control element is formed as a unitary structure consisting essentially of sintered layers of powdered material with a plurality of flow passages formed therein and extending radially from an inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface, the flow passages being formed such that at least one of the flow passages defines a first passage pattern having a first number of right angle turns in a first radial cross section of the flow control element, and at least one of the flow passages defines a second passage pattern having a second number of right angle turns differing from the first number in a second radial cross section of the flow control element different from the first radial cross section. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A flow control element comprising:
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an element body having a plurality of tortuous flow passages, each of which extends therethrough along at least two axes, the flow passages further being formed such that at least one of the flow passages defines a first passage pattern having a first number of right angle turns in a first radial cross section of the element body, and at least one of the flow passages defines a second passage pattern having a second number of right angle turns differing from the first number in a second radial cross section of the element body different from the first radial cross section; wherein; the element body is formed of successively applied layers of raw powdered material, the layers being successively sintered to unitize the element body; and the element body is formed independent of a plurality of stacked disks. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification