A structural building unit, a form for making a structural building unit, and a method of forming a structure from structural building units are disclosed. A structural building unit comprising left, right, back, and front portions with the front portion extending inward and downward from the left and right front edges creates a void into which soil and plants may be placed, allowing plants to grow from any structure created with the structural building units. These structural building units are suitable for improving the aesthetic value of the structure and providing any structure built therefrom with shade and other methods of cooling, including evapotranspiration, reducing the contribution of the structure to any heat island effect. The plants also lead to improved air quality through conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen and carbohydrates.

A sprayed article is prepared by thermally spraying ceramic particles of rare earth oxide or fluoride or metal particles of W, Mo or Ta onto an outer or inner surface of a cylindrical carbon substrate to form a sprayed coating, and burning out the carbon substrate, thus leaving the ceramic or metal-base sprayed coating of cylindrical shape having a wall thickness of 0.5-5 mm.

An apparatus for removing the plastic mold around cured concrete in a plastic test specimen includes a baseplate with upstanding framework that supports two spaced vertical rods to which a cross-member is slidably mounted to move up and down the rods. At least one blade member is carried by the cross-member such that upon descent it may cut away the plastic of the mold so the cured concrete test cylinder may be removed. The cross-member is driven up and down by a lever arm pivotally mounted to the framework and includes a linkage between the lever arm and cross-member to transfer energy downward from the lever arm to cut and strip away the plastic mold from the concrete.

A sprayed article is prepared by thermally spraying ceramic particles of rare earth oxide or fluoride or metal particles of W, Mo or Ta onto an outer or inner surface of a cylindrical carbon substrate to form a sprayed coating, and burning out the carbon substrate, thus leaving the ceramic or metal-base sprayed coating of cylindrical shape having a wall thickness of 0.5-5 mm.

A method of preparing a casting article for manufacturing a gas turbine engine part according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes communicating a powdered material to an additive manufacturing system, the powdered material including at least one of a silica material, an alumina material, and a refractory metal material. The method includes using the additive manufacturing system to manufacture a casting article layer by layer, the casting article including a plurality of circuit forming portions, at least one of the circuit forming portions including an interior channel that establishes a hollow opening through the circuit forming portion.

A method for manufacturing a turbine blade 1, is provided. The method comprises the following steps: producing a shell and core assembly by additive manufacturing process, the shell and core assembly defining at least one internal cavity and having an internal structure corresponding to at least one internal cooling circuit of the turbine blade; pouring molten metal in the internal cavity of the shell and core assembly; solidifying the metal; removing the shell and core assembly.

Formwork (1) for the construction of railway platforms, comprising: a container (2) in which building material to be shaped and subjected to hardening for the construction of a railway platform can be compacted; at least one fixed crossbeam (3) located at the bottom of the container (2); at least one movable crossbeam (4) provided with at least one pair of fastening imprints (5) arranged symmetrically and configured to model the material to form a pair of fastening seats apt to position the rails on the railway platform; placed side by side with the fixed crossbeam (3) and defining therewith an impression surface on which said material can be molded for the construction of said railway platform; said movable crossbeam (4) being rotatable and/or translatable with respect to said fixed crossbeam (3), the configuration being such that different rotations and/or translations correspond to different positions in the container (2) of the fastening imprints (5) and different impression surfaces.

A system for producing a core including a core profile for use in casting. The system comprises a cavity block including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a recessed cavity in each of the upper portion and the lower portion; an adapter insert including a first portion and a second portion, the adapter insert sized to fit within the recessed cavity in each of the upper portion and the lower portion of the cavity block; and a core die insert sized to fit and be positioned within the adapter insert. The core die insert includes a sacrificial material and a hollow internal profile, with the hollow profile of the core die insert corresponding to the core profile.

A system for producing a core including a core profile for use in casting. The system comprises a cavity block including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a recessed cavity in each of the upper portion and the lower portion; an adapter insert including a first portion and a second portion, the adapter insert sized to fit within the recessed cavity in each of the upper portion and the lower portion of the cavity block; and a core die insert sized to fit and be positioned within the adapter insert. The core die insert includes a sacrificial material and a hollow internal profile, with the hollow profile of the core die insert corresponding to the core profile.

A method for molding a ceramic core includes introducing a slurry to a mold and vibrating the mold. The slurry has: silica-containing particles; polymer fiber; and matrix precursor. The mold has an outer tool and a liner held within the outer tool. The vibrating comprises operating a plurality of vibration transducers distributed along the mold.