ISOSTATIC PRESSING

Abstract

A method of fabricating a component is described and involves retaining a canister as an integral part of the component after performing an isostatic pressing process. The method comprises: providing a canister having a canister wall that encloses an internal cavity, the canister wall comprising at least a first wall section and a second wall section, where the first wall section and the second wall section are of different materials; filling the internal cavity with a powdered material; performing an isostatic pressing process on the filled canister to consolidate the powder; and retaining the canister as an integral part of the component such that an internal structure of the component comprises the consolidated powder and the canister wall forms at least part of a surface of the component that covers the internal structure.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a component, the method comprising the steps of: providing a canister having a canister wall that encloses an internal cavity, the canister wall comprising at least a first wall section and a second wall section, where the first wall section and the second wall section are of different materials; filling the internal cavity with a powdered material; performing an isostatic pressing process on the filled canister to consolidate the powdered material; and, retaining the canister as an integral part of the component such that an internal structure of the component comprises the consolidated powder material and the canister wall forms at least part of a surface of the component that covers the internal structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a section of the canister wall of the provided canister is provided for use as cladding of the component such that, after performing the isostatic pressing process, at least part of the component is clad.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the section provided for use as cladding comprises stainless steel, a nickel based alloy, an aluminide, a ceramic, aluminium or chromium.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a section of the canister wall of the provided canister is provided pre-coated such that, after performing the isostatic pressing process, at least part of the component is coated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is a blade for a gas turbine engine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the component is or forms part of a vessel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the canister wall comprises at least a first wall section and a second wall section opposite the first section, at least a part of the internal cavity being defined between the first wall section and the second wall section, and wherein the first wall section of the retained canister forms part of an external surface of the vessel and the second wall section of the retained canister forms part of an internal surface of the vessel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second wall section is formed of or coated in a corrosion resistant material.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the canister comprises fabricating the canister.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more further components is or are placed in the internal cavity of the canister before the internal cavity is filled with a powdered material.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more further components comprises a metal plate.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the isostatic pressing process comprises sealing the filled canister and subjecting the filled canister to high pressure conditions from 100-150 MPa.

13. A component formed by isostatic pressing, the component comprising: an internal structure comprising consolidated powder; and an outer surface covering the internal structure, wherein the outer surface comprises a canister wall of a canister used to contain a powder while the powder is consolidated during an isostatic pressing process and retained as an integral part of the component, the canister wall comprising at least a first wall section and a second wall section, where the first wall section and the second wall section are of different materials.

14. The component of claim 13, wherein the component is a blade for a gas turbine engine.

15. The component of claim 13, wherein the component is part of a vessel having an external surface and internal surface, at least part of the external surface being formed from a first wall section of the canister wall of the retained canister and at least part of the internal surface being formed from a second wall section of the canister wall of the retained canister.

16. The component of claim 13, wherein at least a section of the canister wall is of a cladding material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the Figures, in which:

[0031] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a component, in particular a pressure vessel;

[0032] FIG. 1B is an exploded view of the of the pressure vessel of FIG. 1A;

[0033] FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a canister;

[0034] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the HIP canister of FIG. 2A being filled with a powder prior to isostatic pressing;

[0035] FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of a component retaining the canister of FIGS. 2A-2B as an integral part of its structure;

[0036] FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view of three components joined together to form the pressure vessel of FIGS. 1A-1B;

[0037] FIGS. 3A-3E are schematic diagrams illustrating different canister wall arrangements; and,

[0038] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0039] A component 1, in particular a pressure vessel 1 such as may be used in a variety of industrial applications, is illustrated in FIG. 1A. As can be appreciated from the exploded view in FIG. 1B, the pressure vessel 1 is formed from three portions, a top dome portion 10, a middle cylindrical portion 20 and a bottom dome portion 12. Each of the three portions 10, 20, 30 is a shell such that when the three portions 10, 20, 30 are joined together the pressure vessel 1 is hollow with an interior chamber. Other pressure vessels may be formed from greater or fewer than three portions and the portions may be of different shapes.

[0040] The pressure vessel 1 could, conventionally, be manufactured in a number of different ways. For example, each of the three portions 10, 20, 30 may be cast or forged separately, and the portions welded together by laser welding, Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding, Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding or the like. In many cases further processes are performed on the vessel 1 prior to or after the portions 10, 20, 30 are welded together. For example, as described in UK Patent GB 2566496 B, the interior surface of a pressure vessel 1 may be lined with a corrosion-resistant layer, often referred to as cladding. These additional processes may take a considerable amount of time: it may take as long as eighteen months to complete the cladding of a large pressure vessel.

[0041] Aspects of the present disclosure may significantly reduce the amount of time required to manufacture and finish components, such as a pressure vessel 1, by retaining a canister used in an isostatic pressing process (for example a HIP process) as an integral part of the component. This is described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2A-D, 3A-D and 4. It is to be understood that while the manufacture of a component 10 of a pressure vessel 1 by hot isostatic pressing is described, the present disclosure is not so limited and other kinds of component can be manufactured using the techniques described herein. This includes various types of vessels (for example those used in power plants, in the food industry, in the brewing industry, in the pharmaceutical industry as well as in the oil, gas and nuclear industries) and components found in, for example, gas turbine engines such as turbine blades and blisks, as well as manufacture of components by CIP or WIP.

[0042] FIG. 2A shows in cross-section a canister 11 for use in the manufacture of a component 10, in particular the manufacture of the top dome portion 10 of the pressure vessel 1 of FIGS. 1A-B. The canister 11 has a canister wall 12 which encloses an internal cavity 13. In this particular case the canister 11 may be considered to be formed of first and second dome-shaped wall sections 121, 122 joined by an annular intermediate wall section 123.

[0043] The canister 11 can be fabricated in any suitable way, for example by the welding together of several sheet-metal sections. For instance, three sheet-metal sections corresponding to the three wall sections 121, 122, 123 may be welded together to the form the wall 12 of the canister 11. In other cases the canister 11 may be fabricated by machining a block of material.

[0044] FIG. 2B shows the internal cavity 13 of the canister 11 being filled with a powdered material 15 through filling pipes 14, though the canister 11 could filled with the powder 15 in any suitable way. The powdered material 15 is a powder suitable for hot isostatic pressing, typically a metal or ceramic powder as is known in the art.

[0045] Once the internal cavity 13 has been filled with powder 15, the cavity 13 is evacuated to remove any remaining air and the canister 11 is sealed, for example by mechanical crimping or welding. The filled, sealed canister 11 is then placed in a HIP consolidation chamber (not shown) where it is subject to high temperatures and pressures in order to collapse the canister 11 and consolidate the powder 15 into a denser form. As is known in the art, the temperature, pressure and duration of time required to complete the HIP process will depend on the size and geometry of the component and the selected powder material, amongst other things. By way of an example, the filled canister 11 may be subject to a pressure of about 150 MPa and a temperature of about 1,000° C. for about 5 hours. The filling pipes 14, if used, are typically removed after the hot isostatic pressing process is complete.

[0046] FIG. 2C shows the component 10, namely the top dome portion 10 of the pressure vessel 1, resulting from the HIP process. As can be seen, the component 10 has an internal structure 15′ provided by the consolidated powder. Further, the high temperatures and pressures of the HIP process have caused the collapsed canister to HIP diffusion bond to the internal structure 15′ so as to provide a surface 12′ covering the internal structure 15′.

[0047] In a conventional HIP manufacturing process, the collapsed HIP canister 12, which would typically be made of mild steel, would be removed by acid pickling to leave a component formed solely of consolidated powder. According to the present disclosure, however, the collapsed HIP canister 12 is retained as an integral part of the component 10. In particular, the collapsed HIP canister 12 forms a surface of the component 10.

[0048] FIG. 2D shows in cross-section the pressure vessel 1 of FIGS. 1A-1B formed by joining (e.g. welding) together the three portions 10, 20, 30. In this case each of the three portions 10, 20, 30 was formed as described above for the top dome portion 10, such that each of the portions 10, 20, 30 has an internal structure in the form of consolidated HIP powder and a surface, provided by the retained HIP canister, covering the internal structure.

[0049] With the three portions 10, 20, 30 welded together, it can be more readily appreciated that the first dome-shaped wall section 121 of the canister wall 12 has become part of the exterior surface (E) of the vessel 1. Similarly, it can be appreciated that the second dome-shaped wall section 122 of the canister wall 12 has become part of the interior surface (I) of the vessel 1. Thus, the material properties of the surfaces (I, E), for example their corrosion resistances can, conveniently, be selected by providing a HIP canister 11 with a canister wall 12 of suitable construction and having suitable material properties. For example, by fabricating a canister 11 with a second wall 122 made from a suitable cladding material, such as stainless steel (e.g. 316L stainless steel) or a nickel based alloy, the vessel 1 will have a clad interior surface (I) without the further need to perform a dedicated cladding process on the interior surface.

[0050] It should therefore be appreciated that by providing a canister 11 that, as well as having a shape suitable for HIPing the desired component 10, has wall sections with material properties corresponding those to the desired end-product, retaining the canister 11 as an integral part of the component may allow for the production of a component 10 having desired surface properties with a substantially reduced manufacturing time.

[0051] FIGS. 3A-3E show in cross-section portions of components 10a-10e made according to the present disclosure, with a HIP canister 11 retained as an integral part of the component 10. In each case an internal structure 15′ in the form of consolidated powder is covered by a surface 12′ formed from sections of the canister wall 12 of the HIP canister. The examples of FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate some of the possible combinations of wall sections that make up the canister wall 11 of the canister 12.

[0052] It is to be understood that while the portions of the wall sections illustrated in FIGS. 3A-E are straight and arranged parallel or perpendicular to each other, this is only of ease of illustration and explanation. The wall sections that make up the canister wall 12 may be straight, curved, parallel, non-parallel and a mixture of all of these, as is the case with the canister walls 121, 122 in FIGS. 2A-2D.

[0053] FIG. 3A illustrates a first example of a component 10a. The component 10a has a consolidated powder internal structure 15a in a cavity that is defined between opposing first and second wall sections 121a, 122a of the retained canister 11. FIG. 3A illustrates that some or all of the wall sections 121a, 122a of the canister wall 12 may be the same. For example, the wall sections 121a, 122a may be of the same thickness, the same material and may have been subject to the same finishing processes (e.g. the same coating may have been pre-applied by spraying or the like).

[0054] The material properties (e.g. material, finish) may have been selected so that one of the surfaces, for example the surface provided by the second wall section 122a, has particular desirable properties, for example corrosion resistance. An identical material and thickness may then have been chosen for the other wall section 121a for convenience, for example due to the ease of fabricating a canister 11 from a single material. By way of a particular example, the intended application of the component 10a may require that the surface provided by wall section 122a is clad for corrosion resistance. Due to this requirement, wall section 122a may have been made of 6 mm thick 316L stainless steel. Wall section 121a is then also made of 6 mm 316L stainless steel because it is an acceptable choice of material for the surface provided by the first wall section 121a and because it is generally easier to weld sections made of identical materials.

[0055] FIG. 3B illustrates another example of a component 10b. The component 10b has a consolidated powder internal structure 15b in a cavity that is defined between opposing first and second wall sections 121b, 122b of the retained canister 11. FIG. 3B illustrates that the wall sections 121b, 122b of the canister 11 may have different material properties. In FIG. 3B the first wall section 121b is made of a first material and of a first thickness, whereas the second wall section 122b is of a second, different material and has second, a different thickness.

[0056] By way of a specific example, the surface provided by the first wall section 121b may be made of 6 mm thick mild steel, and the second wall section 122b may be made of a 10 mm thick corrosion resistance nickel alloy. The second wall section 122b may also have been pre-coated with, for example, a hydrophobic coating, an aluminide coating, a coating comprising aluminium or chromium, a ceramic coating or a coating of another type.

[0057] FIG. 3C illustrates another example of a component 10c. The component 10c has a consolidated powder internal structure 15c in a cavity that is defined between opposing first and second wall sections 121c, 122c of the retained canister 11. FIG. 3C illustrates that a wall section may be formed from multiple sub-sections that have different material properties. In particular, in FIG. 3C, the second wall-section 122c includes a first sub-section 1221c and a second sub-section 1222c that has different material properties.

[0058] In FIG. 3C the first and second sub-sections 1221c, 1222c are of different materials, and are joined together by a weld 1223c, which may be of the same material as one of the first and second sub-sections 1221c, 1222c or a different material still. Other possibilities will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the two sub-sections 1221c, 1222c may be of the same material, with no joining weld 1223c, but one of the sub-sections 1221c may have been pre-coated so that a portion of the surface of the component 10c is coated.

[0059] FIG. 3D illustrates another example of a component 10d. The component 10d has a consolidated powder internal structure 15d in a cavity that is defined between opposing first and second wall sections 121d, 122d and a third intermediate wall section 123d of the retained canister 11. FIG. 3D illustrates that the different sections 121d, 122d, 123d, which in this case each have different material properties, can be joined together, for example by welds 124d, 125d.

[0060] In FIG. 3D, each of the three wall sections 121d, 122d, 123d are of different materials and different thicknesses. The first wall section 121d and the third wall section 123d are joined together by a weld 124d, which may be of a weld material that is the same as one of the materials of the first and third wall sections 121d, 123d or a different material still. The second wall section 122d and the third wall section 123d are joined together by a weld 125d, which may be of a weld material that is the same as one of the materials of the second and third wall sections 122d, 123d or a different material still.

[0061] FIG. 3E illustrates another example of a component 10e. The component 10e has an internal structure comprising consolidated powder 15e in a cavity that is defined between opposing first and second wall sections 121e, 122e and a third intermediate wall section 123e of the retained canister 11. FIG. 3E illustrates that the internal structure 15′ of a component is not necessarily solely consolidated powder 15e. For example, prior to filling the internal cavity 13 of the canister 11 with powder, one or more further components 155e may be positioned in the internal cavity 13 so that the internal structure 15′ includes the further component 155e as well as the consolidated powder 15e. In this particular example the further component 155e is a metal plate, which may be a similar or dissimilar material to the HIP canister 11, serving as an additional material layer of the component 10e.

[0062] To summarise FIGS. 3A-3E, the canister 11 has a canister wall 12 that includes one or more wall sections 121, 122, 123. Some or all of the wall sections may be identical, whereas others may be different. For example, wall sections may have different thicknesses or different material properties, for example different materials, or identical or different materials that have been subject to different finishing processes such as the application of coatings. Adjacent wall sections of the canister wall 12 may be integral with each other (for example if bent from a sheet or machined from a block) or joined together by a welding process. Individual wall sections may also be formed from a plurality of wall sub-sections with different material properties or thicknesses. The thickness and material properties of the sections of the canister wall 12 may be selected according to the desired properties of the final component, for example the need for one or more surfaces of the component to be clad or coated.

[0063] Now turning to the flow chart of FIG. 4, this illustrates a method of fabricating a component in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0064] At 210, a canister 11 is provided. The canister 11 has a canister wall 12 which encloses an internal cavity 13. The canister wall 12 and the internal cavity 13 may be of any size and shape based on the size and shape of the component 10 that is to be manufactured.

[0065] The canister wall 12 may be considered to have one or more wall sections 121, 122, 123. The material properties and thicknesses of the wall sections may be selected so as to provide the final component with a surface having desired properties. For example, if a surface (e.g. an interior surface of a pressure vessel) of the final component should be clad with a corrosion resistant layer, a wall section 122 of the canister 11 corresponding to that surface of the final component 10 may be formed of a suitable material, for example stainless steel or a nickel based alloy. Other suitable materials may include aluminides, materials comprising aluminium and/or chromium, and ceramics.

[0066] The step 210 of providing the canister 11 may include fabricating the canister 11. For example, based on the size, shape and desired properties of the component 10, wall sections of appropriate materials, thicknesses and sizes may be selected and obtained. Processes, for example coating processes, may also be performed on the wall sections. Then, when the appropriate wall sections have been obtained, the canister 11 may be fabricated by joining the wall sections together, for example by welding.

[0067] At 220, the internal cavity 13 of the canister 11 is filled with an appropriate powder. The powder will be selected according to application requirements and will, generally, be a metal powder such as aluminium powder or a ceramic powder. The canister 11 can be filled in any suitable way known in the art, for example through one or more filling pipes in communication with one or more filling points of the canister 11.

[0068] At 230, an isostatic pressing process is performed. This will first involve sealing the filled canister by, for example, welding the canister closed, crimping of the filling pipes or any other suitable process. Any remaining unfilled volume of the canister 11 may be evacuated prior to and during the sealing process. Once sealed, the filled canister 11 can be introduced into a consolidation chamber as is known in the art. The consolidation chamber subjects the filled canister 11 to high pressures and, in the case of HIP, high temperatures, typically of the order of 1,000-1,300° C. and 100-150 MPa. The high temperatures and pressures causes the powder 15 to consolidate into a denser, solid form and for the canister wall 12 to collapse into the consolidated powder and form a HIP diffusion bond with the consolidated powder or cold/hot sinter to the consolidated powder. Once the isostatic pressing process is complete, the canister 11 is removed from the consolidation chamber.

[0069] At 240, the canister 11 is retained as an integral part of the final component 10. That is, rather than removing the canister wall 12 by a subtractive process such as acid pickling, the canister 11 is retained and the wall 12 forms a surface 12′ of the final component 10. In this way, the surfaces 12′ of the component retain the material properties of the corresponding wall sections of the canister wall 12. The final component has a consolidated powder internal structure 15′ that is covered by a surface 12′ provided by the collapsed canister wall 12.

[0070] It will be understood that the term “canister” as used herein is not intended to be limited to any specific geometry. In particular, while the term “canister” may generally suggest a cylindrical shape, a canister according to this disclosure need not be cylindrical, and could have one of any number of complex shapes, as can be appreciated from the canister 11 of FIG. 2A. As used herein, a “canister” or “HIP canister” is a container that has an internal cavity for receiving powder and which is suitable for use in an isostatic pressing process.

[0071] It will be understood that while the above description generally refers to pressure vessels, other components could be fabricated according to the techniques described herein. For example, a turbine blade, bladed disk or other engine component could be manufactured as described herein. Where the component is a vessel or part of a vessel, the vessel may be made of any number of portions and may have any number of suitable shapes and sizes.

[0072] It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments above-described and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Except where mutually exclusive, any of the features may be employed separately or in combination with any other features and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.