Method for producing a metal bladed element of an aircraft turbine engine

Abstract

A method for producing a metal bladed element of a turbine engine, in particular of an aircraft, includes steps of producing the bladed element, depositing a coating made of wear-proof material on at least one portion of the bladed element and verifying, preferably visually, the conformity of the bladed element. Verifying the conformity of the bladed element includes implementing a verification element on the bladed element. The bladed element is configured according to a conformity threshold value to conceal a non-conformity of the coating, if the non-conformity has at least one dimension less than the threshold value, and to show at least one portion of this non-conformity if the at least one dimension is greater than the threshold value.

Claims

1. A method for producing a metal bladed element of a turbine engine, the method comprising: producing the bladed element; depositing a coating comprising a wear-proof material on at least one portion of the bladed element; and verifying, visually, conformity of the coating by implementing a verification element on the bladed element, wherein: a non-conformity of the coating is concealed by a thickness of the verification element when the non-conformity has at least one dimension less than a threshold value, or at least one portion of the non-conformity is exposed when the at least one dimension is greater than the threshold value, wherein the bladed element comprises side edges configured to interlock with side edges of other identical bladed elements, these side edges having at least partially one of a V-shaped and L-shaped hollow-shape comprising first and second edge portions of which the first edge portion comprises the coating, wherein the verification element is supported against the second edge portion in the verifying step and comprises an end configured to bear against an end of the coating to either conceal the non-conformity when the non-conformity has at least one dimension less than the threshold value or to expose the non-conformity when the non-conformity has at least one dimension greater than the threshold value, and wherein the end of the verification element is tapered.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising machining the bladed element and the coating after the coating is deposited on the bladed element.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coating is deposited in a cavity of the first edge portion.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one dimension is a maximum distance measured between the end of the coating and an end closest to the cavity.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the verification element has an extended shape and is shaped to bear against and extend longitudinally over the whole length of the second edge portion.

6. An assembly comprising a bladed element of a turbine engine and a verification element, for implementing the method according to claim 1.

7. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein the bladed element is one of a turbine engine rotor blade or a turbine engine nozzle.

8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising penetrant testing the bladed element.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising penetrant testing the bladed element after the coating is deposited on the bladed element.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the turbine engine is of an aircraft.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the end of the verification element comprises a lower concave edge.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the end of the verification element comprises a lower convex edge, the lower edge being oriented towards the side edges.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the claimed subject matter will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of a known turbine mobile wheel blade;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic view on a larger scale of an exemplary heel of a turbine mobile wheel blade;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an exemplary turbine nozzle sector;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic view on a larger scale of another exemplary heel of a turbine mobile wheel blade;

(6) FIG. 4a is an even larger scale view of the exemplary heel of FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an exemplary heel similar to that of FIG. 4 and illustrates an exemplary step of the method according to the present disclosure;

(8) FIGS. 6a, 6b, and 6c are schematic views of exemplary verification elements according to the present disclosure;

(9) FIG. 7, FIG. 7a, FIG. 8, and FIG. 8a are schematic views of an exemplary heel similar to FIG. 5, where the figures illustrate an exemplary step of the method according to the present disclosure; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary steps of a method for producing a blade element, according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings, where like numerals reference like elements, is intended as a description of various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and is not intended to represent the only embodiments. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration and should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The illustrative examples provided herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claimed subject matter to the precise forms disclosed.

(12) Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the general field of producing metal bladed elements for an aircraft turbine engine, the bladed elements comprising stator or rotor elements.

(13) The present disclosure applies to a bladed element which can be a mobile wheel blade 10 such as described above in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, or a turbine nozzle 10′ as illustrated in FIG. 3.

(14) In either embodiment, the bladed element comprises at least one vane 16 which extends between two platforms, respectively inner 19 and outer 20. The inner platform 19 is connected to the radially inner end of each vane and comprises coatings 36 made of wear-proof material in the case of the turbine nozzle sector of FIG. 3. The outer platform 20 is connected to the radially outer end of each vane and comprises coatings 36 made of hard wear-proof material in the case of the blade of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(15) FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary method according to the method for producing a bladed element. In some embodiments, at block a, the method includes producing the bladed element, at block b, depositing the coating 36 made of wear-proof material on at least one portion of the bladed element, and, at block e, verifying the conformity of the bladed element. In some embodiments, producing the bladed element may include casting the element. In some instances, depositing the wear-proof material may include a tack welding or an alternative welding technique, as stated above.

(16) In alternative embodiments, after block b, the method, at block c, may include machining the bladed element and the coating 36. Machining the bladed element and the coating may put the bladed element at predefined sides and improve the surface state of the coating. After block c, the method may additionally or alternatively, at block d, include penetrant testing the bladed element. The penetrant testing may be performed on the bladed element to facilitate the detection of non-conformities in the verification step.

(17) In some embodiments, at block e, an operator performs the verification of the bladed element using at least one verification element 50, such as a wedge or a cover, which is positioned on the bladed element. The operator may visually verify the conformity of the bladed element using this verification element 50.

(18) As shown in FIGS. 6a-6c, the verification element 50 may conceal a non-conformity of the coating 36 when the non-conformity has at least one dimension less than a conformity threshold value, and to show at least one portion of this non-conformity if the dimension of this non-conformity is greater than the threshold value.

(19) FIG. 4 shows an exemplary mobile blade heel 14 with coatings 36. The heel 14 comprises an outer platform 20 having opposite side edges 21, 22. The heel 14 also comprises upstream 31 and downstream 32 rubbing strip seals extending radially towards the outside from the outer face of the platform 20. Each of the side edges 21, 22 of the platform has, between the upstream 31 and downstream 32 rubbing strips, a substantially Z-shaped or V-shaped profile, which comprises two edge portions defining between them a cavity and of which one is coated with wear-proof material.

(20) In some embodiments, the side edge 21 thus comprises two edge portions 21a, 21b which form a V-shaped dihedron or a cavity, the wear-proof coating 36 being situated on the edge portion 21a. The side edge 22 comprises two edge portions 22a, 22b which form a V-shaped dihedron or a cavity, the wear-proof coating 36 being situated on the edge portion 22a.

(21) In some instances, each edge portion 21a, 22a that receives the wear-proof coating 36 comprises a cavity 52 which is filled with wear-proof material. As can be seen in the drawings, the cavity 52 is fully filled with material. The coating 36 can be deposited in the cavity 52 then the machining provided in at block d can be designed to flatten the visible surface 36a of the coating, and ensure this surface is aligned with adjacent surfaces 52a of the edge portion 21a, 22a.

(22) FIG. 4a is a larger scale view of a portion of FIG. 4 and more specifically of one of the ends of the cavity 52 and of the coating, as well as the zone for connecting the abovementioned two edge portions 21a, 21b, here for the hollow dihedron of the side edge 21.

(23) In some instances, a non-conformity 54, such as a lack of coating, may be present in the zone Z for joining the end 36a of the wear-proof material to the end 52b closest to the cavity. When this non-conformity 54 is small in size, the non-conformity 54 is not necessarily visible and may be considered acceptable. The bladed element could therefore be considered as conforming with level C1 following the verification step at block e. When this non-conformity is too large in size, the non-conformity is visible. The bladed element could therefore be considered as conforming with level C2 following the verification step at block e.

(24) In the examples shown, a non-conformity dimension is considered, namely a dimension measured in a direction substantially parallel to the edge portion 21a, 22a on which is deposited the coating. The dimension is, for example, the offset dimension or lack of wear-proof material in the cavity 52, which would be measured between the abovementioned two ends 36a, 52b and which is schematically represented by the letter R in FIG. 4a.

(25) When dimension R is less than a predetermined threshold value, referenced S, FIG. 5, the bladed element can be considered as conforming with level C1, and when dimension R is greater than S, the bladed element can be considered as conforming with level C2.

(26) This comparison is made visually by means of the verification element 50, as is represented in FIG. 5. For example, at block e in FIG. 9, the method may include implementing the verification element 50 on the bladed element to verify if the potential non-conformity is of level C1 or C2. In the example shown, the verification element 50 is positioned on the edge portion 21b or 22b which does not comprise any coating. The verification element 50 has an extended shape and is shaped to bear against and extend longitudinally over the whole length of this edge portion 21b, 22b.

(27) The verification element 50 comprises a longitudinal end intended to bear against the end 36a of the coating 36 in order to conceal the potential non-conformity 54 of this end. The verification element 50 is furthermore shaped and in particular sized such that it conceals the non-conformity if the dimension R thereof is less than S, and to show at least one portion of this non-conformity if dimension R is greater than S.

(28) In some embodiments, the end 50a of the verification element 50 is tapered to improve the precision of the verification, which may be visually performed by an operator. This end 50a can have any truncated shape and, examples of which are shown in in FIG. 6a (with a lower convex edge, this lower edge being oriented towards the edge portion 21b, 22b on which the verification element bears against it), FIG. 6b (tapered or truncated), and FIG. 6c (with a lower concave edge).

(29) In some embodiments, the dimension L (see FIG. 5) of the verification element 50 measured in the abovementioned direction is determined according to the threshold value S (from the time when the edge portions are substantially perpendicular). If D is considered, as being the dimension of the non-conformity, measured in the abovementioned direction, between the edge portion 21b, 22b and the end 52a of the cavity, thus L=S+D.

(30) In some embodiments, a truncated edge, as stated above, may ensure a correct positioning of the verification element 50. For example, disruptive element is lacking here as the verification element 50 comes to bear against a predefined surface and the distance L making it possible to taper in the desired zone.

(31) FIG. 7 shows an example where the bladed element would be classified as conformity level C2 as the non-conformity has a dimension greater than S. The operator watching the zone Z could thus assess an image such as schematically represented in FIG. 7a. The non-conformity would be too significant, the dimension R thereof being greater than the threshold S. In other words, L would be less than D+R, which would make a portion of the non-conformity visible, namely a portion having as a dimension R′=(R+D−L).

(32) FIG. 8 shows an example where the bladed element would be classified as conformity level C1, as the non-conformity has a dimension less than S. The operator watching the zone Z could thus assess an image such as schematically represented in FIG. 8a. The non-conformity would be concealed by the verification element, the dimension R thereof being less than the threshold S. In other words, L would be greater than D+R, which would make the non-conformity invisible.

(33) In an alternative embodiment, the dimension of the non-conformity could be measured in a direction perpendicular to the edge portion 21b, 22b on which is positioned the verification element 50, such that L corresponds to the thickness of the verification element measured from this edge portion.

(34) In some embodiments, the present disclosure can be applied to a turbine nozzle 10′ such as represented in FIG. 3, as this nozzle also includes two edge portions forming a hollow L, of which one is covered with a wear-proof material and the other can receive a verification element.

(35) The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the present disclosure which are intended to be protected are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as claimed.