HIGH-FREQUENCY OSCILLATORY PLASTIC DEFORMATION BASED SOLID-STATE MATERIAL DEPOSITION FOR METAL SURFACE REPAIR

Abstract

Systems and methods for repairing a surface defect in a metallic substrate can have a transducer that generates acoustic energy and an acoustic energy coupling tool connected to the transducer. The acoustic energy coupling tool receives the acoustic energy from the transducer and oscillates at a frequency corresponding to a frequency of the acoustic energy. A filler material is provided within the surface defect and the oscillation of the acoustic energy coupling tool causes a deforming impact of the acoustic energy coupling tool with the filler material within the surface defect, such that the filler material conforms to at least a portion of an internal surface of the surface defect. Additionally, the acoustic energy coupling tool is used to irradiate the filler material while it is being deformed with the acoustic energy.

Claims

1. A system for repairing a surface defect in a metallic substrate, the system comprising: a transducer configured to generate acoustic energy; and an acoustic energy coupling tool connected to the transducer and configured to receive the acoustic energy from the transducer; wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool is configured for oscillatory movement at a frequency corresponding to a frequency of the acoustic energy generated by the transducer to deform a filler material that is positioned in and/or over the surface defect and underneath the acoustic energy coupling tool, the acoustic energy coupling tool being configured such that the oscillatory movement thereof conforms the filler material to at least a portion of an internal surface of the surface defect; and wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool is configured to irradiate the filler material with the acoustic energy at a same time as when the filler material is being conformed to at least the portion of the internal surface of the surface defect by the acoustic energy coupling tool.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool is configured, by irradiating the filler material with the acoustic energy, to cause the filler material to soften and causes inter-metallic diffusion between the filler material and one or more internal surfaces of the surface defect against which the filler material is conformed by the acoustic energy coupling tool, thereby bonding the filler material to the substrate within the surface defect.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool is movable, relative to the metallic substrate, to deposit the filler material as one or more successive layers formed within the surface defect to repair the surface defect and produce a repaired region of the metallic substrate that has a microstructure that is integrated with the microstructure of the metallic substrate.

4. The system of claim 1, comprising a horn that couples the transducer to the acoustic energy coupling tool, the acoustic energy being transmitted from the transducer to the acoustic energy coupling tool via the horn.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the filler material is a filament having a generally annular cross-sectional shape.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the filler material and the metallic substrate comprise a same metal or metal alloy.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein oscillating the acoustic energy coupling tool to deform and irradiate the filler material induces no heat gain, or negligible heat gain, in the filler material and/or the metallic substrate.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a microstructure of the metallic substrate is substantially unaltered during repair of the surface defect.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein a frequency and/or amplitude of acoustic energy and/or a placement of the filler material within the surface defect is selected to minimize voids within a repaired region of the metallic substrate.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool has a hardness greater than a hardness of the filler material and/or the metallic substrate.

11. A method of repairing a surface defect in a metallic substrate, the method comprising: coupling a transducer to an acoustic energy coupling tool; arranging the acoustic energy coupling tool over a portion of the surface defect to be repaired; feeding a filler material underneath the acoustic energy coupling tool and/or at least partially within the surface defect; generating acoustic energy via the transducer to cause an oscillatory movement of the acoustic energy coupling tool at a frequency corresponding to a frequency of the acoustic energy generated by the transducer; impacting the filler material positioned underneath the acoustic energy coupling tool and/or at least partially within the surface defect with the acoustic energy coupling tool to deform the filler material so that the filler material conforms to at least a portion of an internal surface of the surface defect; irradiating the filler material with the acoustic energy at a same time as when the filler material is being deformed to conform to at least the portion of the internal surface of the surface defect by the acoustic energy coupling tool; and filling at least a portion of the surface defect with the filler material.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein irradiating the filler material with the acoustic energy causes the filler material to soften and causes inter-metallic diffusion between the filler material and one or more internal surfaces of the surface defect against which the filler material is conformed by the acoustic energy coupling tool, thereby bonding the filler material to the substrate within the surface defect.

13. The method of claim 11, comprising moving the acoustic energy coupling tool relative to the metallic substrate to deposit the filler material as one or more successive layers formed within the surface defect to repair the surface defect and produce a repaired region of the metallic substrate that has a microstructure that is integrated with the microstructure of the metallic substrate.

14. The method of claim 11, comprising coupling the transducer to the acoustic energy coupling tool via a horn and transmitting the acoustic energy from the transducer to the acoustic energy coupling tool via the horn.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the filler material has a generally annular cross-sectional shape.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the filler material and the metallic substrate comprise a same metal or metal alloy.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the oscillatory movement of the acoustic energy coupling tool that causes the acoustic energy coupling tool to impact the filler material to deform and irradiate the filler material within the surface defect induces no heat gain, or negligible heat gain, in the filler material and/or the metallic substrate.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a microstructure of the metallic substrate is substantially unaltered during repair of the surface defect.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein a frequency and/or amplitude of acoustic energy and/or a placement of the filler material within the surface defect is selected to minimize voids within a repaired region of the metallic substrate.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the acoustic energy coupling tool has a hardness greater than a hardness of the filler material and/or the metallic substrate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0029] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system of the presently disclosed subject matter for using acoustic energy to repair a crack in the surface of a metallic component.

[0030] FIG. 2A is a top view of the exemplary embodiment of the acoustic energy coupling tool shown in the system of FIG. 1.

[0031] FIGS. 2B and 2C show exemplary dimensions of the acoustic energy coupling tool shown in the system of FIG. 1.

[0032] FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a substrate with an artificially created surface crack formed therein.

[0033] FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of the surface crack after the repair process is completed.

[0034] FIG. 3C is a detailed cross-sectional view of the region indicated in FIG. 3B, showing the microstructure of the metal at the interface between the substrate and the repaired region.

[0035] FIGS. 4A and 4B are respective cross-sectional views of two repaired samples having voids in the repaired region.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The presently disclosed subject matter relates to methods and systems for using acoustic energy to repair a surface crack in a metallic component without the need to apply heat energy to the metallic component during the repair. FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of a system, generally designated 100, for applying acoustic energy to repair a crack, generally designated 20, in the surface of a substrate 10, such as the metallic component shown therein. In the example embodiment shown, the system 100 comprises an acoustic energy coupling tool 120 that is connected, via a stainless steel horn 140 in the embodiment shown, to a piezo-electric transducer 160 that vibrates at, at least in this example embodiment, a 60 KHz frequency, or otherwise produces ultrasonic acoustic energy. In some other embodiments, different excitation frequencies may be generated by the transducer 160 and transferred to the acoustic energy coupling tool 120, whether or not via a horn 140. In any such embodiments, the particular excitation frequency is based on the material being used as the filler material 15, the material of the substrate (e.g., substrate 10) being repaired, or any other considerations, without deviating from the scope of the disclosure herein. Similarly, different materials for the horn 140 and different types of transducers 160 from the example embodiments disclosed herein may be used without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] The method of using the system to repair a surface crack in a metallic substrate comprises positioning the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 over the surface crack 20, for example, by attaching the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 to a desktop gantry platform. The transducer 160 is energized at a specified frequency, 60 KHz in the example embodiment disclosed herein, and the oscillations of the transducer 160 are transmitted in the form of acoustic energy to the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 via the horn 140. A filler material 15, which is a filament feed made of solid aluminum in the example embodiment shown and described herein, is fed under the vibrating acoustic energy coupling tool 120. While other cross-sectional shapes for the filler material 15 may be used in other embodiments, the un-deformed filament of the filler material 15 has a generally annular cross-sectional shape in the embodiment shown.

[0038] The acoustic energy coupling tool 120 moves, as a result of the vibrations at the excitation frequency from the transducer 160, in a substantially vertical direction, generally designated O, to compress the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20 and, simultaneously, irradiates (e.g., transmits) acoustic energy at the excitation frequency into the filler material 15 as the filler material 15 is being compressed within the surface crack 20 to fill the surface crack 20. In some embodiments, the filler material 15 is therefore deformed by the oscillatory movements of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 to have a shape that is substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the surface crack 20. In some embodiments, the surface crack 20 may have a cross-sectional area that is larger than a cross-sectional area of the filler material 15, in which case it is generally advantageous to apply multiple consecutive layers of the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20, until the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20 has substantially a same height as the outer edges of the surface crack 20 that define an outer surface of the metallic substrate 10.

[0039] The irradiation of the filler material 15 with acoustic energy via the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 causes the portion of the filler material 15 directly under the tip of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 to soften, thereby simultaneously causing the filler material to conform to the shape of the surface crack 20 due to the vertical compression and/or lateral expansion of the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20 caused by the vertical motion of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120. At the same time, by using the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 to irradiate the filler material 15 with the acoustic energy as the filler material 15 is compressed within the surface crack 20, inter-metallic diffusion occurs between the substrate 10, at the internal surfaces and/or contours of the surface crack, and the filler material 15, thereby bonding the deformed filler material 15 to the internal surfaces of the surface crack 20 against which the filler material 15 is being compressively applied. This results in a voxel of the filler material 15 being deposited within and/or on the crack surface 20.

[0040] The steps of the method are repeated until a run of the filler material 15 is deposited over the entire length, or a portion thereof, of the surface crack 20. Several such runs can be deposited sequentially on top of each other, as necessary based on the depth of the surface crack 20, to completely fill up the surface crack 20. It has been observed that the acoustic energy density of 493.61 J/m.sup.3 provides the best conformance and bonding of the filler material 15 to the shape of the inner surface of the surface crack 20 in the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

[0041] It is advantageous for the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 to have a comparatively sharp tip, such that a width of the surface of the tip that makes contact with the filler material 15 is smaller (e.g., narrower) than the size (e.g., the width, which can be measured, for example, at the base or at the outer surface of the surface crack 20) of the surface crack 20 being repaired, so that the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 is able to adequately compress the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20 to substantially entirely fill the surface crack 20, so that the substrate 10 will have a same thickness (e.g., allowing for process tolerance variations) in the repaired region 30 as in the immediately adjacent portions of the substrate 10.

[0042] FIGS. 2A-2C show a top view and exemplary dimensions of an example embodiment of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 suitable for use in repairing a surface crack 20 in a substrate 10, for example, in a substrate 10 made of aluminum using a filler material 15 made of aluminum. The acoustic energy coupling tool 120 has a body 125 that is a generally longitudinally extending member with a D-shaped cross-sectional area that tapers in a generally conically-shaped manner to a pointed tip, generally designated 130. The tip 125 physically impacts and compresses the filler material 15 within the surface crack and/or irradiates the filler material 15 such that the filler material 15 conforms to, and bonds with, the internal surfaces and/or contours of the surface crack 20. In the embodiment shown, the width of the body 125 is greater (e.g., wider) than a depth of the tapering portion that defines the tip 130. The disclosed geometry of the tip 130 is advantageous in that it is capable of inducing sufficient compression in the filler material 15, while at the same time also allowing for the tip 130 to reach and/or access smaller features.

[0043] To validate the suitability of the methods and systems disclosed herein in repairing surface cracks 20 in a substrate 10 in the form of a metallic component, empirical testing was performed. Surface cracks were formed in the substrates 10 formed from one or more aluminum plates and a solid aluminum filament was used as the filler material 15. During the testing, the piezo transducer 160 was connected to the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 by the stainless steel horn 140 and energized to produce an oscillatory vibration and/or movement at 60 KHz, such that the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 oscillated at a substantially similar frequency (e.g., at about 60 KHz). Oscillation of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 can be in the axial (e.g., vertical) and/or lateral (e.g., horizontal) directions of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120, or in combinations thereof, but in plane with the filler material 15 and the substrate 10 workpiece (e.g., aligned with the direction of extension of the surface crack). The filler material 15, in the form of a solid aluminum filament, is progressively fed into and/or directly on top of (e.g., over) the surface crack 20 and under the tip 130 of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120, which irradiates the filler material 15 with the acoustic energy generated by the piezo transducer to compress the filler material 15 into the surface crack 20 and also to promote inter-metallic diffusion between the filler material 15 and the inner surface of the surface crack 20, thereby bonding the filler material 15 with the internal surfaces of the surface crack 20 (e.g., to the substrate) to fill, at least partially, the surface crack 20 and form the repaired region 30.

[0044] In some embodiments, the substrate 10 having the surface crack 20 can be held in a fixed position while the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 moves in the direction T along the length of the surface crack 20 to compress and/or bond the filler material 15 within and along the length of the surface crack 20. The movement and vertical position of the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 can be fully or partially automated or, in some embodiments, can even be manually controlled (e.g., configured to be hand-held by a user, or otherwise capable of being manually controlled). In some other embodiments, the acoustic energy coupling tool 120 can be held stationary while the substrate having the surface crack is mobile (e.g., movable) thereunder. Any combination of mobile/stationary components of the system 100 is contemplated.

[0045] To determine that no microstructure change occurred in the vicinity of the repair of the surface crack, Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis was performed in the repaired region 30 of the surface crack 20 to validate the methods and systems disclosed herein.

[0046] In FIG. 3A, an optical image of the cross-section of a substrate 10 made of aluminum with an artificially-created surface crack 20 formed therein is shown. The upper bounds of the surface crack 20 are shown schematically by the broken line connecting the outer edges of the substrate 10 on opposite sides of the surface crack 10. To repair this surface crack 20, the method was utilized three times to successively deposit the filler material 15, in the form of an aluminum filament, within the surface crack 20 to form three discrete layers of material (e.g., a first layer 30A, then a second layer 30B, then a third layer 30C) within the surface crack 20 to completely fill the surface crack 20. The result of this successive deposition method of the filler material 15 within the surface crack 20 completely fills the previously-defined surface crack 20 with the same material (e.g., aluminum) as the material of the substrate 10 (e.g., aluminum).

[0047] The filler material 15 and the substrate 10 may be a metal, metal alloy, or any suitable material. FIG. 3B shows a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) image of a cross-sectional view of the repaired sample, as described herein with respect to FIG. 3A. The three successively deposited layers (30A, 30B, 30C) of the filler material 15 define a repaired region (e.g., 30, FIG. 1) and can be discerned upon close inspection, yet it is clearly visible from the image that the filler material 15 is deformed, such that the filler material 15 conforms to the shape of the inner surface 12 of the surface crack 20. As discussed elsewhere herein, the acoustic softening phenomenon aids in softening the filler material 15, which can be in the form of a wire, so that the filler material 15 conforms to the internal shape and/or contours of the surface crack 20. FIG. 3C is a detailed view of the area indicated in FIG. 3B, showing the microstructure of the substrate 10 and filler material 15 at the inner surface 12 of the surface crack 20, where an interface (e.g., bondline) between the substrate 10 and the filler material 15 is formed at the repaired region 30. As shown, the metallic microstructure of the substrate 10 at and/or adjacent to the interface between the substrate 10 and the filler material 15 does not show any appreciable change after the repair has been completed, relative to the metallic microstructure of the substrate 10 away from the interface between the substrate 10 and the filler material 15, according to the methods and systems disclosed herein. The unaltered microstructure of the substrate 10 at the interface between the substrate 10 and the filler material 15 provides a significant advantage over the heat energy-based surface repair processes currently known and utilized in the prior art.

[0048] In FIG. 4A, a plurality of layers of filler material have been successively deposited to fill the surface crack, thereby defining a repaired region 30. In this embodiment, a plurality of external layers 35 are applied successively over the outer surface of both the substrate 10 and the repaired region 30. One or more of these external layers 35 can be provided and may cover only the repaired region 30, all of the repaired region 30 and a portion of the substrate 10 that is immediately adjacent (e.g., extending 50% or less of the width of the surface crack 20) to the surface crack 20, or over substantially all of (e.g., at least 75%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or at least 99%) the outer surface of the substrate 10. FIG. 4B shows an example embodiment in which five layers (30A through 30E) of filler material have been successively deposited. The layers 30A through 30E contact each other at boundary lines 32 and/or the substrate 10 at the inner surface 12 thereof.

[0049] FIGS. 4A and 4B also show examples of repaired substrates 10 that have voids 40 (e.g., air pockets, or regions in which the deformed filler material 15 is not present) in the repaired region 30 of the substrate 10. These voids are a result of improper positioning of the filler material 15 and/or acoustic energy density from the piezo transducer 160. These voids 40 result in a repaired region 30 that is weaker than would otherwise be anticipated of a repaired substrate and can result in premature material failure. Through proper application of the methods and use of such systems, it is possible to minimize, if not entirely eliminate, the presence of such undesirable voids in the repaired region 30 of the substrate 10.

[0050] Examples of applications in which the methods and systems disclosed herein may be implemented include, by way of non-limiting example, a machine that can perform surface repairs on metal components; a robotic arm with a surface repair tool head based on the methods and system disclosed herein to perform in-place/in-situ repair of components in service; a method and corresponding machine or system that uses surface vibrations to both detect surface defects and then repair the defects detected; and a method and corresponding machine or system that controls the microstructure of the metal at the interface between the filler material and the metallic substrate within the repaired region by varying the amount of vibratory shear strain energy applied during the repair.

[0051] While the subject matter has been described herein with reference to specific aspects, features, and illustrative embodiments, it will be appreciated that the utility of the subject matter is not thus limited, but rather extends to and encompasses numerous other variations, modifications and alternative embodiments, as will suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the field of the present subject matter, based on the disclosure herein. For example, such barriers may be used as an enclosure for patios, driveways, driveway entrances, fences, docks, and the like.

[0052] Various combinations and sub-combinations of the structures and features described herein are contemplated and will be apparent to a skilled person having knowledge of this disclosure. Any of the various features and elements as disclosed herein can be combined with one or more other disclosed features and elements unless indicated to the contrary herein. Correspondingly, the subject matter as hereinafter claimed is intended to be broadly construed and interpreted, as including all such variations, modifications and alternative embodiments, within its scope and including equivalents of the claims.