METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPREGNATING THE SURFACE REGION OF AN ARTICLE

Abstract

An article 6 made from a porous material, such as a ceramic material, is dipped into a liquid impregnating material 12, such as molten urea in a bath 14. After withdrawal from the bath 14, excess impregnating material 12 is removed from the article 6 by means of an air knife 22. The air knife 22 is directed obliquely into an enclosure 18, which is maintained at a temperature above the melting point of urea. The article is passed into the enclosure 18 through the flow from a further air knife 20 which creates a separation airflow separating the interior of the enclosure 18 from the ambient surroundings. The article is carried by a fixture 6 to be conveyed along the processing line on a conveyor 2.

Claims

1. A method of impregnating a surface region of an article made from a porous material, the method comprising the steps of: i) immersing the article in a liquid impregnating material; ii) withdrawing the article from the liquid impregnating material into a transfer region; iii) transferring the article from the transfer region into a removal region separated from the transfer region by a separation gas flow; and iv) displacing excess impregnating material (12) from the surface of the article by exposing the article to the separation flow and a flow of gas in the removal region, wherein the separation gas flow is directed generally horizontally across an opening of the removal region; and, the flow of gas to remove excess impregnating material is directed obliquely with respect the separation gas flow.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid impregnating material is in a solid-state at ambient temperature.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas in the separation flow and the flow of gas are discharged at a temperature higher than the melting point of the impregnating material.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the impregnating material has a melting point that is higher than 130 C.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas in the separation flow and the flow of gas are discharged at a temperature higher than 150 C.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the impregnating material is urea.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2, in which, between withdrawal of the article from the liquid impregnating material and exposure of the article to the separation gas flow and the flow of gas, at least some of the impregnated material solidifies, the temperature of the gas in the gas flow being sufficient to return the solidified impregnated material to the liquid state.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which, in exposing the article to the separation gas flow and the flow of gas, the article is displaced across the separation gas flow and the flow of gas.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the article is conveyed from the transfer region to the removal region.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the removal region is a higher temperature, in use, than the transfer region.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the separation gas flow and the flow of gas are provided by an air knife.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the article is a ceramic article.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, in which the article is a ceramic core for use in an investment casting process.

14. A method of impregnating a surface region of an article made from a porous ceramic material with urea, the method comprising the steps of: i) immersing the article in molten urea; ii) withdrawing the article from the molten urea; and iii) displacing excess urea from the surface of the article by exposing the article to a separation gas flow and a flow of gas within a removal region, at a temperature higher than the melting point of urea, wherein the separation gas flow is directed generally horizontally across an opening of a removal region; and, the flow of gas to remove excess urea is directed obliquely with respect the separation gas flow.

15. An apparatus for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1, the apparatus comprising: i) a bath of liquid impregnating material; ii) an excess impregnating material removal station provided with a first blower generating the separation gas flow and a second blower generating the flow of gas; iii) a conveyor for conveying the article from the bath of liquid impregnating material to the excess impregnating material removal station and into the path of the separation gas flow and the flow of gas respectively.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the excess impregnating material removal station comprises an enclosure comprising an opening permitting passage of the article between the transfer region and the removal region.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first blower is positioned at the opening to discharge the separation gas flow generally horizontally across the opening to separate the transfer region from the removal region.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second blower is positioned within the enclosure to discharge the flow of gas obliquely with respect the separation gas flow.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein a partition extends across the opening to separate the transfer region from the removal region.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein the partition is provided with an aperture permitting passage of the article between the transfer region and the removal region.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Arrangements will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0044] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a urea impregnation processing line;

[0045] FIG. 2 is a side view of an excess urea removal station in the processing line of FIG. 1;

[0046] FIG. 3 is a view from above of an alternative excess urea removal station;

[0047] FIG. 4 is a side view of a fixture for carrying articles for impregnation in the processing line of FIG. 1;

[0048] FIG. 5 is an edge view of the fixture of FIG. 4;

[0049] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a clamp arm of the fixture shown in FIGS. 4 and 5; and

[0050] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an impregnation process carried out on the processing line shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0051] The processing line of FIG. 1 comprises a conveyor represented by a rail 2 provided with a transport carrier 4 which can travel along the rail 2. The carrier 4 is equipped to carry a fixture 6 (see FIG. 4) which can be loaded with articles 7 to be impregnated. In the embodiment to be described, the articles 7 are porous ceramic cores which are to be impregnated with urea. However, it will be appreciated that a similar process can be employed for treating different articles 7 with different impregnating or coating compositions.

[0052] The processing line shown in FIG. 1 comprises a loading station 8 at which the ceramic cores 7 are loaded onto the fixture 6. Loading can be effected either manually by an operator, or by an automated process. Once loaded, the fixture 6 is placed in a dedicated stand 9. The transport carrier 4 then automatically engages the fixture 6 and lifts it from the stand 9. The fixture is then conveyed by the transport carrier 4 along the rail 2 to a pre-heating station 10. At the pre-heating station 10, the fixture 6 and the cores 7 loaded on it are heated by any suitable means, for example by passing through an oven, or past radiant heaters. The cores 7 may, for example, be heated to a temperature in excess of 100 C., for example in excess of the melting point of urea (134 C.). Such pre-heating of cores 7 of larger section avoids the risk of damage to the cores 7 as a result of thermal shock when subsequently immersed in molten urea. Pre-heating is less necessary for smaller section cores 7 for which thermal shock is less severe, and so the pre-heating operation may be omitted for such components.

[0053] Following pre-heating, the fixture 6 is conveyed by the transport carrier 4 to a dipping station 12 where the fixture 6 is positioned at a point directly above a bath 14 of molten urea maintained at a temperature in excess of the melting point of urea (134 C.) but lower than 170 C. at which urea begins to decompose. The temperature may be between 150 C. and 165 C., for example 160 C. The fixture 6 is then lowered by the transport carrier 4 into the molten urea in the bath 14 so that the cores 7 carried by the fixture 6 are fully immersed in the molten urea. For this purpose, the transport carrier is provided with a lifting and lowering mechanism 44.

[0054] The fixture 6 is then raised from the bath 14 by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44 and conveyed by the transport carrier 4 along the rail 2 through a transfer region 15 to an excess urea removal station 16, shown in more detail in FIG. 2. The urea removal station 16 is provided with a vessel 18 having a top opening 19. The vessel 18 is equipped with a first blower 20 and a second blower 22 which are fixed in position with respect to the vessel 18. In other embodiments, at least the second blower 22, and possibly the first blower 20, may be pivotable or displaceable with respect to the vessel 18. In the present embodiment, both blowers 20 and 22 are in the form of air knives.

[0055] In this specification, the expression air knife is used to designate equipment which generates a high-intensity, uniform sheet of laminar flow of air or other gas. Although air is the most common gas used in air knives, the expression as used in this specification is intended to embrace the use of gases other than air.

[0056] Such equipment commonly comprises a pressurized plenum containing a series of holes or continuous slots through which pressurized air exits in a laminar flow pattern. The exit air velocity then creates an impact air velocity onto the surface of an article at which the air is directed. This impact air velocity can range from a gentle breeze to greater than Mach 0.6 (40,000 ft/min) to remove loose material or liquid from the surface of an article without mechanical or operator contact.

[0057] The first air knife 20 discharges air generally horizontally across the top of the vessel 18, in the form of a sheet 21 of laminar flow which covers all, or nearly all, of the area of the opening 19. The second air knife 22 is disposed on the opposite side of the vessel 18 from the first air knife 20, and is directed to discharge air as a sheet 23 obliquely downwards, i.e. inwardly of the vessel 18. The angle of discharge may be not less than 30 and not more than 60 to the horizontal, the precise angle depending on the geometry of the particular cores 7 being treated.

[0058] The fixture 6 is conveyed by the transport carrier 4 along the rail 2 through the transfer region 15 from the dipping station 12 to a position above the vessel 18 at the excess urea removal station 16. From this position, the fixture 6 is lowered by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44 into the vessel 18 and so initially passes through the sheet of air 21 discharged from the first air knife 20 and subsequently moves through the obliquely directed sheet of air 23 issuing from the second air knife 22.

[0059] The region 15 above the molten urea bath 14 and the vessel 18 is relatively cool by comparison with the molten urea in the vessel 14 and so some solidification of the urea on the ceramic cores 7 carried by the fixture 6 will occur. The air temperature within the vessel 18 is maintained above the melting point of the urea (i.e. above 134 C.) in order that the urea carried by the cores 7 on the fixture 6 either re-melts or remains molten. In order to achieve this, the air 21, 23 discharged by the air knives 20, 22 is heated to an elevated temperature, for example about 170 C. The sheet 21 of heated air blown across the top opening 19 of the vessel 18 by the first air knife 20 screens the interior of the vessel 18, constituting a removal region 75, from the ambient surroundings, so maintaining the elevated temperature within the vessel 18. Thus the air sheet 21 serves as a pneumatic lid which restricts air from the transfer region 15 from being drawn into the vessel 18 and also helps recirculation of hot air within the vessel 18. While the first and second air knives 20 and 22 may be provided with heated air from a common source, the second air knife 22 may draw in air from within the vessel 18, so that its intake air has been preheated by the output of the first air knife 20.

[0060] As the fixture 6 is lowered through the sheets of air 21, 23 issuing from the air knives 20 and 22, the impact of the high-speed air on the surfaces of the cores 7 blows excess urea from the cores 7. The impact of the air will also eject urea from holes and other indentations in the cores 7, while leaving in place urea that has penetrated into the pores of the cores 7. The downward inclination of the second air knife 22 ejects removed urea towards the bottom of the vessel 18, for subsequent collection. The elevated temperature within the vessel 18 and the hot air issuing from the air knives 20 and 22 re-melt any urea on the surfaces of the cores 7, or in any holes or indentations in the cores 7, so that it can be detached reliably from the cores 7 and deposited in the vessel 18. The orientation of the air knives 20, 22 establishes a turbulent airflow within the vessel 18, which assists in the rapid heating, re-melting and removal of the excess urea.

[0061] In certain embodiments, the velocity of the air discharged from the air knives 20, 22 at the cores 7 may be in excess of 5 metres/second at the surfaces of the cores 7. For example, the velocity of the air may be in the range 6 to 8 metres/second, and may be 7 metres/second or higher.

[0062] To ensure complete removal of excess urea, the fixture 6 may be raised and lowered several times by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44, for example two or three times, to effect several passes of the cores 7 through the air sheets 21, 23 created by the air knives 20, 22.

[0063] FIG. 3 is a top view of an alternative arrangement of the vessel shown in FIG. 2. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the first air knife 20 is replaced by a partial covering of the opening 19 of the vessel 18 by partitions 24 which separate the interior of the vessel from the ambient surroundings including the transfer region 15. The partitions 24 leave a gap 26 between them which is sufficient to allow the passage of the fixture 6 carrying the ceramic cores 7. The fixture 6 thus passes into the vessel 18 so that excess urea can be removed using only a single obliquely directed air knife 22. It will be appreciated that the partitions 24 could be employed in addition to the first air knife 20 of FIG. 2.

[0064] Following urea removal in the vessel 18, the fixture 6 is raised above the excess urea removal station 16 by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44 and transported along the rail 2 to an unloading station 28 at which the fixture 6 is released from the transport carrier 4 and the ceramic cores 7 are removed from the fixture 6, possibly after a cooling period.

[0065] In a specific example of a process as described above, the ceramic cores 7 are retained in the molten urea bath 14 for a period of 60 seconds, which is a sufficient time to enable adequate penetration of the molten urea into the pores in at least the surface region of the ceramic cores 7, although impregnation throughout the entire core typically occurs. It has been found in practice that ceramic cores having relatively thin sections (thickness of around 2 mm or less) lose heat relatively quickly and will cool to a temperature below 134 C. in less than 10 seconds after removal from the urea bath 14 and while travelling through the transfer region 15. By maintaining the ambient temperature within the vessel 18 above 134 C., for example at a temperature between 134 and 140 C., and holding the ceramic cores 7 within the vessel 18 for 60 seconds, full re-melting and removal of the excess urea was achieved, without any leaching out of absorbed urea from pores of the ceramic cores 7.

[0066] The fixture 6 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4. It comprises a frame 28 fabricated from an upper crossbar 30, a pair of lower crossbars 32, a central crossbar 34 and a pair of parallel uprights 26. In this disclosure, references implying a direction, such as upper, lower, horizontal and vertical, relate to the fixture 6 and cores 7 held by it in the normal upright orientation when the fixture 6 and cores 7 progress through the process illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0067] The lower crossbars 32 are spaced apart by a short distance (6 mm in the embodiment shown) to form a slot 38. The upper and lower crossbars 30, 32 are made from square cross-section metal bar oriented with their diagonals directed horizontally and vertically.

[0068] This has the effect that the lower crossbars 30 form a channel 39 which tapers downwardly towards the slot 38.

[0069] The upper crossbar 30 is provided with a pair of fittings 40 shaped for engagement by corresponding fittings on the transport carrier 4, to enable the fixture 6 to be raised, lowered and conveyed along the rail 2.

[0070] The central crossbar 34 is provided with a row of clamping devices in the form of clamps 4 for holding the ceramic cores 7. Each clamp 42 is supported on the central crossbar 34 and is sufficiently versatile to grasp ceramic cores 7 of different geometries. Differently sized clamps 42 may be employed to suit different core geometries.

[0071] Each clamp 42 comprises a pair of resilient arms 44 which are mounted as mirror images of each other on the crossbar 34. One of the arms 44 is shown in FIG. 6. It is made from relatively thin steel wire, for example with a diameter of 2 mm. The arm is connected, for example by welding, to the crossbar 34 at one end 46. From the end 46 the arm proceeds around an arc 48 to an oblique straight section 60 followed by a downwardly directed straight section 62. At the lower end of the downwardly directed straight section 62 there is a contact foot 64 terminating at a core contact end 66.

[0072] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the two arms 44 of each clamp 42 are fixed at their ends 46 to the crossbar 34 at the same position along the crossbar 34 but extend to opposite sides of the crossbar 34. They cross each other at approximately the junction between the straight sections 60 and 62. In the unstressed condition shown in FIG. 5, the downwardly directed sections 62 extend parallel to each other, and the contact feet 64 overlap each other are oppositely directed.

[0073] The arms 44 of clamps 42 can be resiliently deflected by hand, pivoting them about the welded joints at the crossbar 34, to move the contact feet apart so that a core 7 can be inserted between them. When released, the arms 44 spring back to grasp the core 7 between the contact ends 66.

[0074] The clamps 42 are able to hold a variety of different components, such as HP turbine blades, nozzle guide vanes and seal segments. In a specific embodiment, the clamps are able to grasp seven components of different geometries, having a depth in the plane of FIG. 5 of from 7 to 20 mm, a width in the plane of FIG. 4 up to 80 mm, and a length (parallel to the uprights 36) from 90 to 120 mm.

[0075] The V-shaped convergent channel 39 leading to the slot 38, and defined by the oppositely disposed oblique upper faces of lower crossbars 32, serves to locate the ceramic cores 7 grasped by the clamps 42, so that their weight can be taken by the lower crossbars 32, ensuring good contact with the lower crossbars 32. The clamps 42 make point contact only with the cores 7 (i.e. contact over a small area), so that the clamps serve to hold the cores 7 in an upright orientation with minimal damage to the core surface. The slot 38 allows the flow of molten urea, and so assists the removal of excess molten urea displaced from the ceramic cores 7 by the air knives 20, 22. The cross members 30, 32, 34 and the uprights 36 are made from solid metal and so retain heat. This assists in keeping the ceramic cores 7 hot as they are displaced along the processing line shown in FIG. 1 from the pre-heating station 10 through the dipping station 12 and thence to the excess urea removal station 16. This minimises the energy required to reheat the ceramic components after exposure to the cooler ambient surroundings in the transfer region 15.

[0076] FIG. 7 is a flow chart summarising the impregnation process described above. Referring to FIG. 7, a loading step 50 takes place at the loading station 8, at which the ceramic cores 7 are loaded onto the fixture 6 by positioning the lower ends of the ceramic cores 7 on the lower support 32 and engaging upper regions of the ceramic cores 7 by the clamps 42. This process can be conducted manually by an operator. The clamps 42 engage the cores 7 only over the small areas occupied by the contact ends 66, so leaving the rest of the core 7 uncovered. The small diameter of the wire forming the arms 44 means that only a small contact pressure is exerted on the cores 7, avoiding any damage to them.

[0077] The fixture 6 is subsequently engaged by the transport carrier 4 and raised, by means of the lifting and lowering mechanism 44. The transport carrier 4, with the fixture 6 loaded with the cores 7 is then conveyed along the rail 2 to the pre-heating station 10, where a pre-heating step 52 occurs.

[0078] Subsequently, the fixture 6 is transported along the rail 2 to the dipping station 12 where a dipping step 54 takes place. In the dipping step 54, the transport carrier 4 with the fixture 6 is lowered by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44 to immerse the cores 7 in the urea-containing bath 14.

[0079] The fixture 6 is then raised from the bath 14 and transported along the rail 2 to the excess urea removal station 16 where the cores 7 are subjected to an excess urea removal step 56 in the enclosure 18. In this removal step 56, the fixture 6 carrying the cores 7 is lowered into, and raised from, the enclosure 18 by the lifting and lowering mechanism 44 at least once, and possibly two, three or more times.

[0080] After the removal step 56 is complete, the fixture 6 is transported along the rail 2 to the unloading station 28, where the cores 7 are manually removed from the fixture 6 for further use, and in particular for use in an investment casting process.

[0081] The processing line and impregnation process described above eliminates the need for human intervention in the urea dipping process and in the subsequent removal of excess urea, once the components have been loaded onto the fixture 6 and the fixture 6 has been loaded onto the transport carrier 4. Thus, the risks of operator exposure to molten urea are eliminated. The process line may be enclosed in a canopy, reducing the escape of heat and avoiding operator exposure to toxic substances released on decomposition of the molten urea.

[0082] Although only one transport carrier 4 is shown in FIG. 1, there may be a plurality of transport carriers arranged along the rail 2, with only a single operator being required to load and unload the fixtures 6 at positions away from the molten urea itself.

[0083] Because the excess urea removal station 6 operates in an automated and therefore consistent manner, the process shown in FIG. 1 achieves consistency in the quality of impregnated ceramic cores 7, as compared with hand dabbed cores, which may have different levels of solidified urea on their surfaces. Furthermore, the automatic process shown in FIG. 1 achieves low or zero breakage of, or damage to, delicate components, owing to the excess urea removal by way of air knives 20, 22 rather than by hand dabbing.

[0084] Although the process has been described above in connection with urea impregnation of ceramic cores 7, it will be appreciated that similar processes can be used for dipping other components in a variety of compositions, where subsequent wiping of excess composition is required.

[0085] It will be appreciated that the fixture 6 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be employed in a variety of processes where there is a requirement to hold delicate components via point contact in a manner which is secure enough to withstand strong airflow or similar forces.

[0086] Thus, 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.