IP Library Granted Patent US 11,982,203
Granted Patent B2
US 11,982,203 · App. 18/339,839 · Granted May 14, 2024

Airfoil tip cleaning and assessment systems and methods

Inventors: Ron I. Prihar (West Hartford, CT); Tracy A. Propheter-Hinckley (Rocky Hill, CT)
Assignee: RTX CORPORATION
F01D5/14F01D11/122F05D2230/72
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,982,203
App. No.
18/339,839
Filed
Jun 22, 2023
Granted
May 14, 2024
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3745
USPC
416/223R
Abstract

A method comprises: flowing a potted component in a liquid state over a tip of an airfoil, the tip of the airfoil having a coating disposed thereon, the coating comprising a metal plating and a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion in the plurality of protrusions extending from the metal plating; allowing the potted component to harden to form a hardened potted component; and removing the hardened potted component from the tip of the airfoil.

Claims (11)

1. A coating assessment system, comprising:

a scanner;

a display; and

a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, via the processor, scanner data for a mold corresponding to a tip of an airfoil of a bladed rotor, the tip including a coating disposed thereon, the coating comprising a metal plating and a plurality of protrusions;

analyzing, via the processor, the mold to determine whether the coating is supplying sufficient coverage to the tip of the airfoil; and

generating, via the processor and through the display, an indication that the coating should be replaced in response to determining a coating parameter does not meet a coating parameter threshold.

2. The coating assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the coating parameter includes a protrusion density.

3. The coating assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing the mold includes comparing a recess density in a local area of a mold surface of the mold to a recess density threshold, the recess density corresponding to the coating parameter, the recess density threshold corresponding to the coating parameter threshold.

4. The coating assessment system of claim 3 , wherein the recess density corresponds to a number of recesses in the mold surface per unit area.

5. The coating assessment system of claim 1 , wherein the scanner is one of an optical scanner, a mechanical scanner, a laser scanner, a non-structured optical scanner, or a non-visual scanner.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 27, 2023
From: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
To: RTX CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 064402/0837 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 22, 2023
From: PRIHAR, RON I; PROPHETER-HINCKLEY, TRACY A
To: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 064034/0143 →