Systems and methods for processing alloy ingots

1. An ingot processing method comprising:

depositing a metallic material layer onto a curved circumferential surface of a cylindrical alloy ingot and at least one of two flat circular end surfaces of the cylindrical alloy ingot, the cylindrical alloy ingot comprising three outer surfaces comprising the two flat circular end surfaces and the curved circumferential surface intersecting and connecting the two flat circular end surfaces, wherein the metallic material is more ductile than the alloy, and

wherein depositing the metallic material layer comprises depositing the metallic material layer as a weld deposit.

2. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , further comprising hot working the alloy ingot, wherein the hot working comprises applying force onto the metallic material layer.

3. The ingot processing method of claim 2 , wherein hot working the alloy ingot comprises at least one of a forging operation and an extrusion operation.

4. The ingot processing method of claim 2 , wherein hot working the alloy ingot comprises an upset-and-draw forging operation comprising:

upset forging the alloy ingot, wherein forging dies contact and apply force to the metallic material layer on one or both of the flat circular end surfaces to compress the ingot in length and expand the ingot in cross-section; and

draw forging the upset forged alloy ingot, wherein forging dies contact and apply force to the metallic material layer on the curved circumferential surface to compress the ingot in cross-section and expand the ingot in length.

5. The ingot processing method of claim 2 , further comprising removing the metallic material layer from the alloy ingot after hot working the alloy ingot.

6. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , further comprising grinding or peeling the surface of the alloy ingot before depositing the metallic layer.

7. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the alloy ingot comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a nickel base alloy, an iron base alloy, a nickel-iron base alloy, and a cobalt base alloy.

8. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the alloy ingot comprises a nickel base superalloy.

9. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the alloy ingot and the metallic material layer comprise the same base metal, the base metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, iron, and cobalt.

10. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the alloy ingot comprises a nickel base superalloy and the metallic material layer comprises a nickel base weld alloy.

11. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the metallic material layer as a weld deposit comprises a welding operation selected from the group consisting of metal inert gas (MIG) welding, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, and plasma welding.

12. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the metallic material layer as a weld deposit comprises:

rotating the cylindrical ingot; and

depositing the metallic material as a weld deposit onto a first region of the curved circumferential surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using at least one stationary welding torch, thereby depositing a ring-shaped layer of the metallic material onto the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot.

13. The ingot processing method of claim 12 , further comprising:

re-positioning at least one welding torch adjacent to a deposited ring-shaped layer of the metallic material after the rotating cylindrical ingot proceeds through at least one rotation; and

depositing metallic material as a weld deposit onto a second region of the curved circumferential surface of the rotating cylindrical ingot using at least one re-positioned stationary welding torch.

14. The ingot processing method of claim 13 , further comprising repeating the re-positioning step and the depositing step until the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot is substantially covered with the metallic material.

15. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein depositing the metallic material layer as a weld deposit comprises:

moving at least one welding torch along a first region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot parallel to a long axis of the ingot, while holding the cylindrical ingot stationary, thereby depositing a layer of the metallic material as a weld deposit onto the first region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot;

re-positioning the cylindrical ingot to move the first region of the curved circumferential surface away from at least one welding torch and to move a second region of the curved circumferential surface toward at least one welding torch; and

moving at least one welding torch along the second region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot parallel to the long axis of the ingot, while holding the cylindrical ingot stationary, thereby depositing a layer of the metallic material as a weld deposit onto the second region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical ingot.

16. The ingot processing method of claim 15 , further comprising repeating the re-positioning step and the moving step until the curved circumferential surface of the ingot is substantially covered with the metallic material.

17. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the cylindrical alloy ingot using: a vacuum induction melting —vacuum arc remelting operation; or a vacuum induction melting —electroslag refining —vacuum arc remelting operation.

18. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the metallic material layer is deposited onto the cylindrical alloy ingot using an ingot processing system comprising:

an ingot rotating apparatus configured to rotate the cylindrical ingot about a long axis of the ingot; and

a welding apparatus configured to deposit the metallic material layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical alloy ingot.

19. The ingot processing method of claim 18 , wherein the ingot rotating apparatus comprises a lathe configured to rotate the cylindrical alloy ingot about the long axis of the ingot; and

wherein the welding apparatus comprises at least one MIG welding torch configured to deposit the metallic material layer as a weld deposit onto at least a region of the curved circumferential surface of the cylindrical alloy ingot.

20. An ingot processing method comprising:

depositing a metallic material layer onto a curved circumferential surface of a cylindrical alloy ingot and at least one of two flat circular end surfaces of the cylindrical alloy ingot, the cylindrical alloy ingot comprising three outer surfaces comprising the two flat circular end surfaces and the curved circumferential surface intersecting and connecting the two flat circular end surfaces, wherein the metallic material is more ductile than the alloy, wherein the metallic material layer comprises a thickness of at least 0.25 inches.

21. The ingot processing method of claim 1 , wherein the metallic material layer comprises a thickness of 0.25 inches to 0.5 inches.