Granted Patent B2

US 12,722,360 · App. 18/495,818 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: Glen A. MacMillan (Simpsonville, SC); Mark Carmine Bellino (Greenville, SC); Jesse Keller (Greenville, SC); Ellison A. Lenz (Greenville, SC); Mark Lawrence Hunt (Greenville, SC); Paul Albert Cook (Greenville, SC); Nathan Nicholas Ostrout (Greenville, SC)

Assignee: GE Infrastructure Technology LLC

B32B15/01

Abstract

Claims (34)

1 . A metal coupon for repairing a component, comprising:

an additively manufactured (AM) metal member having:

at least one slanted coupon side wall at an angle of greater than 90° with an exterior surface of the AM metal member, wherein a width of the AM metal member at the exterior surface of the AM metal member is smaller than a width of the AM metal member at an interior surface of the AM metal member opposed to the exterior surface thereof responsive to the AM metal member being inserted into a coupon opening in the component with the exterior surface of the AM metal member flush with at least one an outer wall, a trailing edge, and a leading edge of the component and the interior surface of the AM metal member interfacing with the coupon opening in the component; and wherein the coupon opening includes at least one slated coupon opening side wall mating with the at least one slanted coupon side wall;

a first porous region having a first porosity; and

a second porous region having a second porosity different than the first porosity, wherein the first porosity and the second porosity are each between 21% to 50% open space volume to total volume of the first porous region and second porous region, respectively.

2 . The metal coupon of claim 1 , wherein the AM metal member includes a variable porosity region between the first porous region and the second porous region.

3 . The metal coupon of claim 1 , wherein the AM metal member further includes a slanted end wall at an angle of less than 90° with the exterior surface of the AM metal member as measured from a pressure side thereof into the AM metal member.

4 . The metal coupon of claim 1 , wherein the first porosity and the second porosity are between 21% to 40% open space volume to total volume of the respective porous region.

5 . The metal coupon of claim 1 , wherein the at least one slanted coupon side wall includes a pair of oppositely slanted coupon side walls.

6 . A turbomachine component, comprising:

an airfoil body having a pressure side, a suction side and a trailing edge;

an additively manufactured (AM) metal coupon having oppositely slanted coupon side walls each at an angle of greater than 90° with an exterior surface of the AM metal coupon, a first porous region having a first porosity, and a second porous region having a second porosity different than the first porosity, wherein a width of the AM metal coupon at the exterior surface of the AM metal coupon is smaller than a width of the AM metal coupon at an interior surface of the AM metal coupon opposed to the exterior surface thereof responsive to the AM metal coupon being inserted into a coupon opening in the component with the exterior surface of the AM metal coupon flush with at least one of an outer wall, the trailing edge, and a leading edge of the component and the interior surface of the AM metal coupon interfacing with the coupon opening in the component, and the first porosity and the second porosity are each between 21% to 50%; and

a braze material coupling the AM metal coupon in a coupon opening in the airfoil body, the braze material infiltrated into at least one of the first porous region based at least on a characteristic of the first porosity and the second porous region based at least on a characteristic of the second porosity,

wherein the coupon opening includes oppositely slanted coupon opening side walls mating with the oppositely slanted coupon side walls.

7 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the AM metal coupon further includes a slanted end wall at an angle of less than 90° with the exterior surface of the AM metal coupon as measured from a pressure side thereof into the AM member, and the coupon opening includes a mating inner wall to the slanted end wall.

8 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extend from the pressure side to the suction side of the airfoil body.

9 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extend from an upstream end of the metal coupon to the trailing edge of the airfoil body.

10 . The turbomachine component of claim 9 , wherein the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extend from the pressure side to the suction side of the airfoil body.

11 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the AM metal coupon includes a variable porosity region between and including at least a portion of the first and second porous regions.

12 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the first porosity is higher than the second porosity and the first porous region includes more of the braze material therein than the second porous region.

13 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the first porous region is in at least part of an edge of the metal coupon configured for joining to the airfoil body, and the second porous region is adjacent to the at least part of the first porous region.

14 . The turbomachine component of claim 6 , wherein the first porosity and the second porosity are each between 21% to 40% open space volume to total volume of the first porous region and second porous region, respectively.

15 . A method of coupling a metal coupon in a turbomachine component having an airfoil body having a pressure side, a suction side and a trailing edge, the method comprising:

additively manufacturing the metal coupon with oppositely slanted coupon side walls each at an angle of greater than 90° with an exterior surface of the metal coupon, a first porous region having a first porosity, and a second porous region having a second porosity different than the first porosity, wherein a width of the metal coupon at the exterior surface of the metal coupon is smaller than a width of the metal coupon at an interior surface of the metal coupon opposed to the exterior surface thereof responsive to the metal coupon being inserted into a coupon opening in the component with the exterior surface of the metal coupon flush with at least one of an outer wall, the trailing edge, and a leading edge of the component and the interior surface of the metal coupon interfacing with the coupon opening in the component, and the first porosity and the second porosity are each between 21% to 50%;

positioning the metal coupon in the coupon opening in the airfoil body of the component, wherein the coupon opening includes oppositely slanted coupon opening side walls mating with the oppositely slanted coupon side walls; and

infiltrating the metal coupon with a braze material to couple the metal coupon in the coupon opening in the airfoil body, wherein the infiltrating includes infiltrating the braze material into at least one of the first porous region based at least on a characteristic of the first porosity and the second porous region based at least on a characteristic of the second porosity.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the additive manufacturing includes forming the metal coupon with a slanted end wall at an angle of less than 90° with the exterior surface of the metal coupon as measured from a pressure side thereof into the metal coupon, and wherein the coupon opening includes a mating inner wall to the slanted end wall.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the additive manufacturing includes forming the metal coupon with the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extending from the pressure side to the suction side of the airfoil body.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the additive manufacturing includes forming the metal coupon with the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extending from an upstream end of the metal coupon to the trailing edge of the airfoil body.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the additive manufacturing further includes forming the oppositely slanted coupon side walls extending from the pressure side to the suction side of the airfoil body.

20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising, prior to the additive manufacturing:

creating the coupon opening in the airfoil body configured to receive the metal coupon; and

creating a model of the coupon opening,

wherein the additive manufacturing includes manufacturing the metal coupon based on the model of the coupon opening.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (156)