Abstract:
Systems and methods for forming components with thermal barrier coatings are provided. In this regard, a representative method includes: providing a component having a first side and an opposing second side; and using a preformed mask to obstruct vapors from being deposited on the second side of the component while moving the component relative to the vapors such that the vapors form a thermal barrier coating on the first side of the component.

Description:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     The U.S. Government may have an interest in the subject matter of this disclosure as provided for by the terms of contract number F33657-98-D-0018 awarded by the United States Air Force. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure generally relates to thermal barrier coatings. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Thermal barrier coatings are provided on various types of components that typically are exposed to high temperature environments. In this regard, gas turbine engine components, such as turbine blades and combustion section components (e.g., liners), are candidates for receiving such coatings. 
     SUMMARY 
     Systems and methods for forming components with thermal barrier coatings are provided. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment of a system for forming a component with a thermal barrier coating comprises: a modular component fixture having a shaft, multiple component mounts and a base cap; the shaft being attached to the base cap; each of the multiple component mounts being removably mountable to the base cap such that rotation of the shaft rotates the component mounts mounted to the base cap; each of the multiple component mounts defining a corresponding recess shaped to at least partially receive a corresponding component. 
     Another exemplary embodiment of a system for forming a component with a thermal barrier coating comprises: a component fixture having a shaft and a component mount; the shaft being operative to rotate the component mount; the component mount having a first side oriented to face away from a component, a second side oriented to face the component, and a raised edge extending outwardly from the second side such that the second side and the raised edge define a recess; the recess being shaped to at least partially receive a component mounted to the component mount for coating such that a first portion of the component located outside of the recess is positioned for being coated and a second portion of the component received within the recess is masked from being coated. 
     An exemplary embodiment of a method for forming a component with a thermal barrier coating comprises: providing a component having a first side and an opposing second side; and using a preformed mask to obstruct coating material from being deposited on the second side of the component while moving the component relative to the vapors such that the vapors form a thermal barrier coating on the first side of the component. 
     Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages of this disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a system for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of a method for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a system for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. 
         FIG. 4  is a partially-exploded, schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a component fixture. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a component fixture with a representative component. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Systems and methods for forming components with thermal barrier coatings are provided, several exemplary embodiments of which will be described in detail. In this regard, some embodiments involve the use of component fixtures that can position multiple components at a time during a coating procedure, e.g., electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). In some embodiments, the component fixtures are modular to accommodate different numbers of components. Component mounts, which facilitate attachment of components to a fixture, can function as preformed masks that restrict the ability of deposition materials to form coatings on portions of the components. As such, in some embodiments, the fixtures can facilitate selective application of coating materials on multiple components simultaneously. 
     In this regard, reference is made to the schematic diagram of  FIG. 1 , which depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. As shown in  FIG. 1 , system  100  incorporates a deposition chamber  101 , an electron emitter  102  and target material  103 . One or more components (e.g., components  104 ,  106 ) can be placed within deposition chamber  101  for coating. 
     System  100  also incorporates a component fixture  108  that includes component mounts  110 ,  112 . Each of the mounts is used to mount a corresponding component for coating. Specifically, mount  110  mounts component  104  and mount  112  mounts component  106 . 
     Each of the component mounts in this embodiment includes a recess that is defined by a surface (which faces the component) and a raised edge that extends outwardly from the surface. By way of example, mount  110  includes surface  114  and raised edge  116  that define recess  120 . In  FIG. 1 , a portion  122  of component  104  is received within the recess. 
     In operation, an electron beam (depicted by arrow A) is directed at target material  103 , which is formed of a composition corresponding to the desired coating composition. The electron beam evaporates the target material within the deposition chamber, which is sealed and maintained at relatively low pressure. Target vapor (“evaporant”) fills the chamber and condenses on exposed surfaces of the components  104 ,  106 , which are moved within the chamber by fixture  108 . Specifically, in this embodiment, the fixture rotates the components about an axis  123 . As such, a coating  124  is formed on a portion of component  104 , and a coating  126  is formed on a portion of component  106 . Notably, coatings are not formed on corresponding portions of the components that are received within the recesses of the component mounts. Thus, in addition to positioning the components for coating, the component mounts function as preformed masks for selectively masking application of the coating material to the components. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting an exemplary embodiment of a method for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. In this regard, the method (which may be attributable to the functionality of a system, such as that depicted in  FIG. 1 ) may be construed as beginning at block  150 , in which a component is provided. In some embodiments, the component can be a gas turbine engine component such as a panel for use in a combustion section of a gas turbine engine. In block  152 , a preformed mask is used to obstruct coating material from being deposited on at least a portion of the component. Notably, the coating material is used to form a thermal barrier coating. In some embodiments, the coating material is applied to the component using an electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) process, with the coating material being a Gadolinia-stabilized Zirconia thermal barrier coating material. Clearly, various other deposition processes and/or materials can be used in other embodiments. By way of example, thermal spray processes and Yttria-stabilized Zirconia coating materials can be used. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a system for forming components with thermal barrier coatings. In particular,  FIG. 3  depicts an embodiment of a component fixture. Fixture  160  includes a shaft  162  that extends along a longitudinal axis  163 . A base cap  164  is attached to the shaft that supports one or more detachable component mounts. In this embodiment, two component mounts ( 166 ,  168 ) are attached to the base cap. Specifically, each of the component mounts extends between the base cap  164  and an end cap  170 . Attachment of the component mounts, end cap and base cap can be provided in a variety of manners, such as by using removable mechanical fasteners (e.g., bolts). In other embodiments, fixed fasteners can be used (e.g., externally threaded posts welded to the caps). 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , component mount  166  includes a base  172  that has a side  174  (which is configured to face a component) and a side  176  (which is configured to face away from the component). Base  172  also includes provisions for mounting a component. Specifically, mounting holes (e.g., hole  178 ) are provided through which portions of a component can extend for securing the component to the component mount. 
     A raised edge  180  extends outwardly from a periphery of side  174  to define a recess  182 . Thus, when a component is mounted to the component mount, at least a portion of that component is positioned within the recess. So configured, the component mount can function as a preformed mask for preventing coating material from being deposited on that portion of a component positioned within the recess. 
     Various sizes, shapes, orientations and/or numbers of component mounts can be used in a component fixture. Additionally, various materials can be used. By way of example, steel, nickel and cobalt alloys can be used. 
       FIG. 4  is a partially-exploded, schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a component fixture. As shown in  FIG. 4 , component fixture  190  includes a shaft  192  that extends along a longitudinal axis  193 . A base cap  194  is attached to the shaft that supports up to four detachable component mounts ( 196 ,  197 ,  198  and  199 ). Each of the component mounts extends between the base cap  194  and an end cap  200 . Attachment of the component mounts is shown in detail with respect to component mount  196 , which is depicted in an assembly view. Notably, base cap  194  includes a mounting hole  201 , end cap  200  includes a mounting hole  202  and fastener assemblies  203 ,  204  are used to secure the component mount  196  to the fixture. Specifically, fastener assembly  203  is inserted through hole  202  and hole  206  of the component mount, and fastener assembly  204  is inserted through hole  201  and hole  207  of the component mount. In other embodiments, fixed fastener assemblies can be used for attaching the component mounts. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , component mount  196  includes a base  212  that has a side  214  (which is configured to face a component) and a side  216  (which is configured to face away from the component). Base  212  also includes provisions for mounting a component. Specifically, mounting holes (e.g., hole  218 ) are provided through which portions of a component can extend for securing the component to the component mount. 
     A raised edge  220  extends outwardly from a periphery of side  214  to define a recess  222 . Thus, when a component is mounted to the component mount, at least a portion of that component is positioned within the recess. So configured, the component mount can function as a preformed mask for preventing coating material from being deposited on that portion of a component positioned within the recess. Notably, side  214  is concave such that the recess extends inwardly toward an axis of rotation of the fixture. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary embodiment of a component fixture with a representative component. In particular, fixture  230  uses shaft  192 , base cap  194  and end cap  200  of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 ; however, the modular nature of the fixture is shown in greater detail in that the component mounts of that embodiment have been replaced with four other detachable component mounts (three of which,  236 ,  237 ,  238  being shown). 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , component mount  236  includes a base  242  that has a side  244  (which is configured to face a component) and a side  246  (which is configured to face away from the component). Base  242  also includes provisions for mounting a component. Specifically, mounting holes (e.g., hole  248 ) are provided through which portions of a component can extend for securing the component to the component mount. By way of example, component  250  (which includes an exterior surface  252  complementary in shape to that of side  244 ) incorporates mounts (e.g., mount  258 ) that engage within corresponding mounting holes (e.g., hole  248 ) of the component mount. 
     A raised edge  260  extends outwardly from a periphery of side  244  to define a recess  262 . In contrast to the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , side  244  is convex such that the recess extends outwardly away from an axis of rotation of the fixture. Notably, when mounted to component mount  236 , at least surface  260  of component  250  remains unmasked for receiving a coating. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims.