Patent Publication Number: US-2016230599-A1

Title: Flangeless conical sleeve and method of repair

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to sleeves and associated methods of repair of metal components, and more particularly, flangeless conical sleeves and associated methods of repair of metal components. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Engine components designed with through wall holes may be prone to corrosion, wear, and/or mechanical damage at the through wall holes and/or fastener interfaces. Where corrosion, wear, and/or mechanical damage have occurred, maintenance operations that utilize bushings or sleeves to restore whole dimensions to design requirements may be used. The typical bushings and sleeves used in these kinds of repairs may limit the nature of the repair depending on the interface and/or surface characteristics associated with the engine component and/or the size of the corrosion, wear, or damage. In this regard, where the size of the corrosion, wear, and/or mechanical damage is great, restoration using a typical bushing may be limited because the diameter of the bushing cannot be equal to or greater than the diameter of the fastener head. Rather, the diameter of the fastener head should have a smaller diameter, otherwise, a typical bushing may pull through the removed area when a fastener is inserted through the bushing and tightened to an internal component of the engine component associated with the through hole. 
     SUMMARY 
     A method of repairing a metal component is provided. The method may comprise steps and/or operations including: detecting, on a metal component, a damaged portion at a fastener interface; removing, with a conically shaped cutter, the damaged portion at the fastener interface, wherein a conical void is defined in a surface of the metal component; selecting a conical flangeless sleeve to fill the conical void; installing the conical flangeless sleeve in the conical void, wherein the conical flangeless sleeve defines at least a portion of the fastener interface; and securing the conical flangeless sleeve in the conical void of the metal component with a fastener. 
     In various embodiments, a conical flangeless sleeve may comprise an outer surface, an inner surface, and a sloped radial surface, and through hole. The sloped radial surface may be defined between the outer surface and the inner surface. The through hole may be defined between the outer surface and the inner surface. The conical flangeless sleeve may be insertable in a conical void of metal component. 
     In various embodiments, an assembly may comprise a metal component and a conical flangeless sleeve. The metal component may define a conical void at a fastener interface. The metal component may have been repaired at the fastener interface. The conical flangeless sleeve may comprise a outer surface, an inner surface and a sloped radial surface. The sloped radial surface may be defined between the outer surface and the inner surface. The sloped radial surface may be configured to engage the conical void at the fastener interface. 
     The forgoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated herein otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of the disclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of the following description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete   understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates cross-sectional view of an exemplary gas turbine engine, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a metal component repaired with various prior art sleeves, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a metal component repaired with a conical flangeless sleeve, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2C  illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a metal component repaired with a conical flangeless sleeve and including a fastener, in accordance with various embodiments: 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates a schematic cross-section view of a flangeless conical sleeve installed in a portion of a metal component, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates an exploded schematic cross-section view of a portion of a flangeless conical sleeve and a portion of a metal component, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3C  illustrates a schematic cross-section view of a non-uniform flangeless conical sleeve installed in a portion of a metal component, in accordance with various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3D  illustrates an exemplary conical cutter, in accordance with various embodiments; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates and exemplary method of repair with a flangeless conical sleeve, in accordance with various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice these embodiments, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical changes and adaptations in design and construction may be made in accordance with the present disclosure and the teachings herein. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not for providing limitations on the scope of the disclosure. For example, the steps recited in any of the methods or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. Moreover, surface shading lines may be used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a gas turbine engine  100  (such as a turbofan gas turbine engine) is illustrated according to various embodiments. Gas turbine engine  100  is disposed about axial centerline axis A-A, which may also be referred to as axis of rotation A-A. Gas turbine engine  100  may comprise a fan  102 , one or more compressor sections  104 , a combustion section  106 , and one or more turbine sections  108 . Compressor section  104  may be a single or multi-stage compressor. Similarly, turbine section  108  may be a single or multi-stage turbine. Compressor section  104  may be housed within a compressor housing  105  (e.g., a metal component). Similarly, turbine section  108  may be housed within a turbine housing  107  (e.g., a metal component). 
     Air compressed in the compressor section  104  may be mixed with fuel and burned in combustion section  106  and expanded across the turbine section  108 . The turbine section  108  may include one or more high pressure rotors and one or more low pressure rotors, which rotate in response to the expansion. The turbine section  108  may comprise alternating rows of rotary airfoils or blades and static airfoils or vanes. Cooling air may be supplied to the turbine section  108  from the compressor section  104 . A plurality of bearings  109  may support spools in the gas turbine engine  100 .  FIG. 1  provides a general understanding of the sections in a gas turbine engine, and is not intended to limit the disclosure. The present disclosure may extend to all types of turbine engines, including turbofan gas turbine engines and turbojet engines, for all types of applications. 
     The forward-aft positions of gas turbine engine  100  lie along axis of rotation A-A. For example, fan  102  may be referred to as forward of turbine section  108  and turbine section  108  may be referred to as aft of fan  102 . Typically, during operation of gas turbine engine  100 , air flows from forward to aft, for example, from fan  102  through compressor section  104  and combustion section  106  to turbine section  108 . As air flows from fan  102  to the more aft components of gas turbine engine  100 , axis of rotation A-A may also generally define the direction of the air stream flow. 
     In various embodiments and with reference to  FIG. 2A - FIG. 2C , conical flangeless sleeve  230  may be configured to repair a through hole in housing  205 . Housing  205  may be any exemplary metal component including, for example, a compressor housing  105  as shown in  FIG. 1 , turbine housing  107  as shown in  FIG. 1 , and/or any other suitable metal component having one or more through holes. 
     In various embodiments, conical flangeless sleeve  230  may be capable of being installed in a conical void created in housing  205 . Conical flangeless sleeve  230  may be configured to define at least a portion of a through hole in housing  205 . In this regard, conical flangeless sleeve  230  may be capable of removeably receiving a fastener  231 . Fastener  231  may be removeably installable in the through hole defined in conical flangeless sleeve  230 . Fastener  231  may be further configured to operatively couple to an internal structure  233 , such as, for example, a nut, a vane, an air foil, a clip, and/or any other suitable structure. 
     In various embodiments, engine components have been traditionally repaired with sleeve  220  and/or flanged sleeve  210 . Initial or small repairs were traditionally made with sleeve  220 . In this regard, sleeve  220  can be inserted into the area defining a through hole that has been drilled out to restore the drilled out through hole to design requirements. However, where a repair benefitted from a larger hole, sleeve  220  was not suitable for the repair because the fastener inserted into the through hole defined by sleeve  220  would cause sleeve  220  to liberate and/or pull toward the center point A of housing  205  and/or centerline A-A of gas turbine engine  100 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . In these cases, flanged sleeve  210  may be employed. The flange of flanged sleeve  210  provided a wider support that engaged housing  205  and allowed larger through holes to be drilled in housing  205 . Moreover, the sleeve of flanged sleeve  210  was able to restore the through hole to design requirements. However, the flange of flanged sleeve  210  may create an interference with mating hardware on the outer surface of housing  205  due to the increased cross-section thickness created by the addition of the flange. In this regard, Interference with mating hardware may include lack of thread engagement created by this increase in cross-section thickness. 
     In various embodiments, conical flangeless sleeve  230  remedies the issues associated with sleeve  220  and flanged sleeve  210  by distributing the support of conical flangeless sleeve  230  to a conical void defined in housing  205  (e.g., the damage, wear, and/or corrosion may be removed with a conical cutter and/or reamer creating a conical void). In this regard, housing  205  supports the conical shape of conical flangeless sleeve  230 , preventing conical flangeless sleeve  230  from pulling through housing  205  toward central point A, when a fastener  231  is inserted in the through hole of conical flangeless sleeve  230 . 
     In various embodiments and with reference to  FIG. 3A - FIG. 3C , conical flangeless sleeve  330  may comprise an outer surface  334  and inner surface  332 , and a sloped annular surface  338 . Conical flangeless sleeve  330  may further define a through hole  336  that extends between outer surface  334  and inner surface  332  about a center line of conical flangeless sleeve  330 . Housing  305  (e.g., a metal component) may comprise a conical void defined by an annular recess  303  in housing  305 . 
     In various embodiments and with specific reference to  FIG. 3C , the shape and or profile of sloped annular surface  338  may vary from through-hole to through-hole as illustrated, but maintain uniformity at any individual hole. The shape may correspond to a shape of annular recess  303  in which the entire surface is sloped, or may have the shape of annular recess  338 A or  338 B in which a portion of the flangeless sleeve maintains a non-conical or straight section of the shank. In either regard, annular recess  303  may maintain a conical slope at any angle while maintaining uniformity for any given hole or, exhibit a portion of the flangeless sleeve that is non-conical. Illustrations provided provide a wide array of variations that may be used. 
     In various embodiments and with reference to  FIG. 3A - FIG. 3D  and  FIG. 4 , a method  460  of repairing a metal component is provided. Method  460  may comprise detecting, on the metal component (e.g., housing  305 ), a damaged portion at a fastener interface (Step  462 ). The metal component and/or housing  305  may be inspected at various through hole locations and/or fastener interfaces. These locations may be prone to corrosion, wear, and/or mechanical damage because of the interface between the fastener and an internal structure housed within housing  305 . 
     In various embodiments, method  460  may further comprise removing with a cutter  350  the damaged portion at the fastener interface (Step  464 ). Cutter  350  may comprise a powerhead and a conical cutter  352  (e.g., a conical reamer). The powerhead for  354  may be configured to drive conical cutter  352 . Moreover, cutter  350  and more specifically conical cutter  352  may be configured to remove material from housing  305 , when driven by powerhead  354 . In this regard, a conical void may be defined in the surface of the metal component and/or housing  305 . 
     In various embodiments, method  460  may further comprise selecting a conical flangeless sleeve  330  to fill the conical void (step  466 ). In this regard, a plurality of conical flangeless sleeves  330  may be provided. The conical flangeless sleeves  330  may be provided in various sizes. In this regard, the overall height defined by the distance between inner surface  332  and outer surface  334  may be varied across a plurality of flangeless conical sleeves  330 . The diameter of inner surface  332  outer surface  334  may be varied across a plurality of flangeless conical sleeves  330 . Moreover, the slope of sloped annular surface  338  may be varied over the plurality of conical flangeless sleeves  330 . For example, various standard-sized conical flangeless sleeves  330  may be provided. These standard-sized conical flangeless sleeves  330  may correspond to one or more conical cutter  352  provided with cutter  350 . These standard-sized conical flangeless sleeves  330  may also correspond to determined cut depths of conical cutter  352  provided with cutter  350 . 
     In various embodiments and in operation, a technician may select one size of the various size conical cutters  352  provided. The technician may remove material from housing  305  to define a particularly sized conical void in housing  305 . In this regard, the technician may cut the conical void to a particular depth or cut the void to a particular size with a selected conical cutter  352 . The technician may further select a correspondingly sized conical flangeless sleeve for insertion in the conical void defined by conical cutter  352 . 
     In various embodiments, method  460  may further comprise installing conical flangeless sleeve  330  in the conical void (Step  468 ). In this regard, conical flangeless sleeve  330  may define at least a portion of the fastener interface defined within housing  305 . Moreover, conical flangeless sleeve  330  may restore the fastener interface and/or the through hole to original design requirements. Method  460  may further comprise securing conical flangeless sleeve  330  in the conical void of the metal component with a fastener (Step  470 ). In this regard, conical flangeless sleeve  330  may be configured to receive and support the head of a fastener allowing the fastener to pass through hole  336  of conical flangeless sleeve  330  and attach to an internal structure housed within the metal component and/or housing  305 . 
     In various embodiments, conical flangeless sleeves and associated methods of use may reduce the complexity repairs of metal components, the cost of repairs of metal components, and may extents the overall life of a metal component. While described herein in the context of gas turbine engine components such as, for example, the conical flangeless components and corresponding methods described herein may be used in any application and with any suitable metal components. 
     Benefits and advantages have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, such benefits, advantages, and any elements that may cause any benefit or advantage to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. 
     Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “various embodiments”, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments. 
     Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.