This disclosure relates to a gas turbine engine, and more particularly to a gas turbine engine component and a casting system for manufacturing the gas turbine engine component.
Gas turbine engines are widely used in aircraft propulsion, electric power generation, shift propulsion, and pumps. Many gas turbine engine components are cast. One example casting process is known as investment casting. Investment casting can form metallic parts having relatively complex geometries, such as gas turbine engine components requiring internal cooling passageways. Blades and vanes are two examples of such components.
The investment casting process typically utilizes a casting system that includes a mold having one or more mold cavities that define a shape generally corresponding to the part to be cast. A wax or ceramic pattern of the part is formed by molding wax or injecting ceramic material around a core assembly of the casting system. A shell is formed around the core assembly in a shelling process and then hardened to construct the casting system. Molten material is communicated into the casting system to cast a component. The shell and core assembly are removed once the molten material cools and solidifies.
Maintaining wall thicknesses to specification during the casting process can be difficult because of the relatively thin walled constructions of components that are cast to include relatively complex internal cooling passageways. For example, the spacing between the cores of a core assembly must be tightly controlled to produce parts having sufficient wall or rib thicknesses.