Methods of cleaning a hot gas flowpath component of a turbine engine

{
  "publication_number": "US9932854B1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B1",
  "title": "Methods of cleaning a hot gas flowpath component of a turbine engine",
  "abstract": "The present disclosure provides methods and systems for in situ cleaning of hot gas flowpath components of a turbine engine that form portions of a hot gas flowpath extending through the turbine. The hot gas flowpath components may include a layer of accumulated contaminants on first portions thereof that form a respective portion of the hot gas flowpath. The first portions may include a thermal battier coating (TBC), and the layer of accumulated contaminants may overlie the TBC and at least partially infiltrate into the TBC. The accumulated contaminants may include CaO - MgO - Al2O3-SiO2 (CMAS) partial melt. The methods may include introducing an acid-including detergent into the hot gas flowpath of the turbine engine and onto the hot gas flowpath components to clean the accumulated contaminants from the first surfaces of the components.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of cleaning a hot gas flowpath component of a turbine engine, the method comprising: cleaning a hot gas flowpath component by introducing an acid-including detergent with a pH range of between 2 and 7 into a hot gas flowpath of an at least partially assembled turbine engine and onto at least one hot gas flowpath component forming at least a portion of the hot gas flowpath having a layer of accumulated contaminants thereon to clean the accumulated contaminants from the at least one component; wherein the detergent comprises a first organic acidic component including citric acid within a range between about 0.1 percent and about 15 percent by volume of the detergent and at least one of isoropylamine sulphonate within a range between about 0.07 percent and 0.14 percent by volume of the detergent, alcohol ethoxylate within a range between about 0.035 percent and 0.07 percent by volume of the detergent, triethanol amine within a range between about 0.035 percent and 0.07 percent by volume of the detergent, or lauriminodipropionate within a range between about 0.03 percent and 1.0 percent by volume of the detergent.",
    "2. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated contaminants comprises CaO - MgO - Al2O3-SiO2 (CMAS) partial melt.",
    "3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hot gas flowpath component includes an environmental barrier coating (EBC), and wherein the layer of accumulated contaminants overlies the EBC.",
    "4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated contaminants comprises sulfate and silicate partial melt.",
    "5. The method of claim 1, wherein the accumulated contaminants comprises at least one of Na - Mg - Ca sulfate partial melt, an aluminosilicate clay or CMAS partial melt.",
    "6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one hot gas flowpath component comprises at least one of a turbine combustor component, a turbine stationary component or a turbine rotating component.",
    "7. The method of claim 1, wherein the hot gas flowpath component includes a plurality of cooling holes extending through the component.",
    "8. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid-including detergent is a foamed liquid detergent.",
    "9. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid-including detergent dissolves the accumulated contaminants.",
    "10. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid-including detergent is introduced into the hot gas flowpath and onto the hot gas flowpath component at a temperature within 20 degrees C. to about 95 degrees C. for at least 15 minutes.",
    "11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least partially assembled turbine engine is attached to an aircraft.",
    "12. The method of claim 1, wherein the acid-including detergent is introduced into the hot gas flowpath of the at least partially assembled turbine engine via an existing port of the turbine engine.",
    "13. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a port in the turbine engine in communication with the hot gas flowpath, and wherein the acid-including detergent is introduced into the hot gas flowpath of the at least partially assembled turbine engine via the formed port.",
    "14. The method of claim 1, further comprising passing the acid-including detergent through at least a portion of the hot gas flowpath of the at least partially assembled turbine engine in a direction that hot gases pass through the hot gas flowpath during operation of the turbine engine.",
    "15. The method of claim 1, further comprising passing the acid-including detergent through at least a portion of the hot gas flowpath of the at least partially assembled turbine engine in a direction opposing a direction that hot gases pass through the hot gas flowpath during operation of the turbine engine.",
    "16. The method of claim 1, wherein the detergent comprises a second organic acidic component including glycolic acid within a range between about 0.1 percent and about 15 percent by volume of the detergent.",
    "17. The method of claim 1, wherein the detergent comprises water which is about 99.63 percent by volume of the detergent.",
    "18. The method of claim 1, wherein the detergent includes at least one of less than about 10 parts per million of sodium, less than about 10 parts per million of potassium, less than about 10 parts per million of phosphorous, or combinations thereof.",
    "19. The method of claim 1, wherein the detergent comprises less than about 2 parts per million of metals.",
    "20. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one hot gas flowpath component includes a thermal barrier coating (TBC), and wherein the layer of accumulated contaminants overlies the TBC.",
    "21. The method of claim 7, wherein the accumulated contaminants block at least a portion of at least one cooling hole, and wherein the introducing the acid-including detergent into the hot gas flowpath and onto the hot gas flowpath component removes the accumulated contaminants from the at least one cooling hole.",
    "22. The method of claim 20, wherein the layer of accumulated contaminants is at least partially infiltrated into the TBC."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/484,897, filed Sep. 12, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/913,805, filed Dec. 9, 2013, which are herein incorporated by reference.\n\nThe field of the present disclosure relates generally to methods of cleaning turbine engines and, more specifically, to methods and systems of cleaning CaO - MgO - Al2O3-SiO2 (CMAS) and other accumulated contaminants from the hot gas flowpath of in situ turbine engines.\n\nTurbine engines used to propel aircraft through certain routes often experience significant fouling due to environmental contaminant or particulate intake during flight, idling, take-off, landing, etc. Turbine engines used in other applications may similarly experience such environmental contaminant matter intake. Environmental contaminants may include, for example, combinations of airborne pollutants (e.g., sulfates, nitrates, etc.), natural evaporite deposits (e.g., halite, carbonates, etc.) and dust (e.g., aluminosilicate clays).\n\nEnvironmental contaminant fouling or buildup may degrade the performance of a turbine engine. For example, one known mechanism for fouling is the accumulation of such environmental contaminants on both the components of internal cooling circuits and the hot gas flowpath through the engine. The hot gas flowpath through a turbine engine is the geometrical assembly established by a range of complex components in a turbine that interact with combusting and burning fuel and the expansion and exhaust of such gases.",
  "cpc": [
    "F01D 25/002",
    "B08B 3/04",
    "B08B 7/00",
    "B08B 9/00",
    "B08B 9/02",
    "B08B 9/027",
    "B64F 5/30",
    "B64F 5/40",
    "C11D 1/10",
    "C11D 1/72",
    "C11D 2111/20",
    "C11D 2111/42",
    "C11D 3/2086",
    "C11D 3/30",
    "C11D 3/349",
    "C23G 1/088",
    "C23G 1/106",
    "C23G 1/125",
    "F02C 3/04",
    "F02C 7/30",
    "F05D 2230/72",
    "F05D 2260/607",
    "Y02E 20/16",
    "Y02T 50/60"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "F01D 25/00",
    "F02C 3/04",
    "B08B 7/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "General Electric Co"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Nicole Jessica Tibbetts",
    "Bernard Patrick Bewlay",
    "Byron Andrew Pritchard",
    "Brian Michael Ellis",
    "Michael Edward Eriksen",
    "Keith Anthony Lauria"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2016-09-23",
  "publication_date": "2018-04-03",
  "grant_date": "2018-04-03",
  "priority_date": "2013-12-09",
  "application_number": "US-201615274613-A",
  "family_id": "61711400",
  "cited_by_count": 23,
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}