US 11,814,983 B2
Method to strip coatings off of an aluminum alloy fan blade
Anthony G. Ruglio, Rocky Hill, CT (US); George H. Reynolds, Sanford, ME (US); Gerard V. Cadieux, Manchester, CT (US); and George Kenneth Spencer, Guntersville, AL (US)
Assigned to RTX Corporation, Farmington, CT (US)
Filed by Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Farmington, CT (US)
Filed on May 27, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/826,377.
Application 17/826,377 is a continuation of application No. 15/971,722, filed on May 4, 2018, granted, now 11,346,371.
Prior Publication US 2022/0282738 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B08B 3/02 (2006.01); B08B 7/00 (2006.01); F04D 29/70 (2006.01); F01D 5/28 (2006.01); F04D 29/02 (2006.01)
CPC F01D 5/288 (2013.01) [B08B 3/022 (2013.01); B08B 3/024 (2013.01); B08B 7/0092 (2013.01); F04D 29/023 (2013.01); F04D 29/703 (2013.01); B08B 2203/0223 (2013.01); F05D 2220/36 (2013.01); F05D 2300/173 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for stripping a coating off of a blade comprising:
discharging liquid nitrogen through a nozzle onto the blade at a coating, which comprises a first layer on a substrate of the blade, a second layer on the first layer, and a third layer on the second layer, to erode the coating; and
traversing the nozzle along the blade to cause peeling of the coating off of the substrate of the blade by eroding the first layer off the substrate, eroding or fracturing the second layer at the same time as the first layer, and exfoliating the third layer as the nozzle traverses the blade, wherein the liquid nitrogen goes between the coating and the substrate to cause lifting of the coating from the substrate, such that the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer of the coating are removed at the same time;
wherein the nozzle is moved along the blade to lift and peel the coating off of the substrate to fully reveal strips of the substrate that extend from a first end of the blade to a second end of the blade opposite the first end, each of the strips of the substrate being revealed by a single pass of the nozzle along the blade.