US-12617170-B2 - Method for manufacturing a blade for an aircraft turbine engine

US12617170B2US 12617170 B2US12617170 B2US 12617170B2US-12617170-B2

Abstract

A method for producing a blade includes providing a fibrous preform; providing a metal foil of elongate shape and including at least one indexing recess; and providing an injection mold having at least an upper part and a lower part. At least one of the upper part and the lower part includes at least one positioning projection. The method further includes the steps of arranging the fibrous preform in the injection mold; coating the leading edge of the fibrous preform with the metal foil, and inserting the positioning projection into the indexing recess so as to hold the metal foil in position on the leading edge. The method also further includes injecting a resin into the injection mold.

Inventors

Célia IGLESIAS CANO
Dominique Michel Serge Magnaudeix
Lucas Antoine Christophe LAUWICK
Maxime Marie Désiré BLAISE

Assignees

SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220927
Priority Date: 20211005

Claims (10)

1 . A method for manufacturing a vane comprising a blade for an aircraft turbine engine, the method comprising the following steps: providing a fibrous preform of the blade, the fibrous preform comprising a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a pressure side face connected to a suction side face by the leading edge and the trailing edge, providing an elongate metal foil comprising at least one indexing recess, providing an injection mold comprising at least upper and lower parts configured to cooperate to delimit an internal volume and each defining a pattern of the vane, and at least one of these upper and lower parts comprising at least one projecting positioning element, arranging the fibrous preform in the injection mold, coating the leading edge of the fibrous preform with the metal foil, and inserting the projecting positioning element into the indexing recess so as to hold the metal foil in position on the leading edge, and injecting a resin into the injection mold in order to impregnate the fibrous preform and to attach the metal foil to the leading edge.
2 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the projecting positioning element is a nipple provided on an inner surface of the upper part or of the lower part.
3 . The manufacturing method according to claim 2 , wherein the nipple has a cylindrical or conical shape.
4 . The manufacturing method according to claim 2 , wherein the nipple has a threaded external surface.
5 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal foil comprises a first lateral fin and a second lateral fin connected to the first lateral fin by a central portion, the indexing recess being provided on the first or the second lateral fin.
6 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal foil comprises a central part and an excess part arranged on either side of the central part, the indexing recess being located on one or each of the excess parts.
7 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the indexing recess is an orifice or a notch.
8 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal foil comprises two indexing recesses respectively comprising a first orifice and a second orifice opposite the first orifice and in that, the upper or lower part comprising a first projecting positioning element configured to cooperate with the first orifice and a second projecting positioning element configured to cooperate with the second orifice.
9 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , wherein the fibrous preform comprises an additional indexing recess.
10 . The manufacturing method according to claim 1 , further comprising, after the step of injecting a resin into the injection mold, the step of: machining the vane to remove the indexing recess.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the technical field of methods for manufacturing vanes for the aircraft turbine engines. More specifically, the invention relates to the manufacturing methods for manufacturing composite material vanes, which can be rotating or stationary, for example. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND It is well known that an aircraft turbine engine comprises a fan allowing to suck in an air flow divided into a primary flow and a secondary flow. The primary flow passes through the engine of the turbine engine, while the secondary flow is directed towards a secondary vein. The primary flow is compressed in, for example, a low-pressure compressor and then a high-pressure compressor of the engine. The compressed air is then mixed with a fuel and burnt within an annular combustion chamber arranged downstream of the series of compressors. The gases formed by the combustion pass through a high-pressure turbine and a low-pressure turbine located downstream of the combustion chamber, which allow to drive the rotors of the compressors. Finally, the gases escape through a nozzle, the cross-section of which allows these gases to be accelerated to generate the propulsion. The elements of the turbine engine such as the fan, the compressors or the turbines comprise vanes that allow to exert an action on the air flow. For example, the compressor vanes are used to compress the primary air flow. A vane typically comprises an aerodynamically shaped blade comprising a pressure side face and a suction side face connected to the pressure side face by a leading edge and a trailing edge. To reduce the weight of the vane, the blade is formed from a composite material comprising reinforcing fibres embedded in a polymer matrix. To protect the vane from damage caused by the impact of foreign bodies, the leading edge is coated with a metallic foil. The attachment of the metal foil to the leading edge presents a number of challenges. A method for manufacturing the vane involves supplying a fibrous preform and then impregnating the preform during a resin injection step, followed by the polymerisation of the resin. In a subsequent step, the metal foil is attached to the leading edge of the vane by gluing. The glue is polymerised in an oven. The time taken to manufacture the vane using such a manufacturing method is long because the impregnation step must be completed to attach the metal foil to the leading edge. In order to reduce the manufacturing time, the document FR-A1-3008920 recommends attaching the metal foil to the leading edge during the impregnation step. This document teaches that the mould can be equipped with a system for positioning and holding the foil. However, this system is not entirely satisfactory. This is because the foil is attached in position in the mould, but the relative position of the foil to the vane cannot be accurately determined. It's difficult to position the vane in relation to the foil once it's in the mould. Also, the metal foil may be displaced during the mould closing and/or the injection in the absence of a suitable positioning and holding system. As a result of the manufacturing method, a radial and/or axial offset of the metal foil relative to the leading edge can be observed. This incorrect positioning leads to non-conformity of the vane. There is therefore a need to provide a manufacturing method that allows to reduce the defects in the positioning of the metal foil on the leading edge. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, the invention proposes a method for manufacturing a vane comprising a blade for an aircraft turbine engine comprising the following steps: (100) providing a fibrous preform of the blade, the fibrous preform comprising a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side face connected to a suction side face by the leading edge and the trailing edge,(200) providing an elongate metal foil comprising at least one indexing recess,(300) providing an injection mould comprising at least upper and lower parts intended to cooperate together to define an internal volume and each defining an pattern of the vane, and at least one of these upper and lower parts comprising at least one projecting positioning element,(400) arranging the fibrous preform in the injection mould,(500) coating the leading edge of the fibrous preform with the metal foil, and inserting the projecting positioning element into the indexing recess so as to hold the metal foil in position on the leading edge,(600) injecting a resin into the injection mould in order to impregnate the fibrous preform and attach the metal foil to the leading edge. According to the invention, the metal foil is placed on the leading edge of the preform which is arranged in the injection mould in order to simultaneously impregnate the fibrous preform and attach the metal foil to the leading edge. This allows to reduce the vane manufacturing times. In addition, according to the invention, the metal foil has at least