JP2535409B2 - Hot isostatic pressing machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hot isostatic pressing apparatus, which is used for processing a difficult-to-process material such as a heat-resistant metal material or ceramics under high-temperature hydrostatic pressure. Used.

(Prior art) Heat-resistant metal materials such as Ni-base alloys generally have poor workability. Therefore, for high-strength materials that cannot be forged, fine-grain superplastic materials conventionally obtained by powder metallurgy are used. Processing has been carried out using the.

Further, although ceramics have poorer ductility than Ni-based alloys and are difficult to process, in recent years, they have also been processed by utilizing the superplastic phenomenon.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the superplastic working, there is a large problem of a working limit accompanying the generation of voids.

In addition, since processing at a low strain rate is required,
Poor productivity is also a problem.

Furthermore, since conventional superplastic processing apparatuses have been configured using a mechanical press, it is difficult to control the atmosphere of the workpiece, that is, to secure an inert atmosphere, and to ensure uniform heating. It was troublesome.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a hot isostatic pressing apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of voids and raising the processing limit by processing a workpiece under high temperature hydrostatic pressure. .

Further, the present invention provides a hot isostatic processing apparatus which can improve productivity by increasing the processing speed, can easily control the atmosphere and can perform uniform heating, and can endure a large size. Is the second purpose.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a new processing technique utilizing a high temperature hydrostatic environment.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is directed to opening portions 1A, 1 at least at one end in the container axial direction.
A high-pressure chamber 5 is defined by a high-pressure container 1 having B and a lid member 2 for opening and closing the openings 1A and 1B, and the high-pressure chamber 5 has an inverted cup-shaped heat-insulating layer 10 and the heat-insulating layer 10. A heating device 9 comprising a heating element 11 arranged inside the layer 10 is built in, and a processing chamber 13 for processing the workpiece A inside the heating device 9 under hot isostatic pressure is provided. In the hot isostatic pressing apparatus, the following technical measures are taken to achieve the above-mentioned object.

That is, according to the present invention, the lid member 2 is incorporated with a pressurizing piston 12 movable in the container axial direction, and the tip end of the pressurizing piston 12 penetrates the lid member 2 in the container axial direction. And a pressure member 15 projecting into the processing chamber 13.

(Embodiments and Functions) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention and the functions thereof will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a high-pressure container, which is formed in a cylindrical shape and has upper and lower openings 1A and 1B at both ends in the axial direction of the container. Reference numeral 2 denotes a lid member, which is provided with an upper lid 3 that opens and closes the upper opening 1A and a lower lid 4 that openably closes the lower opening 1B, in which the high-pressure container 1 and the lid member 2 are provided. And define a high pressure chamber 5 inside.

The high-pressure vessel 1 may have a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening at least at one end.

In the first embodiment, the upper lid 3 fitted in the upper opening 1A
Has a sealing material 6, and the lower lid 4 is fitted in the lower opening 1B and can be sealed by the sealing material 7. The ring-shaped lower upper lid 4A and the lower upper lid 4A are fitted and sealed by the sealing material 8. It consists of a possible lower lower lid 4B.

A press frame (not shown) can be engaged with and disengaged from the upper and lower lids 3 and 4 fitted to the high-pressure container 1 so as to be able to carry a press axial force acting in the container axial direction.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a heating device (heating furnace), which is an inverted cup-shaped heat insulating layer 10 and a heating element 11 arranged inside the heat insulating layer 10.
And a processing chamber 13 which is built in the high pressure chamber 5 and in which the workpiece A is processed by hot isostatic pressure.

The heat insulating layer 10 is configured by filling a fibrous heat insulating material 10C between the gas impermeable inner and outer metal cylinders 10A and 10B.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a pressurizing piston. In the first embodiment, a cylinder chamber 12A is formed in the upper lid 3, and the pressurizing piston 12 is fitted in the cylinder chamber 12A so that it can be moved in the axial direction of the container by being sealed with a sealing material 14. The piston 12 has a processing member 15 penetrating the upper lid 3 in the axial direction of the container and protruding from the processing chamber 13.

Reference numeral 16 is a closing lid of the cylinder chamber 12A and has a sealing member 16A, and 17A and 17B are sealing members of the piston penetrating portion.

The pressing member 15 is composed of a connecting tool 18 and an upper mold 19, which are attached by bolts or the like, and the connecting tool 18 made of a heat insulating material is gas-tightly fixed to the top of the heat insulating layer 10. The upper mold 19 is projected into the processing chamber 13 on the axis of the container.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a hearth, which is mounted on the lower and lower lids 4B of the lower lid 4 and arranged on the axis of the container. The hearth 20 is made of a heat insulating material, and the lower die facing the upper die 19 is provided. It has a mold 21.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a pressure medium supply / discharge device, and in this embodiment, a gas collecting device 25 is connected to a passage 23 formed in the upper lid 3 via a pipe line 24. The pipe line 24 has a compressor 26 and an opening / closing valve. 27,28
And equipped with pressure gauge 29 and safety valve 30, open / close valves 27, 28
A recovery conduit 31 is provided between the recovery conduit 31 and an on-off valve 32 and a pressure reducing valve 33.

Further, a vacuum evacuation line 34 is connected between the on-off valve 28 and the safety valve 30, and a vacuum pump 35 is provided, and 36 and 37 indicate the on-off valves.

 Reference numeral 39 indicates an open / close valve for releasing to the atmosphere.

Further, 40 is a pressurizing piston drive device, which is provided with a hydraulic (hydraulic) pump 41, a relief valve 42, and pilot check valves 44, 45 for pressurizing and retracting the switching valve 43,
It is connected to the ports 3A and 3B of the upper lid 3 which communicate with the cylinder chamber 12A.

A stroke sensor 46 detects the stroke of the pressurizing piston 12 at the lower end of the heat insulating layer 10 in this embodiment, and a controller 47
To the relief valve.
The relief valve 42 is fed back to the relief valve 42.
The pressurizing speed of the pressurizing piston 12 is controlled by, for example, adjusting the set value of.

The stroke of the pressurizing piston 12 may be detected directly by the movement of the piston 12, but it is advantageous to install the stroke sensor 46 in the lower part of the high pressure chamber 5 as in the embodiment. . That is, the lower part of the high pressure chamber 5 has the lowest temperature.

In addition, reference numeral 48 denotes a leak detection pipe, which detects a leak between the hydraulic system for driving the pressurizing piston and the pressure medium gas, and prevents the mixture of both.

49 is a current-carrying member for the heating element 11, which in this example is the lower and upper lid.
Prepared for 4A.

Note that, for example, Ni whose processing temperature is about 1000 ° C to 1100 ° C
When the base superalloy is the work piece A, Inconel, stainless steel, or the like is used as the heat insulating layer 10, and the heating element
Fe-Cr-Al or the like is used as 11, and the upper and lower molds 1
A special alloy such as TZM is used as 9,21.
As the connector 18 and the hearth 20, it is preferable to use a ceramic heat insulating material such as Al ₂ O ₃ , ZrO ₂ or a composite material thereof.

 Next, the operation of the above-described first embodiment will be briefly described.

The workpiece A is placed on the lower lower lid 4B via the hearth 20 and the lower mold 21, and is loaded into the processing chamber 13 from below the high pressure vessel 1.

In this case, the pressurizing piston 12 is held in the retracted (elevated) position by the drive device 40 thereof.

Next, when the vacuum pump 35 is driven with the open / close valve 28 closed and the open / close valve 36 opened, the high pressure chamber 5 and the processing chamber 13 are evacuated via the passage 23 and the pipe lines 24, 34, and the vacuum is generated. After the pulling, the pressure medium supply / discharge device 22 is operated to supply the pressure medium gas to the high pressure chamber 5 and the processing chamber 13. A press frame is engaged with the lid member 2 so that a press axial force can be carried.

To supply the pressure medium gas, the on-off valves 27, 28 are opened to supply the pressure medium gas from the compressor 26 to the high pressure chamber 5 and the processing chamber 13,
The opening / closing valve 28 is closed when a predetermined pressure is reached.

Next, electric power is supplied to the heating element 11 to bring the temperature of the processing chamber 13 to a predetermined temperature. At this time, the pressure in the high-pressure chamber 5 also rises as the temperature rises.

After reaching a certain temperature and pressure and reaching an equilibrium state,
The pressurizing piston is driven by the switching valve 43 of the pressurizing piston drive device 40.
When 12 is switched to the pressurizing direction, the pressurizing piston 12 is lowered by the hydraulic pressure (hydraulic pressure) from the pump 41, and the work piece A is heated by the upper and lower molds 19 and 21 under hot hydrostatic pressure. Superplastic working is performed.

That is, the pressure of the pressure piston 12 is transmitted to the workpiece A by the pressure member 15 provided at this tip, and superplastic working under hot isostatic pressure, that is, forging is performed.

At this time, the pressurizing speed of the pressurizing piston 12 is detected by the stroke sensor 46, and is controlled by feeding back a signal from the controller 47 to the drive device 40.

After the completion of the predetermined processing operation, after the power supply to the heating element 11 is cut off, the pressurizing piston 12 is retracted by the switching valve 43, and the temperature inside the high-pressure container 1 is decreased to a predetermined temperature,
After the pressure medium gas is recovered to the gas collecting device 25 via the opening / closing valve 32, the pressure reducing valve 33, etc., the press frame is retracted, etc., the lower lower lid 4B is lowered to perform the predetermined processing. Take A out from below.

<Second Embodiment> Referring to FIG. 2, the second embodiment shows a pressurizing piston 12
Is controlled by sending a signal from the stroke sensor 46 to the controller 47 and feeding back the control signal to the opening / closing valve 32 and the pressure reducing valve 33 provided in the recovery circuit 31. .

That is, the pressure (hydraulic pressure) to the cylinder chamber 13 is kept constant, and the pressure medium supply / discharge device 22 to / from the high pressure chamber 5 and the processing chamber 13 is maintained.
The on-off valves 28 and 32 are opened and the opening degree of the pressure reducing valve 33 is adjusted to perform pressure reduction control by collecting gas to the gas collecting apparatus 25.

Other basic configurations are common to those of the first embodiment, and common parts are designated by common reference numerals.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the pressure medium used to move (pressurize) the pressurizing piston 12 is not a hydraulic pressure but a gas pressure medium similar to that used in the processing chamber 13. It is possible, and it is more advantageous to use the common gas pressure medium as the pressure medium supply / discharge device 22 and the pressurizing piston drive device 40 in this way from the viewpoint of preventing the processing chamber 13 and the like from being contaminated.

In this case, the third embodiment described below can be followed.

<Third Embodiment> In FIG. 3, reference numeral 50 denotes a pressure medium gas system for pressurizing a pressurizing piston, and a pressure gauge 52, a safety valve 53, a pipe 51 connected to a pressurizing side port 3A of a cylinder chamber 12A. A gas cylinder 56 is provided through the on-off valves 54 and 55, and the pipeline 51
The bypass conduit 57 is provided with a pressure reducing valve 58 and an opening / closing valve 59, and the pressurizing conduit 51 is connected to the pressurizing processing conduit 24 via an opening / closing valve 60.

Reference numeral 61 is a pressure medium gas system for retreating the pressure piston, and to a conduit 62 connected to the retreat side port 3B of the cylinder chamber 12A,
Gas cylinder 6 via pressure gauge 63, safety valve 64, open / close valves 65, 66
7 is provided and the bypass line 68 of the line 62 is provided.
Is provided with a pressure reducing valve 69 and an opening / closing valve 70, and is connected to the retreating pipeline 62 to the pressurizing processing pipeline 24 via an opening / closing valve 71.

In the third embodiment, the control signal of the controller 47 is fed back to the pressure reducing valve 58 to control the pressurizing speed of the pressurizing piston 12, and the compressor 26 is used for pressurizing processing. It can be used as a pressure source for controlling the speed of the pressure piston.

Since the other points are common to those of the first embodiment, common parts are indicated by common symbols.

<Fourth Embodiment> In FIG. 4, a cylinder chamber 12A is formed in the lower lid 4 of the lid member 2, a pressurizing piston 12 is fitted in the cylinder chamber 12A, and the tip of the piston 12 is Lower lid 4
And a pressurizing member 15 composed of a hearth 20 and a lower mold 21 penetrating therethrough and protruding into the processing chamber 13.

On the other hand, an upper mold 19 is attached to the upper lid 3 via a connecting tool 18, and the heat insulating layer 10 is attached to the upper lid 3 in a suspended manner.

That is, the fourth embodiment is provided with the first embodiment as a so-called upside down arrangement. In the fourth embodiment, the temperature gradient in the high pressure chamber 5 including the processing chamber 13 is usually
Since the upper side of the high pressure chamber 5 is high and the lower side (bottom) is low, the temperature rise of the cylinder chamber 13 in the pressurizing piston 12 can be suppressed as much as possible, and the processing speed can be controlled more accurately than in the first embodiment. It is valid.

The fourth embodiment also includes the pressure medium supply / discharge device and the pressure piston drive device shown in the first to third embodiments. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the work A is loaded and taken out by the upper take-out method which is performed from the upper lid 3 side.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, one die facing the pressurizing member 15 may be used as a die to be used for extrusion under hot isostatic pressure.

Moreover, in the device of the present invention, the sintering and / or
Alternatively, the densification treatment under hot hydrostatic pressure can be performed, and subsequently the working by the pressurizing piston 12 under hot hydrostatic pressure can be performed. Furthermore, the densification treatment step under hot hydrostatic pressure can be performed after processing by the pressure piston 12 under hot hydrostatic pressure.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is as described above, and the present invention has the following advantages.

Enables processing under hot hydrostatic pressure, not only expanding the plastic working range of difficult-to-process materials based on the increase in ductility due to the action of hydrostatic pressure, but also for materials that exhibit superplastic phenomena such as Ni-based alloys and ceramics On the other hand, the generation of voids can be suppressed to greatly improve the processing limit, or the processing speed can be increased to improve productivity.

Furthermore, the hot isostatic pressing apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to defect removal, densification, and joining of workpieces at the same time, but also to combine these processing and forging with a pressing member. Thus, it is possible to further improve the processing limit described above, or to manufacture a composite material having an unprecedented shape.

Therefore, the present invention can provide a very useful technique for processing in the field of advanced materials having difficult-to-workability which tends to increase in the future.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show the respective embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 1 shows the first embodiment, Fig. 2 shows the second embodiment, Fig. 3 shows the third embodiment, and Fig. 4 shows the fourth embodiment. FIG. 3 is an elevational cross-sectional view of an example. 1 ... high pressure container, 1A, 1B ... opening, 2 ... lid member, 5
...... High pressure chamber, 9 ...... Heating device, 10 ...... Insulation layer, 11 ...... Heating element, 12 ...... Pressure piston, 13 ...... Processing chamber, 15 ...... Pressure member

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An opening (1) at least at one end in the axial direction of the container.
A) High-pressure container (1) having (1B) and the opening (1A)
A high-pressure chamber (5) is defined inside by a lid member (2) that opens and closes (1B) freely, and the high-pressure chamber (5) has an inverted cup-shaped heat-insulating layer (10) and the heat-insulating layer (5). A heating device (9) consisting of a heating element (11) arranged inside the heating device (11) is built in, and the workpiece (A) is heated inside the heating device (9) under hot isostatic pressure. In the hot hydrostatic pressure processing apparatus having a processing chamber (13) for processing, a pressure piston (12) movable in the container axial direction is incorporated in the lid member (2), and the pressure piston ( The tip of 12) is provided with a pressurizing member (15) which penetrates the lid member (2) in the container axial direction and projects into the processing chamber (13). Processing equipment.