Fluid-cooled channel construction

Claim 1

A method of forming corrosion-resistant cooling channels in a wall member for the flow of a corrosive cooling medium therethrough comprising the sequential steps of: coating the outer surface of a wall member with a first metallic layer to form a wall substrate having a metallic coating overlay; machining said first metallic layer to a predetermined thickness; forming open channels having bottom and side wall surfaces through said overlay and into said substrate such that said channels are separated by lands; activating said channels bottom, side wall surfaces and land surfaces by the electrodeposition thereon of a second metallic layer of a thickness less than said first metallic layer and a third metallic layer over said second metallic layer of a thickness less than said first metallic layer; electrodepositing onto the thus activated channels bottom, side wall surfaces and lands surfaces a fourth metallic layer at least as thick as said first metallic layer; filling said open channels with a meltable substance having a melting temperature less than that of said substrate and said metallic layers; removing from said lands surface area said second, third and fourth metallic layers to expose said first metallic layer; burnishing into said meltable substance a conductive metallic material; depositing a final outer metallic layer over said coated substrate and said meltable substance; heating said meltable substance to a temperature sufficient to melt said substance; and causing said substance to flow out of said channels leaving a finished wall member having closed corrosion-resistant cooling channels therein.

Claim 2

A method of forming corrosion-resistant cooling channels in a wall member for the flow of a corrosive cooling medium therethrough comprising the sequential steps of: coating the outer surface of a wall member with a first metallic layer to form a wall substrate having a metallic coating overlay; machining said first metallic layer to a predetermined thickness; forming open channels having bottom and side wall surfaces through said overlay and into said substrate such that said channels are separated by lands; activating said channels bottom, side wall surfaces and land surfaces by the electrodeposition thereon of a second metallic layer of a thickness less than said first metallic layer and a third metallic layer over said second metallic layer of a thickness less than said first metallic layer; electrodepositing onto the thus activated channels bottom, side wall surfaces and lands surfaces a fourth metallic layer at least as thick as said first metallic layer; filling said open channels with a meltable substance having a melting temperature less than that of said substrate and said metallic layers; removing from said lands surface area said second, third and fourth metallic layers to expose said first metallic layer; burnishing into said meltable substance a conductive metallic material; depositing a final outer metallic layer over said coated substrate and said meltable substance; heating said meltable substance to a temperature sufficient to melt said substance; and causing said substance to flow out of said channels leaving a finished wall member having closed corrosion-resistant cooling channels therein.