Oil-gas separator and aero-engine

Abstract

According to the oil-gas separator arranged on the rotor part, the rotor part is arranged between a first space and a second space, and the first space is internally provided with an oil-gas mixture; the oil-gas separator comprises a seat body and a plurality of column pipes, the seat body is fixedly arranged on the rotor part and comprises a mounting seat and an oil return hole which are distributed in the circumferential direction, and the oil return hole communicates with the first space; the plurality of column pipes are respectively arranged on the mounting seat, comprise inlet bent pipes and reducing pipes, and form a channel for communicating the first space with the second space; wherein the column pipe is obliquely arranged relative to the radial direction of the rotor part, and the inclination direction is the same as the rotating direction of the rotor part. According to the oil-gas separator, active collection of an oil-gas mixture can be achieved, the self-adaptive oil-gas separation capacity can be achieved according to the operation state of an engine, and the good oil-gas separation effect is achieved. The invention further provides an aero-engine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of aviation engines, and in particular to the field of oil-gas separation structures. Background Art

[0002] Aircraft gas turbine engines contain bearing components that are used to achieve high-speed rotation of the engine main shaft. In order to prevent the bearings from being attacked by the high-temperature gas in the engine, it is necessary to use sealing gas to seal the bearings in the bearing cavity. Since the bearings need to rotate at high speeds, sufficient lubricating oil is required to remove the heat generated inside the bearings and fully lubricate them.

[0003] However, the sealing gas used to seal the bearing cavity enters the bearing cavity and, after mixing with the lubricating oil, will take away a large amount of lubricating oil from the bearing cavity, causing the lubricating oil to be consumed. Especially when the engine is at high speed, excessive lubricating oil consumption will lead to insufficient bearing cooling and the risk of bearing failure.

[0004] Therefore, the oil-gas separation device is an important component of the aircraft engine lubricating oil system, and its purpose is to separate the lubricating oil from the hot gas in the lubricating oil system. The separated lubricating oil is recycled and reused, and the excess air is discharged into the atmosphere, so that the engine can maintain a low lubricating oil consumption for a long time to maintain the lubricating oil system bearings to be fully lubricated and cooled. Generally, the conventional oil-gas separator is provided with ventilation holes on the fan shaft, and the oil-gas mixture is radially sprayed into the shaft cavity through the ventilation holes on the fan shaft, and a vortex is formed under the drive of the shaft. The centrifugal force generated causes the heavier oil droplets to be thrown to the inner wall and flow back into the bearing cavity, while the air is discharged through the ventilation outlet.

[0005] However, due to the high radial momentum of the oil and gas entering the shaft cavity through the conventional oil-gas separator, the short axial distance between the oil and gas radial inlet position and the air exhaust inlet, the residence time of the vortex motion of the oil-gas mixture is very short. Studies have found that if the oil-gas vortex motion does not have enough residence time, it will directly lead to poor oil-gas separation effect. Summary of the invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an oil-gas separator having a better oil-gas separation effect.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an oil-gas separator is arranged on a rotor component, and the rotor component is arranged between a first space and a second space, and an oil-gas mixture is contained in the first space; the oil-gas separator comprises a seat body and a plurality of column tubes, and the seat body is fixedly arranged on the rotor component, and comprises a circumferentially distributed mounting seat and an oil return hole, and the oil return hole is connected to the first space; a plurality of column tubes are respectively arranged on the mounting seat, and comprise an inlet bend pipe and a tapered pipe, so as to form a channel connecting the first space and the second space; wherein, the column tubes are arranged obliquely relative to the radial direction of the rotor component, and the inclination direction is the same as the direction of rotation of the rotor component.

[0008] In one or more embodiments, the inlet axis of the inlet elbow is arranged to be tangential to the rotor member.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, the inlet elbow and the reducer are connected tangentially.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the axial direction of the rotor part is defined as the X-axis, the tangential direction of the rotor part is defined as the Z-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and the Z-axis is defined as the Y-axis; the inclination angle of the reducer is set to make the angle range of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the YOZ plane be 10° to 30°; and / or the angle range of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the XOZ plane be 70° to 80°; and / or the angle range of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the Z-axis be 100° to 120°.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the angle of the airflow direction in the reducer to the YOZ plane takes a minimum value within a set range, and the angle of the airflow direction in the reducer to the Z axis takes a minimum value within a set range.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, the column tube is detachably disposed on the mounting seat.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, both ends of the oil return hole are communicated with the first space and the second space respectively.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the oil return hole is disposed on a first side of the column tube, and the first side is a centrifugal side of the airflow ejected from the column tube outlet.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, two ends of the oil return hole are respectively communicated with the first space and the channel.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the number of column tubes ranges from 16 to 30.

[0017] Another object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft engine, comprising a bearing chamber, a fan shaft and a fan shaft chamber, wherein the fan shaft chamber is connected to the atmosphere, and the above-mentioned oil-gas separator is arranged on the fan shaft.

[0018] The oil-gas separator is provided with an axial tube with an inclined inlet, so that the oil-gas mixture can actively enter the bent tube with the help of the rotation speed of the rotor. The initial inlet speed of the oil-gas mixture is greatly improved compared with the traditional radial column oil-gas separator, which provides sufficient kinetic energy for oil-gas separation and promotes the active collection of the oil-gas mixture. The tapered outlet flow channel design increases the momentum of the outlet airflow and effectively improves the oil-gas separation effect. In addition, the oil-gas separator can also automatically adjust the initial inlet speed of the oil-gas mixture according to the operating state of the engine rotor. The higher the speed, the higher the oil-gas separation efficiency, and has better adaptability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The above and other features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, in which:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an aircraft engine bearing cavity;

[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an oil-gas separator;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the motion trajectory of the airflow in the oil-gas separator;

[0023] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional view of the column tube of the oil-gas separation device.

[0024] Description of Reference Numerals

[0025] 1 Bearing cavity

[0026] 2 Sealing structure

[0027] 3. First bearing

[0028] 4 Second bearing

[0029] 5 Rotor parts

[0030] 6 static components

[0031] 9 Second Space

[0032] 10 Bearing outer cavity

[0033] 11 First Space

[0034] 12 Compressed gas

[0035] 13 Oil and gas separator

[0036] 14 Gas

[0037] 20 column tube

[0038] 21 Mounting seat

[0039] 22 Outlet airflow path

[0040] 23 Oil and gas mixture

[0041] 24 Inlet airflow path

[0042] 26 Oil return hole

[0043] 30 base

[0044] 31 channels

[0045] 206 Closing section

[0046] 207 Flared section

[0047] 208 Reducer

[0048] 209 Inlet elbow DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with specific embodiments and drawings. More details are elaborated in the following description to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can obviously be implemented in a variety of other ways different from the description herein. Those skilled in the art can make similar generalizations and deductions based on actual application situations without violating the connotation of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should not be limited by the content of this specific embodiment.

[0050] It should be noted that these and other subsequent drawings are only examples and are not drawn to scale, and should not be used to limit the actual scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the bearing cavity 1 formed between the rotors and stators of the aircraft engine is usually sealed by a sealing structure 2 and air to ensure that the lubricating oil used for lubrication and cooling of the first bearing 3 and the second bearing 4 does not leak.

[0052] During the operation of the engine, since air enters the bearing cavity and mixes with the lubricating oil, the lubricating oil in the bearing cavity 11 usually exists in the form of oil gas, and the bearing outer cavity 10 will draw a stream of compressed air 12 with a certain pressure to block the oil gas trying to leak out in the bearing cavity and build up the pressure of the bearing cavity 11. However, in order to avoid problems such as unstable oil supply and return in the lubricating oil system caused by excessive air.

[0053] The current engine usually uses a ventilation pipe on the fan shaft 5 as an oil-gas separator. The gas 14 in the bearing cavity 11 will be radially sprayed into the shaft cavity 9. The gas 14 entering the shaft cavity 9 is stirred by the shaft and performs a vortex motion. The oil droplets in the gas 14 are separated from the air by the centrifugal force, thrown on the shaft wall, and flow back to the bearing cavity 11; and the separated air moves backward through the shaft cavity 9 of the fan shaft 5 and is discharged into the atmosphere that circulates with it. However, since the axial distance between the radial inlet position of the oil and gas and the air discharge inlet is usually very short, the oil and gas with high radial momentum enter the oil-gas separator and stay in the vortex motion for a very short time, resulting in a very poor oil-gas separation effect.

[0054] The oil-gas separator 13 described in the present disclosure refers to Figures 2 to 4 It is understood that the oil-gas separator is arranged on the rotor member, and is used to suck the oil-gas mixture in the first space and separate at least part of the oil and gas from the oil-gas mixture, and the separated gas enters the second space.

[0055] In the following description, for ease of understanding, the bearing inner cavity 11 refers to the first space, the shaft cavity 9 refers to the second space, and the fan shaft 5 refers to the rotor part. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the first space, the second space and the rotor part include but are not limited to the above-mentioned specific examples. In addition, the axial direction of the fan shaft 5 of the rotor part is defined as the X-axis, the tangential direction of the fan shaft 5 is defined as the Z-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and the Z-axis is defined as the Y-axis, that is, the circumferential direction of the fan shaft 5.

[0056] The oil-gas separator 13 includes a plurality of column tubes 20. The seat body 30 is fixedly arranged on the rotor component and operates synchronously with the rotor component. It includes a circumferentially distributed mounting seat 21 and an oil return hole 26. The oil return hole 26 is connected to the first space, that is, connected to the bearing inner cavity 11. After the oil flows into the oil return hole 26 from the outlet of the oil-gas separator 13, it flows back to the bearing inner cavity 11 through the oil return hole 26.

[0057] In one embodiment, the oil return hole 26 communicates the first space with the second space. Figure 4 As shown, after the oil flows into the rotating shaft cavity 9 from the outlet of the oil-gas separator 13, it flows back to the bearing inner cavity 11 through the oil return hole 26. Preferably, the oil return hole 26 is arranged on the first side of the column tube, and the first side is the centrifugal side of the airflow ejected from the column tube outlet, so that more oil droplets ejected at high speed fall into the oil return hole 26, thereby increasing the collection effect. In another embodiment, the oil return hole 26 connects the first space and the channel inside the column tube 20, so that the separated oil droplets flow back to the bearing inner cavity 11 through the oil return hole 26.

[0058] Back to Figure 2As shown, the column tube 20 is arranged on the mounting seat 21. In some embodiments, the column tube 20 is detachably arranged on the mounting seat 21 by, for example, threaded connection. The number of column tubes is preferably in the range of 16 to 30. Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, 18 column tubes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the seat body 30. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the number of column tubes includes but is not limited to the above embodiment, and is determined by specific working conditions.

[0059] The column tube 20 includes an inlet elbow 209 and a reducer 208, which form a channel 31 connecting the first space and the second space, that is, the channel 31 connects the bearing cavity 11 and the shaft cavity 9. The inlet elbow 209 and the reducer 208 are connected tangentially, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a "pipe-shaped" structure is formed. The installation angle of each "pipe-shaped" column tube 20 has a three-dimensional angle in space. The oil-gas mixture 23 in the bearing inner cavity 11 will pass through the channel 31 of the "pipe-shaped" column tube on the fan shaft 5 and enter the shaft cavity 9.

[0060] Each column tube 20 is tilted relative to the radial direction of the rotating shaft, and the tilting direction is the same as the rotation direction of the rotating shaft. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the installation angle of the column tube 20 is inclined and diffused, and the diffusion direction is in the same direction as the clockwise rotation direction 100 of the fan shaft 5. The inlet axis of the inlet elbow 209 of the column tube 20 is set to be tangent to the rotating shaft, so the inlet airflow of the oil-gas mixture 23 is tangent to the fan shaft 5. When the fan shaft 5 rotates, it drives the plunger 20 to rotate together, and at this time, the oil-gas mixture 23 within the inlet cross-section range of the inlet elbow 209 channel is actively collected as much as possible into the channel of the plunger 20, that is, the rotation force of the engine rotor is used to realize the active collection of oil and gas in the bearing cavity through the inlet elbow 209, so that the oil-gas separator can adjust the oil-gas separation capacity to match the engine operation state.

[0061] The inclined converging tube 208 is designed to make the outlet air flow velocity Greater than the inlet velocity of the oil-gas mixture The centrifugal force of the oil and gas outlet is further increased, thereby further enhancing the oil and gas separation effect.

[0062] The operation process is as follows: after the engine starts running, the lubricating oil system will gradually build up pressure; since the shaft cavity 9 of the fan shaft is connected to the atmosphere and has a lower pressure, the pressure in the bearing cavity 11 is greater than the pressure in the shaft cavity 9; driven by the pressure difference between the inner and outer cavities, the oil-gas mixture 23 enters the column tube along the inlet airflow path 24 and flows in the channel 31 in the column tube 20.

[0063] Affected by the three-dimensional tilted installation position of the plunger 20, the oil-gas mixture 23 will be at the initial inlet velocity The inlet elbow 209 is entered according to the inlet airflow path 24. The inlet axis of the inlet elbow 209 is designed to be tangent to the rotor member and the inclination angle is the same as the rotation of the rotor member, so that the oil-air mixture 23 from the bearing inner cavity 11 enters the expansion section 207 of the convergent tube 208 without momentum loss after entering the channel 31, and then flows out from the closing section 206 through the outlet airflow path 22 and enters the shaft cavity 9.

[0064] Therefore, during the process of the oil-gas mixture entering, the inlet elbow 209 utilizes the rotation speed of the fan shaft 5 to make the oil-gas 23 obtain the initial inlet velocity The initial inlet velocity Compared with the traditional radial column tube oil-gas separator, it is greatly improved, providing sufficient kinetic energy for oil-gas separation, and also increasing the active collection of the oil-gas mixture in the bearing cavity 11; during the flow of the oil-gas mixture in the channel 31, under the rotation of the fan shaft 5, the tapered tube 208 does work on the oil and gas, and the tapered channel converts the pressure energy into kinetic energy, so that the outlet velocity of the airflow is higher than the initial inlet velocity. The separated gas flow is discharged through the outlet of the converging pipe 208 , and the separated oil flows back to the bearing inner cavity 11 through the oil return hole 26 on the seat body 30 .

[0065] Inlet speed The velocity vector can be decomposed into the velocity vectors along the YOZ plane and the velocity vector along the XOZ plane. and Then and It can be further decomposed into axial velocity, tangential velocity and radial velocity respectively.

[0066] The tangential velocity It is beneficial to strengthen the vortex motion of oil and gas in the shaft cavity 9, such as Figure 3 As shown, the airflow entering the column tube 20 obliquely will have a greater tangential velocity. This creates a greater centrifugal force, thereby enhancing the effect of separating the oil droplets from the air; at the same time, the tangential injection into the shaft cavity additionally causes the oil-air mixture to generate a backward axial velocity. The axial backward velocity The plane vortex motion of the oil and gas entering the rotating shaft cavity 9 is transformed into a spiral motion in space, which increases the path of the oil and gas vortex motion, and directly prolongs the residence time of the oil and gas vortex motion, which can effectively improve the oil and gas separation efficiency; and because the speed of the oil and gas mixture Tilt entry makes the radial velocity is greatly reduced, which is conducive to prolonging the residence time of oil and gas in vortex motion. Figure 3As shown in the rear view of the oil-gas separator, the schematic diagram of the outlet airflow path 22 of the final oil-gas mixture is spiral when viewed from front to back.

[0067] Three speeds The size of will affect the oil-gas separation effect respectively, so the selection of the spatial installation angle of the column tube 20 is very important. In some embodiments, the inclination angle of the reducer 208 is set to make the angle A of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the YOZ plane range from 10° to 30°; and / or the angle B of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the XOZ plane range from 70° to 80°; and / or the angle C of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the Z axis range from 100° to 120°.

[0068] Preferably, the angle A of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the YOZ plane is minimized within the set range to increase the inlet airflow tangential velocity as much as possible. The centrifugal force is then increased. The angle C of the airflow direction in the convergent tube relative to the Z axis is as close to 90° as possible, that is, the angle of the airflow direction in the convergent tube relative to the Z axis takes the minimum value within the set range, so as to extend the airflow's movement residence time in the channel as much as possible. As a result, the radial momentum of the oil-gas mixture discharged into the shaft cavity is reduced, while the tangential momentum of the oil-gas mixture is increased, thereby effectively increasing the centrifugal force on the oil-gas mixture, thereby enhancing the oil-gas separation effect.

[0069] It should be noted that the value ranges of the above-mentioned angles include but are not limited to the listed embodiments, and those skilled in the art will make trade-offs and match them according to the limitations of the column tube structure and the layout space.

[0070] As the engine speed increases, the pressure of the main bearing cavity sealing gas 12 increases, which increases the amount of air entering the bearing inner cavity 11, and the flow rate and pressure of the oil-gas mixture discharged will also increase. The above-mentioned oil-gas separator can further increase the initial inlet velocity of the oil-gas mixture with the help of the increasing speed of the rotating shaft, so that the oil-gas separator can synchronously and adaptively improve the oil-gas separation efficiency as the speed increases, matching the engine working conditions, and having adaptive separation performance compared to the column tube arranged along the radial direction. The overall structure of the device is simple and easy to install.

[0071] Combined with the above introduction to the oil-gas separator, one can also understand an aircraft engine, which includes a bearing chamber, a fan shaft and a fan shaft chamber, the fan shaft chamber is connected to the atmosphere, and the above-mentioned oil-gas separator is arranged on the fan shaft. The oil-gas separator has better separation ability, realizes efficient separation and recovery of lubricating oil in the oil-gas mixture of the lubricating oil system, greatly reduces the lubricating oil consumption rate, reduces the risk of bearing damage, and realizes the adaptation of oil-gas separation ability and rotor speed, and has good adaptive ability.

[0072] It should be noted that the above content uses words such as "first" and "second" to limit components, which is only for the convenience of distinguishing the corresponding components. If not otherwise stated, the above words have no special meaning and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of this application.

[0073] At the same time, the present application uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present application. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different positions in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, some features, structures or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application can be appropriately combined.

[0074] Although the present invention is disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An oil-gas separator, arranged on a rotor member, wherein the rotor member is arranged between a first space and a second space, wherein the first space contains an oil-gas mixture; characterized in that: The oil-gas separator includes: a seat body, fixedly disposed on the rotor member, comprising circumferentially distributed mounting seats and oil return holes, wherein the oil return holes are connected to the first space; and A plurality of column tubes, respectively disposed on the mounting seat, including an inlet elbow and a tapered tube, forming a channel connecting the first space and the second space; The column tube is tilted relative to the radial direction of the rotor component, and the tilting direction is the same as the rotation direction of the rotor component.

2. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inlet axis of the inlet elbow is arranged to be tangential to the rotor member.

3. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inlet elbow and the reducer are connected tangentially.

4. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The axial direction of the rotor member is defined as the X-axis, the tangential direction of the rotor member is defined as the Z-axis, and the direction perpendicular to the X-axis and the Z-axis is defined as the Y-axis; The inclination angle of the reducer is set so that the angle of the airflow in the reducer relative to the YOZ plane is in the range of 10° to 30°; and / or the angle of the airflow direction in the reducer relative to the XOZ plane is in the range of 70° to 80°; And / or the angle range of the airflow direction in the convergent tube relative to the Z axis is 100° to 120°.

5. The oil-gas separator according to claim 4, characterized in that: The angle between the airflow direction in the reducer and the YOZ plane takes a minimum value within a set range, and the angle between the airflow direction in the reducer and the Z axis takes a minimum value within a set range.

6. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The column tube is detachably arranged on the mounting seat.

7. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both ends of the oil return hole are communicated with the first space and the second space respectively.

8. The oil-gas separator according to claim 7, characterized in that: The oil return hole is arranged on a first side of the column tube, and the first side is a centrifugal side of the airflow ejected from the column tube outlet.

9. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both ends of the oil return hole are communicated with the first space and the channel respectively.

10. The oil-gas separator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the column tubes ranges from 16 to 30.

11. An aircraft engine, comprising a bearing cavity, a fan shaft and a fan shaft cavity, wherein the fan shaft cavity is connected to the atmosphere, characterized in that: The fan shaft is provided with an oil-gas separator as described in any one of claims 1-10.

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