Oil leakage pipeline support of engine

Abstract

The invention provides an oil leakage pipeline support of an engine. The support mainly comprises a base and a plurality of oil leakage connectors. The oil leakage pipeline support is of a multi-fulcrum truss type special-shaped structure and is used for being matched with the curved surface outline of an engine case. The oil leakage connectors are symmetrically distributed on the base and used for collecting fuel oil from an oil leakage pipeline of an engine. Two sets of connecting plates are symmetrically arranged at one end of the base and used for being connected with an engine body. The main body of the base is designed to be of a multi-fulcrum truss type special-shaped structure, so that the base can be tightly matched with the complex curved surface outline of an engine case, compact installation is achieved, and the space in an engine compartment is effectively saved; a plurality of dispersed oil leakage points are gathered to one position through an integrated truss type support structure, and the connecting strength and the mechanical stability of an engine under the complex working condition are ensured through the optimized structural design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of aircraft engine oil leakage and relates to an oil leakage pipeline bracket with a high degree of integration for aircraft engines. Background Technology

[0002] As the core power unit of an aircraft, the operation of an aero-engine involves the efficient management and safe handling of various working fluids, including fuel, lubricating oil, and hydraulic fluid. These fluids circulate in various engine subsystems (such as the fuel supply system, lubrication system, and hydraulic actuation system), but due to factors such as wear of sealing structures, thermal expansion and contraction, vibration fatigue, or system pressure fluctuations, minor leaks are inevitable. Simultaneously, unburned fuel residues may remain in high-temperature areas such as the combustion chamber, turbine casing, outer bypass duct, and afterburner. If these fluids accumulate inside the engine or around critical hot-end components, they can easily ignite in high-temperature environments, seriously threatening flight safety.

[0003] Currently, most aircraft engines use distributed oil leakage lines to drain excess or residual oil from the engine. These lines typically rely on gravity drainage, utilizing the elevation differences within the engine's internal structure and the oil's own weight to achieve directional flow and discharge. Leakage points are usually located in areas prone to oil accumulation, such as bearing cavities, the bottom of the gearbox, downstream of sealing structures, and combustion chamber oil collection troughs.

[0004] However, this type of design has the following inherent limitations: Emission efficiency is affected by attitude: Gravity-driven fuel discharge depends on engine attitude. When the aircraft is not in a horizontal position, emission efficiency may decrease, or even lead to temporary fuel accumulation.

[0005] Oil leaks are scattered and hidden: Due to the complex structure of the engine, oil leaks are usually scattered around different compartments or components, resulting in complex pipeline routing, large space occupation, and difficulty in maintenance and inspection.

[0006] Environmental pollution and flight safety hazards: Direct discharge of oil into the atmosphere may contaminate the aircraft surface or critical equipment, and may even form a flammable vapor cloud, increasing the risk of fire.

[0007] Lack of centralized management and monitoring: Decentralized emission design makes it difficult to achieve unified collection and real-time monitoring of oil leaks, which is not conducive to fault early warning and health management.

[0008] In existing technologies, although some designs attempt to collect leaked oil locally through oil collection tanks or drainage pipes, the problem of integrating multiple oil leak points has not been solved, nor has efficient and controllable centralized treatment been achieved.

[0009] Against this backdrop, the design of existing aircraft engine oil leakage pipelines urgently needs to address the following technical issues: how to achieve efficient collection and safe drainage of multiple, dispersed oil leakage points without relying on gravity for oil drainage, to prevent oil from accumulating inside the engine or being directly discharged into the airframe environment, while reducing fire risk and improving maintainability and monitoring capabilities. Summary of the Invention

[0010] To address the problems of scattered engine oil leak points, low efficiency of gravity-based oil drainage, and difficulty in collection and monitoring in existing technologies, this invention provides an engine oil leak pipeline bracket. Through an integrated truss-type bracket structure, multiple scattered oil leak points are brought together in one place, and the optimized structural design ensures connection strength and mechanical stability under complex engine operating conditions.

[0011] This invention is achieved through the following technical solution: An engine oil leak line bracket, comprising, Base and multiple oil leakage connectors; The oil leakage pipeline support has a multi-point truss-type irregular structure to adapt to the curved contour of the engine casing. The oil leak connectors are symmetrically distributed on the base and are used to collect fuel from the engine's oil leak line; Two sets of connecting plates are symmetrically arranged at one end of the base for connecting to the engine body; Preferably, a side plate is provided on the base and at one end near the connecting plate, and a through hole is provided on the side plate to form a stress relief channel.

[0012] Preferably, a cavity is provided on the side of the base near the connecting plate.

[0013] Preferably, the cavity is provided with second reinforcing ribs on both sides of the cavity, and the inner contour of the second reinforcing ribs is an arc-shaped structure.

[0014] Preferably, the other end of the base is provided with a first reinforcing rib, and the inner contour of the first reinforcing rib is an arc-shaped structure.

[0015] Preferably, the first reinforcing rib has an L-shaped structure.

[0016] Preferably, the connecting plate is symmetrically provided with bolt holes, which are used to connect to the engine body by engaging with bolts.

[0017] Preferably, at the installation position of the oil leak connector, multiple threaded holes are symmetrically arranged around it, and the oil leak connector is symmetrically distributed on the base in an equilateral triangle.

[0018] Preferably, the base adopts a stamped sheet metal frame structure.

[0019] An application of an oil leakage pipeline bracket in an aero-engine, wherein the oil leakage connector of the oil leakage pipeline bracket is connected to the oil leakage pipeline of the aero-engine, and the base is connected to the engine body via a connecting plate.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects: This invention provides an engine oil leak pipeline bracket. By integrating the pipelines from multiple oil leak points that were originally scattered throughout the aircraft engine into several leak joints on this bracket, it achieves unified collection and drainage of leaking oil. This design fundamentally prevents oil from spreading or accumulating throughout the engine compartment, greatly reducing the risk of fire caused by oil contact with high-temperature components. The oil leak points are concentrated in one area, making routine visual inspections, leak detection, and joint replacements much simpler and faster. It eliminates the need to operate on multiple scattered points within the confined space of the engine, significantly shortening maintenance time, reducing the workload and error probability of maintenance personnel, and thus lowering the overall lifecycle maintenance cost. This engine oil leak pipeline bracket features a compact design, effectively enabling centralized collection of leaking oil from aircraft engines, facilitating oil collection by the aircraft, and allowing maintenance personnel to monitor the quality of the leaked oil.

[0021] Furthermore, the present invention adopts a multi-point truss-type irregular structure, which is not only lightweight, but also perfectly adapts to the complex contour of the engine casing, achieving a compact design with high stiffness and modal frequency, effectively avoiding harmful resonance with the engine.

[0022] Furthermore, a multi-layered reinforcement system is constructed by setting L-shaped reinforcing ribs at the edge of the base, reinforcing ribs with arc-shaped inner walls at the connection points, and a cavity structure. These designs greatly enhance the bracket's resistance to bending and torsional stiffness and local pressure bearing capacity with minimal weight loss, ensuring structural integrity under the harsh operating conditions of high engine vibration and high impact.

[0023] Furthermore, the through holes on the side plate are not simply weight-reduction holes; their core function is to create stress-dissipating channels. This design can effectively redistribute and release energy in local stress concentration areas, smooth stress transmission, and reduce the stress concentration factor, thereby significantly improving the fatigue life and long-term reliability of the support.

[0024] Furthermore, the present invention adopts a stamped sheet metal frame structure, which achieves lightweighting of the structure while ensuring all performance requirements, meeting the ultimate pursuit of weight reduction in the aviation field, and has no negative impact on the overall performance of the aircraft. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 A structural diagram of an engine oil leak pipeline bracket; Figure 2 A three-dimensional model of an engine oil leak pipe bracket; In the diagram: 1. Oil leak connector; 2. Base; 3. Connecting plate; 4. Side plate; 5. Through hole; 6. Bolt hole; 7. First reinforcing rib; 8. Second reinforcing rib; 9. Threaded hole. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] This invention provides a bracket for an engine oil leakage pipeline. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the bracket mainly includes a base 2 and an oil leakage connector 1 fixedly installed on it; The base 2 is a sheet metal frame structure manufactured by stamping process and is made of stainless steel to ensure sufficient structural strength, good corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance, and adaptability to the harsh working environment inside the engine compartment.

[0029] The main body of base 2 is designed as a multi-point truss-type irregular structure. It forms a spatial frame with multiple mounting planes through three-dimensional bending, which can closely fit the complex curved contour of the engine casing, achieve compact installation, and effectively save space in the engine compartment.

[0030] At the bottom of the base 2, there are multiple sets of symmetrically distributed bolt holes 6. By using high-strength bolts through these bolt holes 6, the entire bracket can be securely installed on the engine casing or other rigid body structure, ensuring the stability and reliability of the connection.

[0031] The oil leak connector 1 is equipped with an oil outlet hole; multiple installation positions for the oil leak connector 1 are planned on the base 2. Each installation position includes a central oil leak hole and multiple threaded holes 9 symmetrically distributed around the oil leak hole. The oil leak connector 1 is fixed to the base 2 by screws engaging with the threaded holes 9, with its interface facing upwards, for connecting to the original oil leak lines from different oil leak points on the engine. In this way, the oil leaks that were originally scattered are concentrated and guided to the oil leak connector 1 on the bracket, realizing the collection of oil leak points, which facilitates the unified collection, drainage, and real-time monitoring of leaked oil.

[0032] To enhance the structural strength and vibration and impact resistance of the support, multiple reinforcement designs were implemented in key areas of the base 2: L-shaped reinforcing ribs were installed at the edge of the base 2, which greatly enhances the bending stiffness of the base with minimal weight. Through holes 5 are cleverly made on the side plate 4 of the base 2. These through holes 5 can construct stress relief channels, effectively redistribute and release the energy of the local stress concentration area when the engine generates severe vibration during operation, and prevent the generation and propagation of fatigue cracks. Around the mounting hole that connects to the engine block, a recessed receiving cavity is provided. The edge of the cavity is provided with reinforcing ribs, and the inner wall of the reinforcing ribs adopts an arc-shaped structure design. This streamlined transition can smoothly transfer stress, avoid stress concentration at sharp corners, and improve the fatigue life of the connection.

[0033] This invention successfully solves the problem of dispersed and difficult-to-collect oil leaks in aero engines by using a highly integrated, structurally reinforced, and highly adaptable dedicated bracket, while ensuring structural integrity in harsh environments and improving the overall safety and maintainability of the engine.

[0034] Example 1 This embodiment provides a specific implementation of an engine oil leak pipe bracket.

[0035] First, a three-dimensional survey was conducted based on the actual curved surface profile of the engine casing, and computer-aided design software was used to complete the structural design of the multi-point truss bracket.

[0036] The bracket is manufactured using a one-piece sheet metal stamping process, and the material is 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel. This material has good mechanical strength and corrosion resistance, and can adapt to the high temperature and high vibration working environment of aero engines.

[0037] The main body of the bracket adopts a multi-point truss structure design, which is perfectly fitted to the outer contour of the engine casing through three-dimensional curved surface forming technology. The mounting base of the bracket adopts a curved surface adaptation design to ensure that the mounting contact area with the engine casing is maximized, thereby improving connection rigidity and vibration performance.

[0038] Two sets of symmetrically distributed connecting plates 3 are provided at the mounting end of the bracket. Each set of connecting plates 3 has two high-precision bolt holes 6 with a diameter of 8mm, and the hole position tolerance is controlled at level H7. These bolt holes 6 are used to securely install the bracket onto the mounting base of the engine casing using 12.9 grade high-strength internal hex bolts.

[0039] On the functional surface of the bracket, there are three oil drain connector installation positions 1. These three installation positions are arranged in an equilateral triangle with a side length of 50mm. Each installation position includes a central oil drain hole with a diameter of 10mm, and three M5 threaded holes 9 symmetrically distributed around the hole at 120 degrees.

[0040] The installation positions of the three oil leak joints arranged in an equilateral triangle can achieve uniform stress distribution, reduce the risk of local stress concentration, optimize space utilization through geometric symmetry, ensure the structural stability of the bracket in the high vibration environment of the aero-engine, and facilitate centralized monitoring of fuel leakage at each leak point, thereby improving oil leakage collection efficiency and system reliability.

[0041] The oil leak connector 1 is made of 316 stainless steel and is fixed with M5×16 internal hex screws. The sealing surface of the connector adopts an O-ring seal design to ensure the reliability of the seal at the connection.

[0042] To improve structural rigidity, a continuous L-shaped first reinforcing rib 7 is provided on the outer edge of the base 2. The first reinforcing rib 7 adopts a rounded transition design, which ensures the reinforcement effect while avoiding stress concentration.

[0043] Before installation, install O-rings on the oil leak sealing surface of the connector to ensure reliable sealing. Next, connect the oil leak lines of each part of the engine to the corresponding oil leak connector 1, and use aviation clamps to secure the connections to prevent them from falling off.

[0044] In practical use, the bracket successfully consolidated multiple oil leak points that were originally scattered across different locations on the engine into a single area, facilitating routine inspections and maintenance by ground crew. Centralized monitoring of leak volume allows for timely detection of anomalies in the engine's sealing system, providing crucial information for preventative maintenance. After 500 hours of actual flight testing, the bracket demonstrated excellent structural stability and reliability, fully meeting the operational requirements of aero-engines.

[0045] Example 2 This embodiment further optimizes the stress distribution and local reinforcement design based on Embodiment 1. A stress optimization structure is specifically designed in the connecting plate 3 area of ​​the support. Three through holes 5 with a diameter of 12mm are opened in the transition area of ​​the connecting plate 3. These through holes 5 not only reduce the structural weight, but more importantly, form effective stress distribution channels. By optimizing the position and size of the holes through finite element analysis, the stress concentration factor is reduced by more than 35%.

[0046] A recessed cavity structure is designed at the connection between the connecting plate 3 and the main structure. The cavity depth is 5mm, and arc-shaped second reinforcing ribs 8 are provided on both sides of the cavity. This design makes the stress distribution more uniform and improves fatigue life.

[0047] During installation, first pre-install the bracket onto the engine casing using high-strength bolts, then tighten the bolts diagonally using a torque wrench. Install the three oil leak connectors according to the torque requirements, ensuring a reliable seal without damaging the threads.

[0048] The through holes 5 on the side plate 4 are not simply weight-reduction holes; their core function is to create stress-dissipating channels. This design can effectively redistribute and release the energy in local stress concentration areas, smooth stress transmission, and reduce the stress concentration factor, thereby significantly improving the fatigue life and long-term reliability of the support.

[0049] The bracket design passed vibration, fatigue, and environmental tests. Vibration tests were conducted according to GJB150.16A-2009 standard. Within the 20-2000Hz frequency range, under an acceleration of 15g, the bracket's first natural frequency reached 350Hz, significantly higher than the engine's operating frequency range, thus avoiding resonance. Fatigue tests showed that no visible cracks appeared in the bracket after 107 cycles of loading, fully meeting the service life requirements of the aero-engine.

[0050] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0051] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0052] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixation," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances. When a component is said to be "fixed to" another component, it can be directly on the other component or there may be an intervening component. When a component is considered to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be an intervening component. When a component is considered to be "set on" another component, it can be directly set on the other component or there may be an intervening component.

[0053] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0054] It should be understood that, when used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms "comprising" and "including" indicate the presence of the described features, integrals, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integrals, steps, operations, elements, components and / or collections thereof.

[0055] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0056] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art can readily implement the present invention based on the accompanying drawings and the above description. However, any modifications, alterations, or variations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention, utilizing the disclosed technical content, are equivalent embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, any modifications, alterations, or variations made to the above embodiments based on the essential technology of the present invention are still within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bracket for an engine's oil leakage pipeline, characterized in that, include, Base (2) and multiple oil leakage connectors (1); The oil leakage pipeline support has a multi-point truss structure to adapt to the curved contour of the engine casing. The oil leak connector (1) is symmetrically distributed on the base (2) and is used to collect fuel from the engine oil leak line; Two sets of connecting plates (3) are symmetrically arranged at one end of the base (2) for connecting to the engine body.

2. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, A side plate (4) is provided on the base (2) and at one end near the connecting plate (3). A through hole (5) is provided on the side plate (4) to form a stress relief channel.

3. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, A cavity is provided on one side of the base (2) near the connecting plate (3).

4. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 3, characterized in that, The cavity is provided with second reinforcing ribs (8) on both sides of the cavity, and the inner contour of the second reinforcing ribs (8) is an arc-shaped structure.

5. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, The other end of the base (2) is provided with a first reinforcing rib (7), and the inner contour of the first reinforcing rib (7) is an arc-shaped structure.

6. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first reinforcing rib (7) has an L-shaped structure.

7. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, The connecting plate (3) is symmetrically provided with bolt holes (6), which are connected to the engine body by engaging with bolts.

8. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, At the installation position of the oil leak connector (1), multiple threaded holes (9) are symmetrically arranged around it. The oil leak connector (1) is symmetrically distributed on the base (2) in an equilateral triangle.

9. The engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base (2) adopts a stamped sheet metal frame structure.

10. The application of an engine oil leakage pipe bracket in an aero-engine, based on the engine oil leakage pipe bracket according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The oil leak connector (1) of the oil leak pipe bracket is connected to the oil leak pipe of the aircraft engine, and the base (2) is connected to the engine body through the connecting plate (3).

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