Aerofoil Cooling Passage Structure Without Casting Cores
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine vanes require effective cooling to withstand high temperatures, but existing methods often result in variations in cooling passage thickness and size, and the use of cores can introduce weak points and complexity in the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
The aerofoil design features a body formed from two separate portions with a dividing sheet creating a cooling passage, eliminating the need for cores and allowing for better control over cooling passage dimensions and materials selection, which improves cooling efficiency and reduces temperature exposure for the dividing sheet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a core is used in the casting process to form internal passages, then the cooling passage can be formed within the vane, but this introduces weak points and artefacts that reduce reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The vane is divided into two separate body portions (first and second body portions) that are bonded together. The cooling passage is formed by the bonding interface between these portions, eliminating the need for a core. This segmentation approach allows the cooling passage to be formed without introducing weak points or artefacts associated with core removal, while maintaining precise dimensional control through the bonding process.
2Productivity
If the cooling passage is made thinner to improve cooling efficiency, then cooling performance increases, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling passage geometry is predetermined by the bonding interface design between the two body portions. The bonding process itself establishes the precise thickness and geometry of the cooling passage wall, eliminating the need for post-casting machining or core-based formation. This preliminary establishment of dimensions through bonding ensures consistent thickness even for thin passages, maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling improved cooling efficiency.
3Temperature
If the same high-temperature material is used for the entire vane including the dividing wall, then temperature resistance is maintained, but material costs and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vane structure employs different materials for different regions based on their functional requirements. The body portions are made from high-temperature resistant material suitable for the extreme thermal environment, while the dividing wall (formed by the bonding interface) can be made from a different material with lower cost and different properties. This local differentiation allows optimization of each region's material properties for its specific function, reducing overall material costs and manufacturing complexity while maintaining high-temperature resistance where required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design simplifies manufacturing, reduces variations in cooling passage dimensions, enhances cooling efficiency, and lowers material costs by allowing for the use of less expensive materials for the dividing sheet, while maintaining high-temperature resistance for the body.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling passage arranged to conduct cooling fluid adjacent the body, for cooling the body
Data Source
AI summary
Aerofoil including: a body comprising first body portion and second body portion bonded to first body portion, first and second body portions having outer faces forming an outer surface of the aerofoil, and inner faces opposing the outer faces; a channel formed within the aerofoil by the inner faces of the first body portion and the second body portion; and a dividing sheet provided within the channel, such that a cooling passage is formed between the dividing sheet and the inner face of at least one of the first body portion and second body portion, cooling passage arranged to conduct cooling fluid adjacent the body, for cooling the body; wherein the body has a rear face and an opposing front face; and the dividing sheet extends parallel to at least a portion of a rear face of the body, such that the cooling passage formed parallel to the rear face.