Gas Turbine Airfoil Cooling via Segmented Core Cavities
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airfoil designs for gas turbine engines face challenges in providing sufficient cooling, particularly in hot sections where conventional cooling methods may not be effective, leading to thermal issues.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an axial extension of the second core cavity along the first exterior wall with heat transfer augmentation features such as pin fins, trip strips, and teardrops, and impingement holes of radial, axial, or angular orientations to enhance cooling efficiency, eliminating the need for an interior cold wall by directing high momentum jets along the external hot walls and creating a 'dead zone' within the second core cavity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional cooling cavities are used in airfoils, then cooling is provided to airfoil bodies, but hot sections exist where cooling is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling cavity is divided into a first core cavity and a second core cavity separated by a first cavity wall. The first core cavity supplies impingement air to the second core cavity through impingement holes in the first cavity wall, creating segmented cooling zones that address different thermal requirements independently
Solution Approach 2:
The second core cavity features an exterior side wall with interior surfaces that receive high momentum impingement air jets directed at specific hot sections. Heat transfer augmentation features are placed at specific locations to enhance cooling where thermal loads are highest, providing localized cooling quality matching the thermal profile
2Temperature
If hybrid cavity geometries with interior cold walls are used, then cooling is enhanced, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention eliminates the interior cold wall (second cavity wall) from the hybrid cavity geometry. The second core cavity is defined by the first cavity wall and the exterior side wall, removing the unnecessary second cavity wall while maintaining cooling effectiveness through the impingement flow architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The first core cavity and second core cavity are merged into a connected cooling system where the first core cavity supplies air to the second core cavity through impingement holes. This merging eliminates the need for separate cold wall structures while maintaining effective cooling through the integrated impingement flow path
3Temperature
If cooling cavities are designed with detailed cooling structures, then cooling is provided to match heat load, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system uses dynamic impingement air jets with high momentum that adapt to the hot section thermal profile. The impingement holes in the first cavity wall direct jets that dynamically respond to flow conditions, providing effective cooling without requiring complex static structures
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of the cooling air by creating high momentum impingement jets through the impingement holes. The velocity, pressure, and flow direction are transformed as air passes through the impingement holes and strikes the exterior side wall, providing enhanced cooling with simple structural changes
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 approach improves cooling efficiency by generating high momentum jets along the external hot walls, reducing thermal transfer and enabling radial cooling flows, thus enhancing the part life and cooling effectiveness while minimizing weight by eliminating the need for conventional hybrid cavity geometries.
Implementation Method 1
A first core cavity supplies impingement air into a second core cavity through a first cavity wall having one or more impingement holes to direct impingement air into the second core cavity along an interior surface of a first exterior side wall of the second core cavity
Implementation Method 2
side cooling flows that are generated by airflow that flows from the first core cavity along interior side walls of the second core cavity and then is expelled out of the airfoil
Implementation Method 3
The design incorporates an axial extension of the second core cavity along the first exterior wall with heat transfer augmentation features such as pin fins, trip strips, and teardrops
Data Source
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AI summary
An airfoil for a gas turbine engine comprises an airfoil body having a first core cavity (902) and a second core cavity (904) located within the airfoil body and adjacent the first core cavity, wherein the second core cavity is defined by a first cavity wall (912), a second cavity wall (914), a first exterior wall (916), and a second exterior wall (918), wherein the first cavity wall is located between the first and second core cavities. The first cavity wall includes a first surface (924) angled toward the first exterior wall and a second surface (926) angled toward the second exterior wall. At least one first cavity impingement hole (920, 922) is formed within the first surface. At least one circuit exit (946, 948) is located in the first exterior wall, the at least one circuit exit arranged to expel air from the second core cavity through the first exterior wall. A core structure for manufacturing an airfoil for a gas turbine engine comprises first and second core cavity cores to form first and second core cavities; wherein a space between the first and second core cavity cores defines a first cavity wall. At least one first cavity impingement stem extends between the first and second core cavity cores to form at least one first cavity impingement hole.At least one film exit core attached to the second core cavity core to form at least one circuit exit in the first exterior wall.