Turbine Airfoil Cooling Circuit with Serial Flow Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines face challenges in efficiently cooling components like the high pressure turbine, which operates at extremely high temperatures, with existing cooling methods not fully addressing the thermal management needs.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a cooling system that combines skin cooling circuits and wall cooling passages, where cooling air flows through channels in the outer surface and then into wall cooling passages, creating a serial air flow path to effectively dissipate heat from turbine blades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional interior cooling circuits are used to cool turbine blades, then the blades can be cooled at high temperatures, but the cooling air flow requirements are high and thermal uniformity is not optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into two distinct segments: skin cooling circuits formed in the outer surface and wall cooling passages formed in the outer wall. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific cooling function efficiently, with the skin cooling circuit handling surface heat and the wall cooling passages handling internal heat, thereby reducing total cooling air flow requirements while maintaining thermal uniformity across the blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The skin cooling circuits are nested within the outer surface structure, and the wall cooling passages are nested within the outer wall structure. This nested configuration allows the cooling system to be integrated into the blade structure itself, enabling efficient heat extraction from both the surface and internal regions without requiring excessive cooling air flow.
2Temperature
If dedicated cooling circuits are provided for different portions of the blade, then specific areas can be cooled effectively, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The skin cooling circuits and wall cooling passages work together as an integrated multi-functional cooling system. The skin cooling circuits provide cooling for the outer surface, while the wall cooling passages provide cooling for the blade interior. This universal cooling approach covers all critical areas of the blade without requiring separate dedicated circuits for each portion, thereby maintaining localized cooling effectiveness while avoiding excessive system complexity.
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 cooling system reduces cooling air flow requirements by 30-50% compared to traditional methods, decreases specific fuel consumption, and enhances thermal uniformity, providing structural integrity and improved engine performance.
Implementation Method 1
cooling air flows through channels in the outer surface and then into wall cooling passages, creating a serial air flow path to effectively dissipate heat from turbine blades
Implementation Method 2
This cooling system reduces cooling air flow requirements by 30-50% compared to traditional methods, decreases specific fuel consumption, and enhances thermal uniformity
Data Source
AI summary
An airfoil for a turbine engine having an engine component including an air supply circuit coupled to a plurality of passages within the outer wall of the engine component where cooling air moves from the air supply circuit to an outer surface of the engine component through the passages.