Turbine Blade Tip Contour for Lower Tip Leakage Vortex Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine rotor blade tip leakage leads to inefficiencies, increased heat loads, and engine cycle losses due to vortex generation, which affects performance and durability.
Innovation Solution
The rotor blade tip geometry is designed with a contour that shifts towards the suction side wall, featuring a maintained or contracted shape and offset contours to reduce tip leakage interaction and delay vortex generation, enhancing aerodynamic efficiency and cooling effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional blade tip geometry is used, then manufacturing is simpler, but tip leakage interaction increases leading to vortex generation and efficiency loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying only the tip region geometry while maintaining the rest of the blade structure. The tip contour is specifically shaped with a shifted leading edge and modified suction side wall to control leakage flow, while the blade root and mid-section remain conventional. This localized modification reduces tip leakage losses without requiring complete redesign of the entire blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent addresses tip leakage by introducing a three-dimensional contour modification at the blade tip that extends in multiple directions. The tip geometry is shifted toward the suction side wall and features a complex spatial configuration that controls the leakage flow path in the radial, tangential, and axial dimensions, thereby delaying vortex formation and reducing energy loss.
2Loss of energy
If blade tip geometry is modified to reduce leakage, then energy loss decreases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies specific geometric parameters of the blade tip including the contour shape, leading edge position, and suction side wall configuration. These parameter changes are designed to optimize the tip geometry for reduced leakage while maintaining manufacturability through controlled modifications rather than complete redesign.
3Loss of energy
If tip clearance is reduced to decrease leakage, then tip leakage loss decreases, but blade durability and cooling effectiveness are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying only the tip region geometry while maintaining the rest of the blade structure. The tip contour is specifically shaped with a shifted leading edge and modified suction side wall to control leakage flow, while the blade root and mid-section remain conventional. This localized modification reduces tip leakage losses without requiring complete redesign of the entire blade.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent addresses tip leakage by introducing a three-dimensional contour modification at the blade tip that extends in multiple directions. The tip geometry is shifted toward the suction side wall and features a complex spatial configuration that controls the leakage flow path in the radial, tangential, and axial dimensions, thereby delaying vortex formation and reducing energy loss.
4Temperature
If cooling is increased to reduce heat load at tips, then temperature is reduced, but engine cycle loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful tip leakage flow into a beneficial cooling mechanism. The modified tip geometry directs the leakage flow to enhance cooling effectiveness on the blade suction side, transforming what was previously a source of energy loss into a useful cooling resource that reduces tip temperatures without requiring additional cooling resources.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for a gas turbine engine include a rotor having a rotor blade that has a base, a tip, and an outer surface defined by a leading edge, a trailing edge, a suction side wall, and a pressure side wall, all extending between the base and the tip. Geometry of the tip of the rotor blade has a contour that is directed first toward the suction side wall at the leading edge, and then toward one of the pressure side wall or the suction side wall at the trailing edge. The geometry has a maintained or contracted shape that is shifted toward the suction side wall. The geometry is configured to reduce tip leakage interaction of the rotor to delay onset of tip vortex generation and desensitize the rotor to tip clearance.