Clustered Inlet Particle Separator for Gas Turbine Engines
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing particle separators for gas turbine engines are inadequate in effectively separating undesirable materials like sand, dust, and liquids from air, which can harm internal components, necessitating a more efficient design.
Innovation Solution
A unique particle separator design for gas turbine engines that utilizes three radially spaced flowpaths divided by annular dividers, with inner and outer scavenge conduits and a material flow conduit to separate particles based on inertia, ensuring clean air passes through to the engine while diverting contaminants into scavenging conduits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional particle separator designs are used, then the structure is simpler, but the separation effectiveness is insufficient and contaminants can damage engine components
Solution Approach 1:
The particle separator is divided into multiple independent flowpaths (first, second, third flowpaths) with separate scavenge conduits for each. This segmentation allows each flowpath to independently separate particles from air, improving overall separation effectiveness while maintaining modular simplicity in the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The scavenge conduits are positioned within or alongside the flowpaths in a nested arrangement, where the inner scavenge conduit is surrounded by the outer scavenge conduit. This nested structure allows multiple separation functions to be integrated in a compact configuration, improving separation capability without proportionally increasing external dimensions.
2Reliability
If multiple scavenge conduits are used to improve particle removal, then separation effectiveness increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scavenge conduits are segmented into inner and outer conduits, each serving specific flowpaths. The inner scavenge conduit serves the second flowpath, while the outer scavenge conduit serves the first and third flowpaths. This segmentation improves particle removal efficiency by providing dedicated scavenging paths while organizing the conduit configuration in a systematic, manageable manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer scavenge conduit serves multiple flowpaths (first and third flowpaths), making it a multi-functional component. This universality allows a single conduit structure to handle particle removal from multiple sources, improving overall particle removal efficiency while reducing the total number of separate conduit components needed.
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
The design effectively separates particles from air flows, preventing damage to gas turbine engine components by ensuring clean air enters the engine while diverting contaminants, enhancing operational reliability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
inertial particle separators for application with gas turbine engines
Data Source
AI summary
A particle separator for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The particle separator includes flow dividers operable to divide flow in a gas turbine engine particle separator and flow scavengers operable to scavenge flow in a gas turbine engine particle separator.