Combustor Liner Support Members for Fastener Heat Shielding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Combustor liner panels in gas turbine engines face issues with stud damage and fastener burn-through due to misaligned effusion apertures, leading to potential stud liberation and engine damage.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates support members with angled or perpendicular first portions and second portions that form partially enclosed spaces for fasteners, shielding them from hot gas flow, and uses shiplap joints and reinforcement members to enhance structural integrity and thermal expansion compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If studs are integrally cast into the liner panel at the hot flow path surface, then the liner panel can be attached to the combustor housing, but the studs are subjected to hot gas environments causing damage and burn-through
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fastener from the hot flow path environment by using a support member that extends laterally from the base, positioning the mounting orifice away from the hot gas path. This separates the fastening function from the hot flow path surface, allowing attachment while protecting fasteners from thermal damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The support member acts as an intermediary structure between the base and the fastener. It provides a mounting surface that is spaced from the hot flow path surface, mediating the connection between the liner panel and combustor housing while shielding the fastener from direct exposure to hot gases.
2Temperature
If effusion cooling apertures are positioned around the stud, then cooling can be provided, but misaligned apertures disrupt the cooling layer causing burning around the stud
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the stud entirely from the hot flow path surface and replaces it with a support member having a mounting orifice spaced from the surface. This eliminates the need for effusion cooling apertures around a stud, avoiding the alignment issues that disrupt the cooling layer.
3Reliability
If the first portion of the support member is angled or perpendicular, then fasteners are shielded from hot gas flow, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The support member is segmented into a first portion (attached to the base) and a second portion (extending laterally with the mounting orifice). This segmentation allows the structure to provide fastener protection while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through modular construction.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A combustor liner segment (1, 1A, 1B) which includes a base (40) having an inner surface (41), an outer surface (42), a front edge, a rear edge, and two side edges (80). The liner segment further includes a front wall (90) extending from the front edge of the base (40), and a rear wall (95) extending from the rear edge of the base (40). The combustor liner segment also includes at least one support member (50) having a first portion (60) and second portion (70). The combination of the first portion (60), the second portion (70), the outer surface (42), the front wall (90), and the rear wall (95) form a partially enclosed space (100).