Composite Gas Turbine Casing Mold with Sealing O-Rings
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of composite material gas turbine casings faces challenges in ensuring perfect sealing of injection molds, which are complicated by the large number of sealing points and the need for sealing on non-planar surfaces.
Innovation Solution
An injection mold design featuring an axisymmetric mandrel with a central annular wall and side plates, using molding wedges and axisymmetric outer bells with sealing O-rings between them, reducing the number of sealing points to four and allowing for easy sealing between planar surfaces, and enabling rapid identification of leaks by vacuum testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional injection mold design is used with multiple sealing elements, then sealing coverage is improved, but device complexity and sealing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sealing functions into a single sealing element that simultaneously seals between the mandrel and bell, and between the two bells. This consolidation reduces the number of sealing points from multiple separate seals to just two critical sealing locations, simplifying the overall mold structure while maintaining comprehensive sealing coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is designed with multi-functionality to perform multiple sealing tasks. It creates sealing interfaces at different locations (mandrel-bell interface and bell-bell interface) through a unified design, eliminating the need for separate sealing components at each interface and reducing overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If sealing is performed on non-planar surfaces, then sealing coverage is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating planar sealing surfaces at specific critical locations (mandrel end face and bell attachment flanges) rather than attempting to seal complex non-planar surfaces throughout. This localized approach to creating flat sealing interfaces simplifies manufacturing while ensuring reliable sealing at the most critical junctions.
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 design simplifies the sealing process, reduces the number of sealing points, and allows for quick identification of defective seals without disassembling the entire mold, while providing a significant compaction force on the fiber reinforcement during the manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
sealing O-rings being inserted between the bells and the plates of the mandrel, the bells each being provided with an attachment flange for bearing against one another with at least one sealing O-ring inserted therebetween
Implementation Method 2
The winding on a mandrel of a woven texture of varying thickness as described in this document makes it possible to directly provide a tubular preform having the desired profile with variable thickness. Different closing wedges are then applied to the fiber reinforcement wound on the mandrel.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an injection mold (4) for manufacturing a rotary part made of a composite material having outer flanges, comprising a mandrel (2) on which a fiber reinforcement is intended to be held (9) and including a central wall (6) the profile of which matches that of the part to be manufactured and two side plates (8), molding wedges (12) for bearing against a non-covered surface of the fiber reinforcement, and two outer bells (14) for covering the molding wedges and the plates of the mandrel with sealing O-rings (24) being inserted between the bells and the plates of the mandrel, the bells each being provided with an attachment flange (20) for bearing against one another with at least one sealing O-ring (26) inserted therebetween, the attachment flanges of the bells being clamped against one another.