Composite Turbine Engine Vane for Low Mass and Root Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to manufacture turbine engine vanes with a titanium-based alloy root and an aluminium-based radial blade that can withstand high rotational speeds, reduce mass, and resist mechanical, thermal, and environmental stresses, while also addressing erosion and ice accretion issues.
Innovation Solution
A method involving additive manufacturing of the titanium-based alloy root and an aluminium-based blade with a fibrous reinforcement and carbon nanotube coating, which provides mechanical strength, hydrophobicity, and resistance to erosion and ice accretion, using a mould with specific cavity configurations and an aluminium foam compound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If aluminium alloy is used to reduce blade density and mass, then mass is reduced, but mechanical strength and structural hardening are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material consisting of aluminium alloy matrix reinforced with continuous carbon fibres. This composite provides both the low density of aluminium (reducing blade mass) and the high strength of carbon fibres (providing mechanical strength and structural hardening), thus resolving the contradiction between lightweight and strong requirements.
2Strength
If titanium alloy is used for the root to ensure mechanical strength, then strength is improved, but centrifugal forces on the disc increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vane is segmented into two distinct parts with different materials: the root is made of titanium alloy for high strength and secure attachment to the disc, while the blade is made of lightweight aluminium composite to reduce mass and centrifugal forces. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function, resolving the contradiction between root strength and overall centrifugal force reduction.
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 solution enhances the mechanical and hydrophobic properties of the vanes, reducing mass and improving durability and reliability, while maintaining ductility to withstand external objects and particles, and enabling defrosting through electrical resistivity.
Implementation Method 1
making the surface of the considered material hydrophobic... depositing at the surface of the vanes a coating which ensures this function
Implementation Method 2
The fibrous reinforcement enables the surface to withstand the different modes of vibration, fatigue stress, but also to confer the necessary mechanical properties on the blade
Implementation Method 3
injecting a compound comprising aluminium into the first space of the recess of the mould so that the compound impregnates the fibrous reinforcement
Implementation Method 4
The enhanced electrical resistivity properties of the aluminium used in the compound and the formed fibrous reinforcement can enable defrosting by passage of an electric current and heating by Joule effect
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a turbine engine vane a root connected to a blade extending in a longitudinal direction includes the steps of providing a root; and providing mold with a first cavity and a second cavity that together define a recess in which the vane is formed. The recess includes a first space in which the blade is formed and a second space in which the root is formed. The method further includes the steps of providing aluminum strips; positioning a fibrous reinforcement; arranging the vane root in the second space; and injecting a foam comprising aluminum or injecting an aluminum alloy into the first space of the recess of the mold such that the foam impregnates the fibrous reinforcement.