Compressor Airfoil Blend Repair Using Engine History Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for repairing damaged airfoils in gas turbine engines often require removal of the engine for excessive blend sizes, leading to significant downtime and cost, as existing repair guidelines are conservative and do not account for the engine's operational history or the condition of other components.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize statistical surrogate models to assess and recommend blend geometries based on the airfoil's history, engine conditions, and other components' conditions, allowing for in-engine repairs and reducing unnecessary work by considering factors like pressure, temperature, and cycle history, and providing instructions for reduced stress or lower thrust operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conservative blend size limits from guide manuals are applied, then safety and structural integrity are ensured, but repair flexibility is reduced and unnecessary engine removals occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic repair guidelines that adapt blend size limits based on the engine's actual operational history, damage characteristics, and component condition. Instead of static conservative limits, the system calculates allowable blend sizes in real-time considering factors like cycle count, pressure-temperature exposure, and damage location, enabling flexible yet safe repairs
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters used to determine blend limits from fixed manual values to dynamic values based on engine history data, damage geometry, and structural assessments. This allows the blend size limits to be optimized for each specific case rather than applying uniform conservative restrictions
2Ease of manufacture
If engine removal is performed for excessive blend sizes, then complete repair capability is achieved, but maintenance downtime and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessments of engine history, damage characteristics, and structural integrity before determining repair requirements. By evaluating whether a blend can be safely performed in-engine based on pre-analysis of engine conditions and damage parameters, the system avoids unnecessary engine removals and reduces maintenance downtime
3Productivity
If in-engine blending is performed, then maintenance downtime is reduced, but repair precision and safety margins may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback loops where blend recommendations are generated based on engine history and damage assessment, then actual blend results and post-repair inspections are fed back into the system. This continuous feedback enables refinement of blend precision while maintaining in-engine repair efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical inspection and measurement methods with advanced non-destructive testing techniques and digital modeling. This substitution enables precise blend geometry control and safety verification while performing repairs in-engine, maintaining both productivity and precision
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~1C
Figure 2
AI summary
A method of developing a suggested blend repair to an airfoil (84) includes the steps of: (a) storing history with regard to a particular airfoil (84) in a particular engine (20); (b) taking information with regard to new damage to the particular airfoil (84); (c) reaching an initial blend recommendation based upon step (b); (d) assessing whether the initial blend recommendation of step (c) would be appropriate to repair the new damage based upon a consideration of steps (a) - (c); and (e) reporting a final blend recommendation. A corresponding airfoil repair recommendation system is also provided.