Turbomachine Compressor Asymmetric Contoured Wall Ring

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing compressor designs in turbine engines face limitations in optimizing flow rate and compression ratio due to flow separations and pumping phenomena in the inter-blade passages, particularly in the corners of blades, which affect efficiency and reliability.

Innovation Solution

An axial turbomachine compressor with an annular stream, featuring a guide surface with an axisymmetric or substantially planar zone that crosses the inter-blade passage, including a main bump and hollow, where the bump is convex and the hollow is concave, optimizing the flow by reducing corner separations and vortices through specific geometric configurations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a non-axisymmetric geometry with hump and trough is used in the guide surface, then flow control is improved, but flow separations occur in the blade corners and pumping phenomena arise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveflow rateVSAvoidflow separation
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The guide surface is divided into distinct zones with different geometric characteristics: an axisymmetric zone and a non-axisymmetric zone with hump and trough. Each zone serves a specific function - the axisymmetric zone prevents flow separation while the non-axisymmetric zone controls the flow pattern, allowing local optimization of different surface regions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The guide surface geometry is segmented into multiple functional zones including an upstream zone, an axisymmetric zone, and a downstream zone. This segmentation allows each zone to address specific flow control requirements independently, preventing adverse interactions between different flow control mechanisms

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If the bump height and hollow depth are increased to improve flow control, then the geometric complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompression ratioVSAvoidguide surface geometry
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention optimizes specific geometric parameters of the hump and trough features, including their heights, depths, lengths, and positions relative to the blade chord. By carefully controlling these parameters within specific ranges, the invention achieves effective flow control while limiting excessive geometric complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3477050B1Turbomachine compressor with asymmetricly contoured wall ring
Publication Date: 2022.03.02 SAFRAN AERO BOOSTERS SA
  • EP3477050B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3477050B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3477050B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a low-pressure compressor for an axial turbomachine. The compressor, or booster, comprises: a first blade (26A) with an intrados surface (38); a second blade (26B) with an extrados surface (40); an inter-blade passage with a guide surface (44) that connects the intrados surface to the extrados surface, defining the annular groove, and which has a ridge (58) and a trough (54) forming a geometry known as "3D contouring," or a non-axissymmetric surface. The guide surface includes an axisymmetric or substantially flat area (42) that axially traverses the inter-blade passage so as to separate the trough (54) from the ridge (58).