3D Contoured Vane Endwall for Variable Area Turbine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine engines face challenges in achieving variable flow through turbine nozzles due to their severe operating environment, which can compromise structural integrity and durability, and pose difficulties in sealing movable airfoil portions with cylindrical, conical, or curved flowpath walls.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an arcuate vane platform segment with a substantially flat surface and a rotational turbine vane that rotates across this surface, allowing for adjustable throat areas in the turbine nozzle, utilizing an actuator system to minimize structural complexity and aerodynamic losses, and incorporating a faceted flowpath and integrated cooling apertures to maintain efficiency and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable turbine nozzle vanes are implemented to achieve variable flow, then flow control capability is improved, but structural integrity and durability deteriorate due to increased degree of freedom and severe operating environment
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine nozzle is divided into multiple independent vane segments that can rotate relative to each other about radial spindles. Each vane is mounted on a separate radial spindle and can be individually adjusted, allowing flow control while maintaining the structural integrity of each segment. The vanes are collectively rotated using an annular unison ring attached to lever arms joined to each spindle, enabling coordinated adjustment without compromising overall structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The turbine nozzle transitions from a fixed configuration to a dynamic, adjustable system where each vane can rotate about its radial spindle axis. This dynamic capability allows the nozzle to adapt to different flight conditions (subsonic and supersonic) by varying the throat area, while the hub and tip clearances permit smooth rotation without compromising structural rigidity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If movable airfoil portions are introduced for variable throat area, then flow variability is improved, but sealing difficulty increases due to cylindrical, conical, or curved flowpath walls
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing approach transitions from attempting to seal along the curved cylindrical or conical flowpath walls to sealing at the hub and tip ends of the vanes. The hub clearance and tip clearance provide sealing surfaces perpendicular to the radial spindles, creating planar sealing interfaces that are much easier to implement than sealing along curved surfaces. This dimensional change in the sealing approach simplifies the sealing mechanism while maintaining throat area variability.
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine section of a gas turbine engine includes an arcuate vane platform segment having a substantially flat surface over which a rotational turbine vane may swing.