Turbine Cooling Passage Exit Inserts for Excess-Cooling Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current process for adjusting the size of exit openings in cooling passages of turbine system components is time-consuming and prone to poor quality outcomes, as it involves completely filling and re-opening each exit opening, which is inefficient and tedious.
Innovation Solution
A hollow member made of a material with a higher melt temperature than the operating temperature of the turbine system is coupled into the cooling passages, reducing the exit opening's cross-sectional area to less than the original, thereby reducing cooling capabilities where excess capacity exists, and this is achieved through methods like brazing or soldering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the current process of filling and re-opening each exit opening is used to adjust cooling passage size, then the cooling capability can be modified, but the process is time-consuming and produces poor quality outcomes
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow member is pre-formed with the desired reduced cross-sectional area configuration before insertion. By preparing the size-reducing component in advance rather than modifying the exit opening through filling and re-opening operations, the process time is significantly reduced while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow member serves as an intermediary component that is inserted into the cooling passage to reduce the exit opening cross-sectional area. This mediator approach replaces the direct filling and re-opening process, enabling precise control of the reduced area while avoiding the time-consuming and quality-prone conventional method.
2Productivity
If the exit opening cross-sectional area is reduced to optimize cooling capacity, then cooling efficiency improves, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solution segments the cooling passage modification into two distinct parts: the original cooling passage structure and the separately inserted hollow member. This segmentation allows the hollow member to be pre-manufactured with the precise reduced cross-sectional area needed for optimized cooling, simplifying the overall process while maintaining high cooling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow member acts as an intermediary device that simplifies the complexity of directly modifying the cooling passage exit opening. By inserting this pre-configured component rather than performing complex filling and re-opening operations, the process complexity is reduced while achieving the desired cooling efficiency optimization.
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 approach allows for a more efficient use of cooling capacity by identifying and reducing the cross-sectional area of specific cooling passages with excess capacity, enhancing the overall efficiency of the turbine system component.
Implementation Method 1
a hollow member coupled in the cooling passage and defining a first exit opening at the exterior surface of the body, the first exit opening in the hollow member having a second cross-sectional area that is less than the first cross-sectional area
Implementation Method 2
the hollow member is coupled in the cooling passage by a braze material
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine system component includes a body having an exterior surface, and a cooling passage defined in the body. The cooling passage has a first cross-sectional area in the body. The component also includes a hollow member defining a first exit opening at the exterior surface of the body and coupled in the cooling passage. The hollow member, at the first exit opening, has a second cross-sectional area that is less than the first cross-sectional area, creating an exit opening with a smaller dimension than the original cooling passage. The hollow member is made of a material having a melt temperature higher than an operating temperature of the turbine system. The hollow member(s) reduces the cooling capabilities of the cooling passage. A cooling profile of the component can be generated to identify those cooling passages having excess cooling so they can have their exit openings reduced in cross-sectional area.