Coupling Ring Shaft Assembly for Concentric Turbine Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine shaft assemblies face challenges in maintaining concentricity during assembly and disassembly, leading to wear on interfacing surfaces due to axial movement, which complicates maintenance and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A shaft assembly design featuring coupling rings that form a spigot joint between shafts, with one or both coupling rings being replaceable, and an expandable coupling ring option that aligns and secures shafts concentrically using axial force, reducing wear and simplifying maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rotating components are connected directly to form an interference fit, then concentricity is maintained during assembly, but wear occurs on interfacing surfaces during disassembly and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces coupling rings as separate, replaceable components that segment the connection between rotating components. Instead of direct interference fitting between shafts, the coupling rings are fitted to shafts and mate with each other, allowing the shafts themselves to remain unworn during disassembly and reassembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling rings act as intermediary elements between the rotating components. These intermediaries bear the wear during assembly and disassembly operations, protecting the primary rotating components from surface damage while maintaining the concentricity alignment function.
2Ease of repair
If coupling rings are made replaceable to simplify maintenance, then ease of repair improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling rings are designed as replaceable, consumable components that can be easily replaced during maintenance. Rather than repairing or preserving the entire shaft assembly, worn coupling rings can be replaced with new ones, simplifying maintenance procedures while the modular design manages the increase in component count.
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 maintains shaft concentricity with reduced wear on interfacing surfaces, simplifies maintenance by allowing for easy replacement of coupling rings, and decreases assembly and disassembly time and costs compared to traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
an expandable coupling ring arranged between the outer surface of the first shaft and the inner surface of the second shaft, wherein the expandable coupling ring is configured to selectively expand in a radial direction in order to couple the first and second shafts together
Implementation Method 2
an axial retainer configured to apply an axial force to the expandable coupling ring
Data Source
AI summary
A shaft assembly for a gas turbine engine is provided. The shaft assembly comprises: a first shaft having an outer surface; a first coupling ring disposed around the outer surface of the first shaft, an inner surface of the first coupling ring being coupled to the outer surface of the first shaft; a second shaft having an inner surface; and a second coupling ring disposed around the inner surface of the second shaft, an outer surface of the second coupling ring being coupled to the inner surface of the second shaft, wherein an outer surface of the first coupling ring is configured to mate with an inner surface of the second coupling ring, such that concentricity of the first and second shafts is maintained at the shaft assembly by virtue of the mating of the first and second coupling rings. Methods of assembling and re-assembling a shaft assembly are also provided.