Cowl Integration to Combustor Wall via Additive Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine combustors face challenges in efficiently guiding compressed air and maintaining structural integrity due to the stresses caused by airflow, heat, and vibrations, which can lead to component failures and inefficiencies in operation.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a cowl with the combustor wall as a unitary structure within the cassette, formed through Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM), reduces the number of components and coupling locations, enhancing structural integrity and optimizing airflow while minimizing material usage and weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the cowl and combustor wall are manufactured as separate components requiring assembly, then ease of manufacture is improved, but structural integrity and reliability deteriorate due to coupling locations and potential installation failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the cowl and combustor wall into a single monolithic component manufactured using additive layer manufacturing (ALM). This merging eliminates the need for separate components and coupling locations, thereby resolving the contradiction by maintaining structural integrity while still enabling manufacture through advanced additive processes.
2Reliability
If the cowl and combustor wall are integrated as a unitary structure, then structural integrity and reliability are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical assembly methods with additive layer manufacturing (ALM) technology. This substitution enables the creation of complex integrated geometries that would be difficult to manufacture conventionally, resolving the contradiction by using advanced manufacturing to handle the complexity while achieving superior structural integrity.
3Ease of operation
If separate components are used with multiple coupling locations, then ease of assembly is improved, but productivity decreases due to increased manufacturing time and installation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the cowl and combustor wall into a single component, the patent eliminates multiple assembly steps and coupling locations. Although the component geometry is complex, the monolithic structure reduces overall manufacturing time and installation complexity, resolving the contradiction by improving productivity through integration.
4Ease of manufacture
If more material is used for separate components and couplings, then ease of manufacture is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses additive layer manufacturing to create an integrated structure that optimizes material distribution. This substitution of manufacturing methodology enables weight reduction by eliminating redundant coupling materials while maintaining structural integrity, resolving the contradiction by using advanced manufacturing for precise material placement.
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 solution reduces manufacturing time, decreases component failures, and improves the structural integrity and efficiency of gas turbine engine operation by integrating the cowl with the combustor wall, allowing for precise tuning of engine performance and impact resistance.
Implementation Method 1
The cassette may include a plurality of layers successively fused together by powder bed fusion
Data Source
AI summary
A combustion section of a gas turbine engine may include a cassette configured to couple to an annular combustor dome arranged around a flow path for the gas turbine engine. The annular combustor dome may include a dome wall comprising a plurality of inlets configured to receive compressed air for a combustion chamber located downstream, relative to the flow path, from the annular combustor dome. The cassette may include a combustor wall extended away from the dome wall in a downstream direction. The cassette may further include a cowl integral to the combustor wall. At least a portion of the cowl may extend away from the dome wall in an upstream direction relative to the flow path. The cowl may receive compressed air from a diffusor and guide the compressed air to a space upstream from the inlets, relative to the flow path.