Segmented Damper Pin With Spring Member For Turbine Blade Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vibration dampers for turbine blades in turbomachines often require costly rework if they do not perform as expected during engine testing, as their performance is not fully known until then, and they lack the ability to independently tune resonant modes without altering the blade design.
Innovation Solution
A damper pin with a spring member, such as a helical spring, is positioned between adjacent turbine blades to frictionally dissipate vibrational energy, allowing for independent tuning of natural frequency modes without requiring changes to the existing turbine blade design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional vibration dampers (round damper pins, sheet metal flat dampers, or complex wedge shaped dampers) are used, then damping function is provided, but damper performance cannot be tuned independently without changing blade design and tooling rework is required if performance is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The damper pin is segmented into multiple functional components: a body portion, a spring member, and a mass portion. This segmentation allows each component to be independently designed and tuned for optimal performance without requiring changes to the entire blade assembly or tooling rework.
Solution Approach 2:
The damper pin utilizes parameter changes by varying the mass, stiffness, and geometric dimensions of its components to tune the natural frequency and damping characteristics. This enables independent performance tuning without modifying the blade design or requiring tooling rework.
2Ease of manufacture
If vibration dampers are designed with fixed geometry, then manufacturing is simplified, but resonant mode tuning cannot be achieved without altering blade design
Solution Approach 1:
The damper pin incorporates a spring member that provides dynamic flexibility, allowing the damper to adapt its characteristics based on operating conditions. This enables resonant mode tuning without requiring complex geometric variations or blade design modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring member acts as an intermediary element between the damper body and mass portion, enabling independent tuning of damping characteristics while maintaining simple manufacturing processes for each component.
3Reliability
If damper performance is optimized after engine testing, then initial engine test performance can be improved, but costly tooling rework is required if damper does not perform as expected
Solution Approach 1:
The damper pin is designed with preliminary tuning capabilities that allow optimization of damping characteristics before engine testing. The spring member and mass portion can be pre-configured to achieve desired natural frequency and damping ratios, avoiding costly tooling rework after testing.
Solution Approach 2:
By enabling parameter changes in the damper's mass and stiffness characteristics through its modular design, the system allows performance optimization to be achieved without modifying the blade design or requiring expensive tooling rework.
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 damper pin effectively reduces vibration amplitude and allows for resonant mode tuning, enhancing the high cycle fatigue life of turbine blades while avoiding costly tooling rework by providing a damping solution that can be optimized before engine testing.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member extending between the first end portion and the second end portion
Implementation Method 2
frictionally dissipate vibrational energy
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6
AI summary
A damper pin 100 for damping adjacent turbine blades coupled to a rotor shaft 24 includes a first end portion 102 that is axially spaced from a second end portion 104 and a spring member 108 that extends axially from an inner surface of the first end portion 102 to an inner surface of the second end portion 104. The first end portion 102, the spring member 108 and the second end portion 104 define a generally arcuate top portion 114 of the damper pin 100. The top portion 114 is configured to contact with a groove 48 defined between the adjacent turbine blades.