Double-Row Compressor Stators via Additive Blade Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for manufacturing overlapping or interlaced pairs of compressor stator blades in gas turbine engines are inefficient, relying on separate blade fabrication and assembly through brazing or welding, which can be improved with advanced metal fabrication techniques.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using additive manufacturing to deposit and fuse metal layers, forming stator blades and support structures, and then removing these supports to create a compressor stator with improved structural integrity and gas path access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If separate blade fabrication and assembly through brazing or welding is used, then manufacturing process is simpler, but manufacturing efficiency is lower and structural integrity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate blade components into a single integrated structure manufactured through additive manufacturing. Instead of fabricating blades separately and assembling them through brazing or welding, the invention creates an integrated blade assembly where multiple blades are formed as one continuous metal structure, eliminating assembly steps and improving structural integrity while maintaining manufacturing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameter from traditional subtractive or assembly-based methods to additive manufacturing. This parameter change enables the creation of complex integrated geometries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve through separate fabrication and assembly, thereby improving both manufacturing efficiency and structural integrity simultaneously
2Strength
If additive manufacturing with support structures is used, then structural integrity is enhanced and complex geometries are enabled, but manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the support structures after the additive manufacturing process is complete. The support structures serve only as temporary fixtures during manufacturing to enable complex geometries and ensure structural integrity, but they are not part of the final blade assembly. This extraction principle allows the use of complex support structures during manufacturing without permanently increasing the complexity of the final product
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates support structures during the preliminary additive manufacturing process to enable the formation of complex blade geometries. These support structures are strategically placed beforehand to provide necessary structural framework during manufacturing, and then removed after the blades are formed, allowing complex geometries to be achieved without compromising the final structural integrity
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 enhances the manufacturing efficiency and structural integrity of compressor stators by allowing for complex geometries and reduced material waste, while providing better access for finishing and surface optimization.
Implementation Method 1
using additive manufacturing to deposit and fuse together progressive layers of metal material commencing at a substrate to form the first stator blade, the second stator blade
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a compressor stator having: a first stator blade with a first leading edge and a first trailing edge; a second stator blade disposed a circumferential distance from the first stator blade, the second stator blade having a second leading edge disposed an axial distance from the first leading edge and a second trailing edge disposed an axial distance from the first trailing edge; the method comprising: using additive manufacturing to deposit and fuse together progressive layers of metal material commencing at a substrate to form the first stator blade, the second stator blade, at least one intermediate support structure disposed between the first stator blade and the second stator blade, and at least one primary support structure disposed between the substrate and at least one of: the first stator blade; and the second stator blade; and removing the primary support structure and the intermediate support structure.