Dual-Walled Gas Turbine Components via Chemical Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine components, particularly those in hot sections, face challenges in withstanding high temperature environments that approach or exceed the softening or melting points of materials used, leading to potential damage and reduced efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A dual-walled component structure is formed using chemical etching to create support structures and cooling channels, where a superalloy spar is bonded with a coversheet, allowing for efficient heat dissipation through cooling air flowing through these channels, reducing the temperature of the components and improving engine efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a single-walled structure is used for hot section components, then the component structure is simple and manufacturing is easier, but the component cannot withstand high temperature environments that approach or exceed the softening or melting points of the materials
Solution Approach 1:
The component is divided into two separate walls (hot section part and cold section part) with cooling channels formed between them. This segmentation allows the hot section to be exposed to high temperature gases while the cold section remains at lower temperatures, effectively resolving the temperature withstand issue without requiring complex internal cooling systems within a single wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are formed by nesting one wall within another, creating a dual-walled structure where the cold section part is positioned inside or adjacent to the hot section part. This nested configuration allows cooling air to flow through the channels between the walls, providing thermal protection to the hot section component.
2Temperature
If cooling channels are added to reduce component temperature, then the component can withstand high temperature environments, but the structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channels are formed during the casting process itself by creating recesses in one wall and protrusions in the other wall before assembly. This preliminary formation of cooling channel structures eliminates the need for complex post-casting machining or drilling operations, significantly simplifying the manufacturing process while still providing effective cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The structural support function and the cooling channel function are merged into a single dual-walled structure. The walls serve both as structural components and as boundaries for the cooling channels, eliminating the need for separate cooling channel structures and simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
3Reliability
If thermal barrier coatings are applied to protect components from high temperatures, then the component material is protected, but the coating may deteriorate or fail under extreme thermal and mechanical conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling air is introduced as an intermediary substance that flows through the channels between the dual walls, creating a thermal barrier between the hot section part and the cold section part. This active cooling mechanism provides more reliable and durable protection compared to passive thermal barrier coatings, as it actively removes heat rather than relying on coating materials to resist thermal degradation.
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 dual-walled structure effectively reduces the temperature of components exposed to high-temperature environments, enhancing cooling efficiency and maintaining the component temperature below the ambient temperature, thereby increasing engine efficiency and reducing the risk of material melting or softening.
Implementation Method 1
passing a cooling fluid, such as air, across or through a portion of the component to aid in cooling of the component
Implementation Method 2
the plurality of support structures defining at least one cooling channel between the at least one of the hot section part or the cold section part and the corresponding cold section part or the corresponding hot section part
Implementation Method 3
chemically etching at least one of a hot section part or a cold section part to form an etched part having plurality of support structures
Implementation Method 4
bonding the etched part to a corresponding cold section part or a corresponding hot section part to form a dual-walled component
Implementation Method 5
a plurality of braze or diffusion bond joints that fix the cold section part to the hot section part
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for forming a dual-walled component for a gas turbine engine that include chemically etching at least one of a hot section part or a cold section part to form an etched part having plurality of support structures and bonding the etched part to a corresponding cold section part or a corresponding hot section part to form a dual-walled component, with the plurality of support structures defining at least one cooling channel between the at least one of the hot section part or the cold section part and the corresponding cold section part or the corresponding hot section part.