Turbine Engine Foreign-Body Capture Housing for Bird Ingestion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing turbomachines are vulnerable to damage from foreign bodies like birds, with current interception systems failing to capture large debris and leading to increased mass, stress on bearings, and fuel consumption, while oversizing components does not guarantee complete protection.
Innovation Solution
A foreign body interception system with a blind housing and access door mechanism, mounted upstream of the compressor, that automatically captures and stores foreign objects without affecting aerodynamics, using a passive mechanical linkage to maintain the access door in a closed position by default and open only under impact force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If grooves are formed in the intermediate casing to trap debris, then small debris can be captured, but large foreign objects like whole birds cannot be captured and may reach the compressor
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate casing is segmented into multiple functional zones: a first zone with grooves for capturing small debris, and a second zone with a blind housing for capturing large foreign objects. This segmentation allows each zone to handle specific size ranges of debris, thereby resolving the contradiction between capturing small debris and adapting to large objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a radial dimension to debris capture by forming a blind housing that extends radially inward from the intermediate casing. This creates a three-dimensional capture volume rather than just surface grooves, enabling the system to accommodate large foreign objects that cannot be trapped by two-dimensional groove structures alone.
2Reliability
If turbomachine components are oversized to eliminate foreign body risk, then protection against foreign bodies is improved, but mass increases leading to increased stress on bearings and fuel consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The interception system performs preliminary action by capturing foreign objects in the second zone before they can reach and damage the compressor and combustion chamber. This preventive measure eliminates the need to oversized components for protection, as the foreign body risk is addressed upstream by the blind housing and access door mechanism.
3Device complexity
If a passive mechanical linkage is used to maintain the access door closed by default, then the system remains simple and reliable, but the door can only open under sufficient impact force from foreign bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The access door system is self-service in that it automatically opens and closes based on the impact force of foreign objects without requiring external control systems. The passive mechanical linkage with spring bias provides the necessary detection and response mechanism, maintaining simplicity while ensuring reliable operation through the inherent mechanical response to foreign body impacts.
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
Effectively captures and stores large foreign bodies like birds, preventing damage to the turbomachine while maintaining optimal performance and efficiency, reducing mass and fuel consumption, and eliminating the risk of combustion chamber failure.
Implementation Method 1
open the access door in the open position following the application of a force by the foreign body on the access door
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An aircraft gas turbomachine (1) comprising an interception system (5) for at least one foreign body mounted in an interior zone (Z1), the interception system (5) comprising: a blind housing (51) formed in an inner wall (41) of a casing (4) externally delimiting the interior zone (Z1), and intended to receive the foreign body; an access door (52) to the blind housing (51) configured to move between a closed position (P0) in which it partly forms the inner wall (41), and an open position; and a mechanical linking member (53), connecting the access door (52) to the casing (4), configured, on the one hand, to maintain by default the access door (52) in the closed position (P0) and, on the other hand, to open the access door (52) in the open position following the application of a force by the foreign body on the access door (52).