Attritable Engine Lubrication Network With Bearing Mist Dispersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Attritable aircraft engines face challenges in efficiently lubricating ball bearing assemblies due to the need for complex fluid dispensing systems and cross-drilling processes, which increase manufacturing time and cost while risking catastrophic failures from improper lubrication.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an additively manufactured lubrication system with a dispersion cone that forms a mist of lubricant, evenly coating the exterior surface of ball bearing assemblies, and eliminating the need for cross-drilling by integrating lubrication channels that can be curved.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fluid dispensing systems with multiple parts and cross-drilling are used, then lubrication can be provided to ball bearing assemblies, but manufacturing time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the lubrication system directly into the engine support structure as a single monolithic component manufactured via additive manufacturing. The lubrication channels, dispersion cones, and structural elements are merged into one unified part, eliminating the need for separate fluid dispensing components and cross-drilling operations. This resolves the contradiction by providing reliable lubrication through integrated design while dramatically reducing manufacturing time and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs additive manufacturing technology to fundamentally change the manufacturing parameter from conventional subtractive methods (cross-drilling) to additive layer-by-layer construction. This parameter change enables complex internal lubrication channels and dispersion cone geometries to be created directly within the support structure, achieving reliable lubrication delivery without the time-consuming cross-drilling process.
2Reliability
If conventional fluid dispensing systems with multiple parts are used, then lubrication can be provided to ball bearing assemblies, but manufacturing cost increases due to assembly requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The lubrication system is merged with the engine support structure into a single integrated component. This eliminates the need for multiple separate parts requiring assembly, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining reliable lubrication function. The integrated design removes assembly steps and reduces the number of components that need to be manufactured, stored, and assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the lubrication function from separate fluid dispensing components and integrates it directly into the engine support structure. This extraction and integration eliminates the need for separate fluid dispensing systems and their associated assembly requirements, reducing manufacturing cost while ensuring reliable lubrication delivery to ball bearing assemblies.
3Temperature
If excessive lubrication fluid is provided, then sufficient cooling of bearings can be ensured, but system footprint and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dispersion cones at lubrication outlet ports to create localized mist patterns that precisely deliver lubrication fluid exactly where needed at the ball bearing assemblies. This local quality approach ensures sufficient cooling and lubrication at the bearing locations without requiring excessive fluid volume throughout the entire system, thereby reducing system footprint while maintaining effective bearing cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes hydraulic principles through the lubrication fluid delivery system, employing dispersion cones to atomize and distribute lubrication fluid as a mist. This hydraulic approach enables efficient fluid distribution with minimal volume requirements, as the atomized mist can effectively reach and cool bearing surfaces without requiring large quantities of fluid or oversized pumping and piping systems.
4Temperature
If excessive lubrication fluid is pumped through the engine system, then bearing cooling can be maintained, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dispersion cones deliver lubrication fluid locally and precisely to the ball bearing assemblies, ensuring adequate cooling only where needed rather than pumping excessive fluid through the entire engine system. This localized delivery reduces the energy required by pumps while maintaining effective bearing cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydraulic/ pneumatic dispersion cone system atomizes lubrication fluid into a mist that can effectively cool bearings with minimal fluid volume. This reduces the work required by pumping systems, thereby lowering energy consumption while maintaining sufficient bearing cooling under all operating conditions.
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 and costs by simplifying the manufacturing process, ensures proper lubrication to prevent overheating and catastrophic failures, and enhances the efficiency of the gas turbine engine by optimizing lubricant distribution.
Implementation Method 1
a dispersion cone adjacent to the outlet of the lubrication channel
Data Source
AI summary
A gas turbine engine with a lubrication system includes a ball bearing assembly and a rotor circumscribing a rotational axis and journaled within the ball bearing assembly. The gas turbine engine also includes a lubrication system located radially outward from a rotational axis and radially outward and adjacent to the ball bearing assembly, which includes a lubrication channel having an inlet and an outlet and a dispersion cone adjacent to the outlet of the lubrication channel.