Turbine Fan Blade Crystallographic Texture Tuning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine engine fan blade systems face challenges in mitigating flutter and natural frequency issues, with current solutions increasing weight and decreasing efficiency, and there is a need for improved material properties to avoid natural frequency crossings and enhance local material capability.
Innovation Solution
A method involving calculating strain profiles for virtual blades, identifying discrete regions of maximum strain, and applying heat or force to alter the crystallographic texture of physical blades to change their natural frequencies and deflection patterns, allowing for targeted modifications to the elastic modulus and frequency without affecting overall blade geometry or aerodynamic performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If protruding portions are directly bonded to the fan blade to reduce flutter, then flutter resistance is improved, but weight increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying material properties only in specific discrete regions of the blade rather than throughout the entire structure. By treating only high-strain regions identified through strain profile analysis, the blade achieves enhanced flutter resistance locally without adding weight through protruding portions or bonded features.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes material parameters (elastic modulus, crystallographic texture) in discrete regions to alter natural frequencies and deflection patterns. This parameter modification approach allows flutter mitigation through material property adjustment rather than structural modification, avoiding weight increase.
2Reliability
If material properties are modified to alter natural frequencies, then flutter resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary action by calculating strain profiles and identifying discrete regions of maximum strain before manufacturing or treatment. This pre-planning allows targeted material modification in specific regions, simplifying the overall process compared to trial-and-error approaches or full-blade treatments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical modifications (such as adding protruding portions or bonded weights) with thermal or mechanical field applications (heat treatment, forging, rolling) to alter material properties. This substitution achieves frequency tuning through material property changes rather than structural changes, reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If discrete regions are treated to alter crystallographic texture, then elastic modulus changes and natural frequencies are modified, but treatment precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the blade into discrete regions based on strain profile analysis. By identifying and treating only the specific discrete regions of maximum strain rather than the entire blade, the process achieves precise natural frequency control while maintaining manageable treatment complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying treatments (heat, force) only to discrete regions with maximum strain rather than uniformly across the blade. This localized approach achieves the required manufacturing precision for natural frequency control while minimizing the scope and complexity of treatment operations.
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 effectively alters the natural frequencies and deflection profiles of gas turbine engine blades, improving flutter resistance and Campbell diagram performance by modifying the material properties in specific regions, thereby enhancing the engine's operational stability and efficiency without compromising aerodynamic performance.
Implementation Method 1
applying at least one of heat and a force to a first discrete region of a stock of material
Implementation Method 2
alter the first crystallographic texture profile of the blade around the first discrete region such that the blade has a second crystallographic texture profile that is different from the first crystallographic texture profile and change an elastic modulus of the blade
Implementation Method 3
calculating a strain profile for a first natural frequency of a virtual blade having a predetermined shape, the strain profile correlating to a deflection of the virtual blade vibrating at the first natural frequency
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for forming a blade for a gas turbine engine include altering the crystallographic texture of the blade in a discrete region relative to the surrounding locations of the blade to minimize flutter and/or mistune the blade by changing the natural frequency response of at least one mode of the blade.