Fixed-Vane Nozzle Ring Assembly for Flexible Angle Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The conventional casting process for fixed-vane rings in turbocharger turbines requires a new mold design for every configuration change, including vane setting angle modifications, leading to high costs and complexity in design modifications.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an annular nozzle ring with circumferentially spaced bores and vane shafts that can be oriented and affixed at desired angles using riveting or welding, allowing for multiple configurations from a single nozzle ring and vane set, enabling quick and cost-effective design changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a monolithic casting process is used to manufacture fixed-vane rings, then manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but adaptability and ease of modification deteriorate because each configuration change requires new mold tooling
Solution Approach 1:
The vane ring is divided into separate components: the annular ring body and the vanes are manufactured independently and then assembled together. This segmentation allows the vanes to be removed, replaced, or repositioned without affecting the ring structure, enabling design modifications without requiring new mold tooling while maintaining manufacturing precision through controlled assembly processes
Solution Approach 2:
The vane ring design transitions from a static monolithic structure to a dynamic assembly where vanes can be reconfigured. Holes are provided in the annular ring to receive vanes, allowing the vane configuration to be changed by removing and reinstalling vanes in different positions or orientations, thus providing adaptability while maintaining structural integrity
2Manufacturing precision
If dedicated mold designs are created for each turbocharger configuration, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single standardized annular ring design with pre-formed holes serves multiple configurations. The same ring component can accommodate different vane arrangements by simply changing which vanes are installed and how they are oriented, eliminating the need for dedicated mold tooling for each configuration while maintaining precise vane setting angles through controlled assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The annular ring is manufactured in advance with precisely positioned holes for vane reception. This preliminary preparation of the ring structure with accurate hole locations enables subsequent easy assembly of vanes at correct angles and positions without requiring complex mold tooling for each specific configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A method for constructing a nozzle ring for a turbocharger turbine nozzle includes the steps of: providing a nozzle ring in the form of an annular flat disk, the nozzle ring having a first face and an opposite second face; forming a plurality of circumferentially spaced circular bores extending through the nozzle ring from the first face to the second face; providing a plurality of vanes, each vane having a circular vane shaft extending from one end of the vane; inserting the vane shafts respectively into the bores in the nozzle ring from said first face thereof and orienting each vane to achieve a desired setting angle for the vane; and rigidly affixing the vane shafts to the nozzle ring to fix the vanes at the desired setting angles.