Flexible Seal for Turbofan Outlet Guide Vane Turbulence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seals for outlet guide vanes in turbofan engines are labor-intensive to produce and fail to smoothly connect the vane and liner faces, leading to turbulence due to angular corners, which compromises gas-tightness and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A seal with a flexible fillet section and rib section, preferably formed in a unitary body, that can be easily attached to the liner and integrated into the outlet guide vanes, featuring a shape such as a cylindrical or elliptic column, facilitating elastic crush and contact with the vane and liner to maintain gas-tightness without causing turbulence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional seals are used to seal the gap between vane and liner, then gas-tightness can be achieved, but labor-intensive manual processes are required for production
Solution Approach 1:
The seal transitions from a rigid structure to a flexible structure, changing its physical state to enable elastic deformation. This flexibility allows the seal to be installed using simple attachment methods rather than labor-intensive manual processes, while maintaining gas-tightness through elastic crush against the vane and liner surfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The seal is designed to be dynamically adaptable through elastic deformation. The flexible material allows the seal to conform to the gap between the vane and liner during operation, maintaining sealing effectiveness without requiring complex manual installation processes
2Device complexity
If angular corner connection between vane and liner is used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but turbulence is generated compromising efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The seal introduces a curved, fillet-like transition between the vane and liner instead of an angular corner. This curved geometry smoothly guides airflow from the vane face to the liner face, eliminating turbulence and improving airflow efficiency while maintaining structural simplicity
3Loss of energy
If smooth connection between vane and liner is achieved, then turbulence is eliminated, but complex manual finishing processes are required
Solution Approach 1:
The seal material's flexibility parameter enables it to naturally form a smooth curved transition between vane and liner through elastic deformation during attachment. This eliminates the need for manual finishing processes while achieving the smooth geometry required to eliminate turbulence and improve airflow efficiency
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 seal effectively seals airflow without requiring laborious manual processes, ensuring smooth connection and maintaining gas-tightness, thus enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the turbofan engine by eliminating turbulence at the vane-liner interface.
Implementation Method 1
a seal (21) to be combined with an inner liner (19), wherein the seal (21) comprises a joint section (23) adapted to combination with the inner liner (19), a fillet section (27) extending from the joint section (23) and having a tip contacting a face of the vane (11), a rib section (25) extending from the joint section (23) and spanning substantially the entire length of the seal (21)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A seal for sealing a gap between a vane and a liner of an outlet guide vane is comprised of: a joint section for joining with the liner; a flexible fillet section elongated from the joint section and tapering toward a tip so as to form a round corner between the vane and the liner when the tip is placed in contact with the vane; and a flexible rib section projecting from an inner surface and so dimensioned as to get in contact with an upper surface of an external structure for securing the vane to keep gas tightness.