Floating Support Assembly for Axial Thermal Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Differential thermal expansion between engine components in gas turbine engines leads to axial misalignment and performance degradation due to varying temperature responses, causing gaps and mechanical stress, especially during rapid load changes.
Innovation Solution
A guided displacement floating support assembly is implemented, allowing for interrelated radial and axial displacement of support points, ensuring that axial reference positions remain constant despite differential thermal expansion, using inclined displacement paths and floating support assemblies to manage thermal expansion differences between inner and outer casing components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a radially floating support assembly is provided to allow differential radial thermal expansion, then thermal expansion freedom is improved, but axial misalignment occurs due to cantilevered ends displacing axially
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly is designed to provide freedom in the radial dimension while maintaining constraint in the axial dimension. The inclined guide surface converts radial displacement into axial displacement, allowing the support to adapt to radial thermal expansion while preventing harmful axial misalignment of cantilevered ends.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined guide surface acts as an intermediary mechanism between the radially floating support points. It mediates the relationship between radial freedom and axial constraint by converting radial displacement into controlled axial displacement, thereby resolving the contradiction between thermal expansion freedom and axial alignment precision.
2Ease of operation
If support points are arranged in one cross sectional plane to ease assembly, then ease of operation is improved, but axial misalignment and gaps occur during differential thermal expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly maintains its simple planar arrangement for ease of assembly while introducing a three-dimensional displacement path through the inclined guide surface. This allows the support to compensate for axial misalignment during thermal expansion while retaining the assembly simplicity of a single-plane configuration.
3Reliability
If axial gaps are enlarged to accommodate thermal expansion, then reliability is improved, but fluid leakage increases and performance degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The inclined guide surface changes the geometric parameters of the support assembly by converting radial displacement into axial displacement. This dynamic parameter change allows the axial gap to maintain a consistent, minimal size during thermal expansion while still accommodating differential expansion, thereby preventing fluid leakage and performance degradation.
4Manufacturing precision
If members are fixedly attached to maintain axial position, then axial alignment is improved, but differential thermal expansion causes mechanical stress and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly transitions from a static fixed attachment to a dynamic constrained floating support. The inclined guide surface provides a dynamic constraint that maintains axial position precision while allowing controlled movement to accommodate thermal expansion, thereby preventing mechanical stress and potential damage.
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 maintains consistent axial positions and reduces performance penalties by compensating for differential thermal expansion, minimizing fluid leakages and mechanical stress, thereby enhancing operational stability and efficiency during transient engine states.
Implementation Method 1
Differential thermal expansion between engine components in gas turbine engines leads to axial misalignment... Upon being charged with a hot fluid flow of rapidly changing temperature, those members may respond to the temperature change with different response times. This in turn may result in significantly different thermal expansion of the members.
Implementation Method 2
The displacement path of the relative displacement is inclined with respect to the axial direction as well as to the radial direction at a nonzero angle, such that a relative displacement of the support points in the radial direction results in an interrelated displacement of the support points in the axial direction
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly of at least two members. One of the members supports the other member, the assembly defining an axial direction, a radial direction, and a circumferential direction, an inner member of the at least two members being received radially inside an outer member of the at least two members, wherein the inner member and the outer member am attached to each other by a support arrangement, the support arrangement including at least one floating support assembly as a displaceable coupling between an inner member support point provided at the inner member and an outer member support point provided at the outer member. A displacement of support points in a radial direction results in an interrelated relative displacement of the support points in an axial direction end vice versa.