Gas Turbine Containment Ring with Ceramic Fragment Arrest
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blade containment systems in gas turbine engines face challenges in efficiently managing blade failure, with hardwall containment experiencing high concentrated forces and blade remnants causing further damage, while softwall containment suffers from significant bulges and design complications.
Innovation Solution
A casing design incorporating a ceramic inner layer bonded to an outer ductile metal ring, with optional ceramic segments for thermal expansion management, and a honeycomb or foam layer for energy absorption, providing both containment and structural support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hardwall containment is used, then blade containment is achieved, but high concentrated forces cause further damage and increase structural requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a ceramic foam layer as the containment structure. The porous nature of the ceramic foam allows it to absorb and distribute the concentrated forces from blade failure across multiple cells and a larger volume, preventing the high localized stresses that occur with solid hardwall containment. The foam structure deforms progressively to contain blade remnants while reducing peak forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The containment system uses a composite structure combining ceramic material with foam architecture. This composite approach provides both the strength needed for containment and the energy-absorbing characteristics of foam, distributing forces through the composite structure rather than concentrating them in a solid wall.
2Reliability
If traditional containment structures are used, then blade containment is provided, but weight and drag increase due to structural requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The ceramic foam structure provides containment functionality with significantly reduced material volume compared to solid hardwall containment. The porous architecture achieves the same containment goal while using less material, thereby reducing weight. The foam cells collapse progressively to absorb energy, providing containment without requiring heavy structural reinforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the density and structural parameters of the containment material by using foam with controlled cell structures. This parameter change allows the material to provide adequate containment strength while maintaining low weight, optimizing the strength-to-weight ratio for the containment application.
3Strength
If ceramic material is used for containment, then blade fragment arrest is improved, but thermal expansion differences cause bonding challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The ceramic foam structure inherently accommodates thermal expansion through the compressible and deformable nature of its porous architecture. The foam can expand and contract within its cell structure without generating excessive bonding stresses, simplifying the bonding interface between ceramic and adjacent components compared to dense ceramic materials.
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 ceramic layer effectively arrests blade fragments, preventing them from cutting through the containment material and reducing weight and drag by distributing containment forces, while maintaining structural integrity and minimizing design complications.
Implementation Method 1
a honeycomb or foam layer for energy absorption
Implementation Method 2
The ceramic layer effectively arrests blade fragments, preventing them from cutting through the containment material
Data Source
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AI summary
A casing (72) for a gas turbine engine (10), including: an inner ring portion (82) that provides a gaspath and structural features of the casing (72); an outer ring portion (78); and an inner ceramic layer (74) arranged radially between the inner ring portion (82) and the outer ring portion (78), wherein the inner ceramic layer (74) is bonded directly to an inner surface (76) of the outer ring portion (78) such that the combination of the outer ring portion (78) and the inner ceramic layer (74) provide both containment and primary structural features of the casing (72).