Guide Vane Ring Sealing Upgrade for Turbomachine Maintenance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing maintenance methods for turbomachines with axial flow require storing multiple types of guide vanes due to different sealing section designs, leading to high replacement costs and inefficiencies in sealing arrangements, as older designs do not match newer ones despite identical vane dimensions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the disassembly of defective guide vanes and adjacent intact vanes, where the sealing sections are modified to match a new design using a metallic sealing strip and grooves, allowing for the use of replacement guide vanes with improved sealing sections, reducing the need for multiple vane types and enhancing sealing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If guide vanes with different sealing section designs are stored for older and newer turbomachines, then compatibility with different machine generations is ensured, but storage costs and inventory complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes replacement guide vanes universal by equipping them with new-generation sealing sections that can interface with both old and new sealing arrangements. The replacement vanes serve multiple functions: they can replace defective vanes in both old and new machines, and they bring improved sealing technology to older machines through the sealing strip interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing strip acts as an intermediary element that bridges old and new sealing section designs. It connects the new-generation sealing sections on replacement vanes with the old-generation sealing sections on intact vanes, enabling compatibility across different generations without requiring separate inventory for each type.
2Ease of manufacture
If old sealing section designs are used in newer turbomachines, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but sealing effectiveness and efficiency decrease due to higher leakage losses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing section design parameters on replacement guide vanes to incorporate new-generation features (such as modified projection and recess geometries) that reduce leakage losses. This parameter change is applied selectively to replacement vanes while maintaining compatibility through the sealing strip interface.
3Reliability
If replacement guide vanes with new-generation sealing sections are used in older turbomachines, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but compatibility issues arise due to design mismatches
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing strip serves as a mediator that enables compatibility between old and new sealing designs. It is installed between the new-generation sealing section on the replacement vane and the old-generation sealing section on the intact vane, transferring the benefits of new design while maintaining interface compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is segmented into separate components: the replacement vane provides the new-generation sealing section, while the sealing strip provides the adaptive interface layer that ensures compatibility with both old and new designs, separating the innovation from the compatibility requirement.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~8
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for maintaining an axial-flow turbomachine (1), which has a support structure (2) and a plurality of axially adjacent guide vane rings (3, 4, 5) each of which has a plurality of guide vanes (6), each guide vane (6) having at least one platform (7), the platforms being fastened to the support structure (2) by means of retaining elements (8), wherein facing platform end faces of axially adjacent guide vanes (6) define sealing sections (10, 11) made of a metal material, said sealing sections being associated with each other and jointly forming a sealing assembly (12).