Adjustable Heat Exchanger Damper for Gas Turbine Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
As gas turbine engines operate at higher pressures, the compressed air used for cooling becomes increasingly hot, leading to thermal stress on engine components, and existing heat exchangers face challenges in efficiently cooling air while withstanding vibration and varying loads.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger design featuring a central manifold, orthogonal tubes, and a shroud, coupled with an adjustable damper that includes a spring member and moveable components to dampen movement, allowing for effective cooling air flow and vibration mitigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat exchanger is used to cool compressed air in gas turbine engines operating at higher pressures, then the cooling effectiveness improves, but the thermal stress on heat exchanger components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is divided into multiple tubes coupled to a central manifold, with each tube handling a portion of the hot compressed air flow. This segmentation distributes the thermal load across multiple smaller components, reducing the thermal stress on any single tube while maintaining overall cooling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates an adjustable damper with spring members that allow the heat exchanger assembly to dynamically adjust to varying thermal and mechanical loads. The spring members enable controlled movement and flexibility, allowing the system to adapt to thermal expansion and contraction cycles, thereby reducing thermal stress accumulation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the heat exchanger is rigidly coupled to the gas turbine engine, then the structural stability improves, but the vibration and thermal expansion stresses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible linkages and spring members instead of rigid connections to couple the heat exchanger to the gas turbine engine. These flexible elements accommodate thermal expansion and contraction while dampening vibration transmission, maintaining structural stability without transferring harmful mechanical stresses.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable damper acts as an intermediary element between the heat exchanger and the engine structure. It provides a controlled interface that allows relative movement and absorbs vibrations, preventing direct transmission of harmful factors while maintaining the necessary structural connection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If fixed damping is provided in the heat exchanger coupling, then the vibration mitigation improves, but the adaptability to varying engine loads decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The damping system is designed to be adjustable rather than fixed. The spring members can be repositioned or reconfigured to change the damping characteristics, allowing the system to adapt to different engine operating conditions and load variations while continuously providing vibration mitigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable damper provides more than fixed damping by allowing dynamic adjustment of the damping force. This enables the system to apply appropriate damping levels for each operating condition, from minimal damping during low-load operations to maximum damping during high-vibration conditions, optimizing performance across the full range of engine loads.
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 solution effectively cools compressed air, reducing thermal stress on gas turbine engine components and mitigates vibration, enhancing the engine's operational efficiency and durability.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member coupled between the adjusting member and the moveable member
Implementation Method 2
an adjustable damper coupled between the heat exchanger and the gas turbine engine
Implementation Method 3
a heat exchanger for cooling air in a gas turbine engine may comprise: a central manifold comprising an inlet portion, a first outlet portion, and a second outlet portion; a plurality of tubes coupled to the central manifold; a shroud at least partially encasing said plurality of tubes; and a cooling air flow path defined by at least one of the shroud, the plurality of tubes, and an outer surface of the central manifold
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger (HEX) for cooling air in a gas turbine engine is provided. An adjustable damper is provided. The adjustable damper may be for damping a movement of the HEX relative to the gas turbine engine. An adjustable damper may comprise: a first tube; a second tube located at least partially within the first tube; a housing coupled to the second tube; a moveable member, the moveable member comprising a contacting surface in contact with the second tube; an adjusting member adjustably coupled to the housing; and a spring member located between the moveable member and the adjusting member, the spring member configured to at least one of compress or decompress in response to adjusting member moving relative to the housing.