Hinged Cooling Shroud for One-Handed Gas Turbine Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling shrouds for gas turbine engines require two-handed installation due to their clam-shell construction, making them difficult to install and maintain in small engine compartments, especially when the ignition leads are located in tight spaces.
Innovation Solution
A cooling shroud with a body formed from hingedly coupled arcuate sections and a closure assembly that allows for one-handed installation, featuring an engagement member and a receiving member to secure the shroud in place without needing to hold the sections together while tightening, enabling preliminary securement and facilitating single-handed operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cooling shrouds are constructed of two separate pieces held together with a clamp, then the shroud can be secured in place, but the installation requires two hands making it difficult in small engine compartments
Solution Approach 1:
The shroud body is divided into two separate arcuate sections that can be independently positioned around the ignition lead, allowing the sections to be manipulated separately during installation while still achieving secure closure
Solution Approach 2:
A closure assembly with an engagement member and receiving member acts as an intermediary mechanism between the two arcuate sections, providing automatic alignment and secure connection without requiring manual coordination of both sections simultaneously
2Volume of moving object
If engine compartments are designed smaller to reduce size, then the engine is more compact, but the installation and repair of cooling systems becomes increasingly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The arcuate sections are designed with hinge coupling that allows dynamic movement and adjustment during installation, enabling the sections to be opened wide for access and then closed securely in the compact engine compartment space
Solution Approach 2:
The closure assembly serves as a mechanical intermediary that performs the complex coordination of securing the shroud, freeing the installer's hands to work in the confined space without needing to simultaneously hold and manipulate multiple components
3Ease of repair
If frequent repair and replacement of ignition systems is performed, then the system can be maintained, but the repeated installation and removal of cooling shrouds increases maintenance time and costs
Solution Approach 1:
The shroud body is segmented into two arcuate sections connected by a hinge, allowing the sections to be independently manipulated and the closure assembly to be engaged or disengaged as a single unit, simplifying the repeated installation and removal operations required during maintenance
Solution Approach 2:
The closure assembly with its engagement and receiving members acts as a quick-connect mechanism that enables rapid attachment and detachment of the shroud during maintenance operations, reducing the time and complexity of repeated installation and removal
Data Source
AI summary
A shroud configured for installation on a component of a machine includes a shroud body including a plurality of arcuate sections hingedly coupled together, and a closure assembly including an engagement member and a receiving member. The plurality of arcuate sections include a first arcuate section hingedly coupled to one of the arcuate sections at a first edge and including the engagement member at an opposing second edge, and a second arcuate section hingedly coupled to one of the arcuate sections at a first edge and including the receiving member at an opposing second edge. The shroud body is configured to transition between an open configuration in which the engagement member and the receiving member are spaced apart from one another and a closed configuration in which the engagement member engages with the receiving member, the closure assembly maintaining the shroud body in the closed configuration.