Integral Half Vane Ringcase and Inner Shroud Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines with traditional vane stages face challenges in achieving tight tolerances and optimal performance due to loose connections between vanes and shrouds, leading to flow irregularities and increased weight from multiple parts.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a ringcase, inner shroud, and stationary half vanes forms a vane stage with integral components, allowing for tighter control and reduced parts, weight, and stress concentrations, enabling tighter tolerances and optimized performance by assembling rotating variable half vanes onto the integral half vane structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional separate vanes and shrouds are used with loose connections, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to achieve tight tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the ringcase, inner shroud, and stationary half vanes into a single integral structure manufactured as one piece. This merging eliminates the loose connections between separate components, enabling tight tolerances and optimal performance while maintaining ease of manufacture through monolithic construction.
2Ease of repair
If multiple separate parts are used for ringcase, shroud, and vanes, then ease of repair is improved, but weight increases due to multiple parts and connections
Solution Approach 1:
The integral structure merges multiple components into one, reducing total weight by eliminating connection hardware and material overlaps. The single-piece construction removes fasteners, joints, and interface materials that would add weight in a multi-part assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the need for connection hardware and joint structures entirely from the design. By manufacturing the ringcase, shroud, and vanes as one integral piece, all connection elements (bolts, welds, adhesives) are removed, reducing weight while maintaining structural integrity.
3Device complexity
If loose connections between vanes and shrouds are used, then device complexity is reduced, but flow irregularities increase due to connection gaps
Solution Approach 1:
The integral structure merges the ringcase, shroud, and stationary half vanes into a continuous flow path without gaps or discontinuities. This eliminates flow irregularities caused by connection interfaces while maintaining simple device geometry suitable for gas turbine applications.
Data Source
AI summary
A vane stage includes a ringcase extending circumferentially about a center axis of the vane stage. The ringcase extends completely about the center axis to form a first ring. An inner shroud extends circumferentially about the center axis of the vane stage. The inner shroud extends completely about the center axis to form a second ring positioned radially within the ringcase relative the center axis. A plurality of stationary half vanes extend radially between the ringcase and the inner shroud, and are circumferentially spaced about the center axis. The plurality of stationary half vanes are integral with the ringcase and the inner shroud.