Lateral Lever Mounting for Turbomachine Guide Vanes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guide vane adjustment mechanisms in turbomachines face challenges with small shank diameters, leading to unfavorable tolerance effects and geometric constraints, limiting the number of adjustable vanes in a compact space.
Innovation Solution
A lever arrangement with a mouth-like connecting section and U-shaped locking piece allows lateral mounting on the vane shank, enabling a secure connection without requiring a large shank diameter, and includes a bracing device for self-locking and play-free fit, allowing for a high number of vane adjustments in a small space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the lever is mounted radially on the vane shank using a screw connection, then the connection is secure, but the shank diameter must be sufficiently large which conflicts with geometric boundary conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The lever mounting is transitioned from radial direction to lateral direction (side-mounted). The lever is now mounted laterally on the vane shank instead of radially, allowing the connection to be made in a different spatial dimension that does not require large shank diameter. This dimensional change enables secure connection while accommodating small shank diameters in compact compressor designs.
2Productivity
If the shank diameter is reduced to meet geometric boundary conditions, then more vanes can fit in small space, but the tolerance of contact surface has increasingly unfavorable effect on angular deviation
Solution Approach 1:
A lateral contact surface is introduced as an intermediary element between the lever and the vane shank. This contact surface is specifically designed with appropriate tolerance characteristics that mediate between the small shank diameter and the angular deviation requirements. The lateral mounting geometry provides a favorable tolerance profile that maintains angular precision even with reduced shank diameters, enabling more vanes to be accommodated in compact spaces.
3Ease of manufacture
If the contact surface length is shortened due to small shank diameter, then the lever connection cannot be properly represented, but increasing shank diameter is not feasible due to geometric constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The lever connection is redesigned to mount laterally rather than radially, effectively utilizing a different dimensional approach. This lateral mounting configuration allows the lever connection to be properly represented and manufactured even with short contact surfaces resulting from small shank diameters. The side-mounted arrangement provides sufficient leverage and connection integrity without requiring long contact surfaces or large shank diameters.
Data Source
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AI summary
A lever arrangement of a guide vane adjustment for connecting a guide vane of a turbomachine with an adjusting ring of an actuator is disclosed, which is arranged in such a way that an adjusting lever of the lever arrangement is moved from a first assembly direction transversely to a blade shaft of the guide vane radial with respect to a longitudinal axis of the turbomachine and is thus applied laterally to it and is positively locked radially to the blade shaft by means of a locking piece from a second assembly direction, an assembly method and a turbomachine.