Locking Tool for Gas Turbine Low Pressure Spool Immobilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for desalinating gas turbine engines are labor-intensive and costly, requiring expensive equipment to immobilize the low pressure spool during maintenance, which affects desalination efficiency and increases operational time.
Innovation Solution
A locking tool is used to immobilize the low pressure spool by attaching a securing portion across an aperture in the annular wall and positioning a stop into the rotary path of the spool's blades, allowing the high pressure spool to rotate and draw air into the engine core, preventing the low pressure spool from rotating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If expensive specialized equipment is used to immobilize the low pressure spool, then the spool can be securely immobilized during maintenance, but the cost and complexity of the equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs simple, inexpensive locking tools that can be easily manufactured and disposed of or reused, replacing the need for expensive specialized immobilization equipment. The locking tool uses basic mechanical components like a body, stop, and securing portion that can be made from common materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential function of spool immobilization from complex specialized equipment and implements it through a simple locking tool that uses the engine's own structure (apertures in annular walls, existing rotor paths) to achieve the immobilization function.
2Reliability
If specialized immobilization equipment is used, then the spool can be secured during maintenance, but the operational time and labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tool is designed to be pre-positioned or quickly installed before the maintenance procedure begins. The simple mechanical design allows for rapid deployment without requiring complex setup or adjustment procedures, reducing the time lost during maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking tool utilizes the engine's own structural features (apertures, rotor paths, blade trajectories) to achieve immobilization, eliminating the need for external power sources, complex control systems, or additional assistance equipment that would increase operational time.
3Productivity
If cleaning fluid is directed into the engine core with the engine running, then desalination can be performed, but the low pressure spool must be immobilized which complicates the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tool is segmented into distinct functional components (body, stop, securing portion) that can be independently positioned and secured. This segmentation allows the tool to be installed through existing apertures without requiring complete engine disassembly or complex multi-step immobilization procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking tool acts as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the need for spool immobilization and the desire to maintain engine operational configuration. It provides a simple mechanical interface between the engine structure and the immobilization function, allowing desalination to proceed without complex procedure modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of immobilizing a low pressure spool assembly including maintaining a body of the locking tool in the annular gas path, attaching a securing portion of the body across an aperture defined through an annular wall delimiting the gas path; positioning a stop connected to the body of the locking tool into a rotary path of a given one of the sets of blades of the low pressure spool assembly; and rotating the high pressure spool assembly thereby biasing a blade of the given set of blades of the low pressure spool assembly against the stop, thereby immobilizing the low pressure spool assembly. A locking tool and a method of performing engine maintenance are also provided.