Modular Fan Assembly Composite Blade Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fan designs, particularly those made of molded materials and composite blades, face challenges in scalability, strength, durability, and manufacturability, requiring complex and costly manufacturing methods for each size variation.
Innovation Solution
A modular fan assembly with composite blades featuring a unique thickness profile and reinforcement skin, allowing for adjustable blade geometry and easy modification of fan configurations without extensive redesign or retooling, using a center hub assembly and blades with a mounting pad, transition zone, and aerodynamic working portion, made from fiber-reinforced composite materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If molded materials are used for fan blades, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but design flexibility and scalability are limited requiring new molds for each size
Solution Approach 1:
The fan blade is divided into multiple segments that can be independently manufactured and then assembled together. This segmentation allows the same basic segment design to be reused across different fan sizes by varying the number of segments or their individual dimensions, providing design flexibility without requiring entirely new molds for each size variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal blade segments with standardized mounting interfaces and geometries that can serve multiple fan configurations. These universal segments can be adapted to different fan sizes and applications through selective assembly arrangements, eliminating the need for size-specific mold sets while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
2Strength
If continuous fiber reinforcement is used in composite blades, then strength and durability are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases requiring complex preforms for each blade size
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous fiber reinforcement is applied to standardized blade segments rather than custom preforms for each blade size. Each segment uses the same fiber reinforcement pattern and manufacturing process, simplifying production while maintaining the strength benefits of continuous fibers through the segmented structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of changing the complex fiber preform design for each blade size, the patent maintains constant fiber reinforcement parameters in the standardized segments and achieves size variations through geometric scaling of the segment dimensions and assembly configurations, reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Weight of moving object
If blade thickness is reduced at the outer edge, then weight is reduced and aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but structural integrity near the hub may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The blade segments are designed with non-uniform thickness distribution where the thickness is greater near the mounting interface with the hub and progressively thinner toward the outer edge. This local quality variation provides enhanced structural integrity at the critical hub connection area while reducing weight and improving aerodynamics at the outer blade portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes composite materials with embedded continuous fiber reinforcement that can be oriented to follow the stress trajectories in the blade segment. This composite construction allows the thinner outer regions to maintain sufficient structural integrity despite reduced thickness, as the fiber orientation can be optimized to carry loads efficiently through the variable thickness profile.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular fan assembly includes a center hub assembly and a first blade attached to the center hub assembly. The center hub assembly includes a first plate and a second plate each having an outer edge and a planar capture surface. The planar capture surfaces of the second plate is arranged parallel to the planar capture surface of the first plate. The first blade includes a mounting pad and a working portion. The mounting pad has opposite, parallel planar surfaces positioned in contact with the respective planar capture surfaces of the first and second plates. The working portion extends beyond the outer edges of the first and second plates. A thickness of the first blade is smaller proximate the outer edge of the first plate than at the mounting pad to create a first gap between the first blade and the first plate at the outer edge.