Modular Gas Turbine Engine Core and Fan Case Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine aircraft engines face challenges in maintaining efficiency and ease of maintenance due to the large size of the fan, which complicates transportation and requires the entire engine to be taken out of service for repairs, leading to increased downtime and costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular gas turbine engine design where the engine is broken down into separate modules, including a fan module, engine core module, and fan case module, allowing for individual replacement and maintenance without disassembling the entire engine, with each module having a distinct power setting parameter for efficient reassembly and thrust calculation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the fan size is increased to improve bypass ratio and propulsive efficiency, then propulsive efficiency is improved, but transportation and maintenance become difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The engine is divided into separate modules: a core module containing the turbine and compressor stages, and a stator module containing the fan case, fan cowl, and inlet. This segmentation allows the large fan to be separated from the core for easier transportation and maintenance, resolving the contradiction between improved propulsive efficiency from larger fan size and the difficulty of handling such large components.
2Ease of repair
If the engine is serviced as a single complete unit, then maintenance is performed, but the aircraft must be taken out of use until work is complete
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the engine into a core module and a stator module with detachable connections, the engine can be disassembled into transportable units. This allows the core module to be removed and replaced independently, enabling maintenance work to proceed while the aircraft remains operational or can be quickly reconfigured with a replacement core module.
Solution Approach 2:
The engine design incorporates dynamic reconfigurability through detachable vanes and struts that can be quickly assembled and disassembled. This dynamic capability allows for rapid module replacement, reducing the time the aircraft is taken out of service while maintaining full maintenance capability.
3Length of moving object
If the fan is driven by a reduction gearbox to enable larger fan size, then bypass ratio can be increased, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reduction gearbox is integrated into the core module as a separate, self-contained unit with the turbine and compressor stages. This segmentation allows the complex gearbox system to be manufactured, tested, and maintained as a discrete module, reducing overall system complexity despite the presence of the gearbox itself.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4A
Figure 4B
AI summary
A method (600) of replacing a module (50, 52, 54) in a modular gas turbine engine (10)comprising a first fan module (50); a first propulsor module (52) including an engine core (11) and a gearbox (30); and a first fan case module (54) comprising a fan case (42); comprises the steps of: disassembling (602) the gas turbine engine (10), replacing (604) one of the fan module (50), propulsor module (52) or fan case module (54) with a replacement fan module (50'), a replacement propulsor module (52') or a replacement fan case module (54'), the replacement module (50', 52', 54'), having the same configuration as the first module (50, 52, 54); and reassembling (606) the gas turbine engine (10) using the replacement module (50', 52', 54').