Multi-Channel Spline Seal for Turbine Engine Leakage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines face challenges in sealing between components, particularly in reducing cooling air leakage between adjacent flow path segments, which affects efficiency and specific fuel consumption.
Innovation Solution
A multi-channel spline seal is introduced, featuring intersecting channels with varying depths to create a ledge, where the spline seal partially covers and overlies the first channel, effectively minimizing leakage between channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional seals are used between turbine engine components, then the structure is simple, but cooling air leakage between adjacent flow path segments increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal structure is divided into multiple channels (first channel, second channel, third channel) with different depths, creating a segmented multi-level configuration. This segmentation allows the seal to address leakage paths more effectively by creating multiple barrier levels, thus reducing cooling air leakage while maintaining manageable structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a vertical depth dimension to the seal structure by creating channels at different depths (first depth, second depth, third depth). This multi-level vertical arrangement adds a dimensional aspect to the seal, enabling it to block leakage paths more effectively without significantly increasing horizontal complexity.
2Reliability
If multi-channel spline seal with intersecting channels is used, then cooling air leakage is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is segmented into multiple independent channels (first, second, and third channels) with distinct depths and functions. This segmentation allows for modular manufacturing approaches where each channel can be formed separately, improving reliability through functional specialization while managing manufacturing complexity through systematic design.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-channel spline seal employs a nested structure where channels of different depths are arranged concentrically or adjacently, with shallower channels potentially containing or bordering deeper channels. This nesting approach enhances seal effectiveness by creating multiple barrier levels while allowing the structure to be manufactured as an integrated component, balancing reliability with ease of manufacture.
3Loss of energy
If deeper channels are created to improve sealing, then leakage reduction is enhanced, but material removal and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is segmented across multiple channels with different depths rather than relying on a single deep channel. The first channel at first depth, second channel at second depth, and third channel at third depth work together to block leakage paths, distributing the sealing function across multiple levels and reducing the need for excessively deep individual channels.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the seal structure have different channel depths optimized for their specific functions. The first channel has a first depth suitable for its sealing role, the second channel has a second depth for its function, and the third channel has a third depth tailored to its purpose. This local optimization of channel depths improves overall sealing effectiveness while avoiding the manufacturing challenges of uniformly deep channels throughout the entire structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly for a turbine engine comprising a plurality of circumferentially arranged segments having first and second confronting end faces. The first and second confronting end faces include a multi-channel spline seal assembly. The multi-channel spline seal assembly includes at least a first and second channel wherein confronting first or second channels can receive at least one spline seal.