Multi-Wall Blade Trailing Edge Cooling with Radially Offset Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional trailing edge cooling systems in gas turbine blades inefficiently use cooling air by exhausting it without maximizing its heat capacity, leading to suboptimal cooling performance.
Innovation Solution
A trailing edge cooling system with radially offset and circumferentially alternating outward and return legs, where cooling air is reused by redirecting it through a connecting system to enhance heat transfer and distribute cooling air to other sections of the blade, such as the pressure and suction sides, tips, and platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If cooling air is exhausted after passing through trailing edge cooling passages, then the cooling system is simple to implement, but the heat capacity of cooling air is not maximized and cooling performance is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers cooling air that would otherwise be exhausted from the trailing edge by redirecting it through return legs back to the leading edge and other blade sections. This recovery process maximizes the heat capacity utilization of the cooling air by allowing it to cool multiple sections of the blade before being exhausted, directly addressing the energy loss issue while managing system complexity through integrated leg structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling air is designed to serve multiple functions by flowing through outward legs to cool the trailing edge, then being redirected through return legs to cool additional sections such as the leading edge, pressure side, suction side, tips, and platforms. This multi-functional approach maximizes the utility of each unit of cooling air, improving heat capacity utilization without proportionally increasing system complexity.
2Reliability
If cooling air is reused by redirecting through connecting system, then cooling performance is enhanced, but the system complexity increases with multiple radially offset legs
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple radially spaced outward legs and return legs that are alternately arranged. This segmentation allows cooling air to be distributed to different blade sections through separate pathways, improving cooling performance and reliability by ensuring adequate cooling coverage. The segmented structure manages complexity by organizing multiple legs in an alternating radial pattern that is systematic and manufacturable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the radial dimension by arranging outward and return legs in alternating radial positions around the blade circumference. This dimensional arrangement allows multiple cooling pathways to be packed efficiently within the blade structure, enabling complex cooling circuits without proportionally increasing the number of radial layers. The radial alternation provides spatial organization that manages system complexity while achieving enhanced cooling performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration maximizes the heat capacity of cooling air, allowing for more efficient cooling of the multi-wall blade by reusing the air flow for further cooling purposes, reducing waste and enhancing overall cooling performance.
Implementation Method 1
Cooling air (or other suitable coolant) provided by, for example, a compressor of a gas turbine system, may be passed through and out of the cooling passages to cool various portions of the multi-wall blade
Implementation Method 2
cooling air is reused by redirecting it through a connecting system to enhance heat transfer and distribute cooling air to other sections of the blade
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A trailing edge cooling system for a multi-wall blade 6, including: a set of outward legs 134 extending toward a trailing edge of the multi-wall blade and fluidly coupled to a coolant feed; a set of return legs 138 extending away from the trailing edge of the multi-wall blade and fluidly coupled to a coolant collection passage 146; and a connecting system for fluidly coupling the set of outward legs and the set of return legs; wherein the set of outward legs is radially offset from the set of return legs along a radial axis of the multi-wall blade.