Gas Turbine Nacelle Cavity for Accessory Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas turbine engines face challenges with weight, complexity, and assembly costs due to the traditional location of the A-flange, which requires additional bulkheads for radial stiffness, and limited space for mounting larger electronic controls, making them difficult and expensive to assemble and maintain.
Innovation Solution
Repositioning the front flange upstream from the fan section to eliminate the need for bulkheads and radial stiffeners, allowing for a more compact and lightweight design with a removable inlet lip assembly and an extended fan containment case, enabling easier assembly and improved maintainability, and providing additional space for engine accessories within a cavity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the A-flange is positioned at the traditional location about the fan section, then the inlet lip assembly has structural support, but additional bulkheads and radial stiffeners are required, increasing weight and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the function of the A-flange with the inlet lip assembly by integrating the attachment features directly into the inlet lip structure. This eliminates the need for separate bulkheads and radial stiffeners, as the inlet lip assembly itself provides the necessary structural support and attachment points, reducing overall complexity while maintaining strength
Solution Approach 2:
The inlet lip assembly is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides structural support, acts as the mounting interface for the A-flange, and eliminates the need for additional stiffening components. This multi-functional design reduces the number of parts required while maintaining the necessary radial stiffness
2Ease of manufacture
If the A-flange is positioned at the traditional location, then assembly is possible, but the inlet lip assembly requires additional bulkheads that add weight and expense
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the A-flange attachment function with the inlet lip assembly structure, eliminating separate bulkheads. This integration maintains assembly capability while significantly reducing the weight of the inlet lip assembly by removing unnecessary structural components
3Ease of repair
If electronic controls are mounted aft of the fan containment case, then they are accessible for maintenance, but mounting space is limited for larger modern electronic controls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates the engine accessory and electronic control mounting from the traditional aft position to a new location within the nacelle assembly structure. This spatial relocation provides significantly more mounting area while maintaining accessibility through the fan cowl doors, effectively solving the space constraint problem
4Volume of stationary object
If the fan containment case is extended upstream to accommodate the relocated A-flange, then mounting space for accessories is increased, but the structure must maintain protection against fan blade out events
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fan containment case structure into distinct functional zones: the extended upstream portion provides mounting space for accessories and electronic controls, while the downstream portion maintains the containment function for fan blade protection. This segmentation allows both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3~4
AI summary
A gas turbine engine (10) comprises a nacelle assembly (25), a core engine (25) at least partially surrounded by the nacelle assembly (35) and including a fan section (14), a compressor section (16), a combustor section (22) and a turbine section (24) and a fan containment case (38) positioned annularly about the fan section (14). The engine also includes a cavity (64) annularly extending radially between the fan containment case (38) and the nacelle assembly (35), the cavity (64) extending upstream from the fan section (14) and mountably receiving an engine accessory (66).