Nozzle Guide Vane Debris Containment via Local Wall Thickening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines face challenges in containing and arresting debris from broken turbine blades, as debris traveling deeper into the engine can cause more damage, and existing nozzle guide vanes lack sufficient energy absorption and debris capture capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The nozzle guide vane design features a greater combined thickness of pressure and suction side walls in the central cavity region, optimized at specific chord line and radial extent points to absorb energy and capture debris effectively, reducing the likelihood of debris breaking into smaller pieces and traveling further into the engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the nozzle guide vane has standard wall thickness, then the device complexity is low and manufacturing is easy, but the energy absorption capability and debris capture capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle guide vane incorporates a thickened wall structure specifically in the central cavity region while maintaining standard thickness in other areas. This localized thickening increases energy absorption and debris capture capability where most needed, without unnecessarily increasing overall device complexity or weight.
2Reliability
If the combined thickness of pressure side wall and suction side wall is increased in the central cavity region, then the ability to absorb energy from debris is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by concentrating the increased wall thickness specifically in the central cavity region where debris capture is most critical. This targeted approach improves reliability for debris containment while minimizing the impact on manufacturing complexity compared to uniformly thickening the entire structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A nozzle guide vane for a gas turbine engine having a combined side wall thickness value which varies within a cavity region so as to provide a point with a maximum value of combined side wall thickness. The increase in combined side wall thickness is advantageous for capturing debris travelling through the engine core.