Turbine Engine Pinion Web Lattice for Low-Mass Rim Stiffness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft turbomachine gear trains face challenges in reducing mass while maintaining mechanical performance, particularly in limiting deformation and vibrations of gable rims during operation.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a reticulated structure within the gable's veil, which has a lower density than the front and rear walls, allows for mass reduction without compromising mechanical properties. This structure is manufactured using additive manufacturing techniques, enabling precise control over mechanical properties and distribution of efforts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the web is perforated to reduce mass, then mass is reduced, but mechanical performance deteriorates due to increased mixing losses and reduced structural integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The web incorporates a reticulated structure with controlled porosity, where the density of the reticulated structure is lower than the front and rear walls. This porous configuration reduces mass while maintaining structural integrity through the distributed lattice architecture, avoiding the harmful effects of through-perforations.
Solution Approach 2:
The pinion web combines solid wall regions with reticulated lattice regions to create a composite structure. This allows different areas to have optimized properties: solid walls provide strength at critical locations while the reticulated structure provides mass reduction in non-critical areas, resolving the contradiction between mass reduction and mechanical performance.
2Weight of moving object
If material is removed from the web to reduce mass, then mass is reduced, but deformation under load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reticulated structure with controlled density provides a balance between mass reduction and structural stiffness. The lattice architecture distributes loads across multiple pathways, preventing excessive deformation while reducing mass compared to solid walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The web features non-uniform density distribution, with the reticulated structure having lower density than the front and rear walls. This local quality optimization places material strategically where needed for structural support while removing material from areas where it adds unnecessary mass.
3Strength
If the web is solid to maintain mechanical performance, then mechanical performance is maintained, but mass is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The reticulated structure provides a middle ground between solid and perforated configurations, offering mass reduction while maintaining adequate mechanical performance through the lattice architecture's load-distributing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of solid wall regions and reticulated structure creates a composite web that achieves mass reduction without sacrificing overall mechanical performance, as the solid walls provide critical strength while the reticulated structure provides structural continuity with reduced mass.
4Weight of moving object
If through-perforations are made in the web to reduce mass, then mass is reduced, but mixing losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reticulated structure uses a controlled porous lattice rather than through-perforations, reducing mass while minimizing disruptions to fluid flow paths and reducing mixing losses associated with abrupt openings.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a pinion for a gear train of an aircraft turbine engine, the pinion comprising: - a cylindrical body (2) extending along an axis and configured to engage with a shaft received in the cylindrical body, - a rim (4) concentric with the cylindrical body, - a web (3) defined axially by a front wall (32) and a rear wall (33) and extending radially from the cylindrical body to the rim, each of the front and rear walls having a density, the pinion comprising a cross-linked structure (5) around the cylindrical body between the front wall and the rear wall, the cross-linked structure comprising a unit cell repeated along three axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system, a density of the unit cell being strictly less than each of the densities of the front and rear walls.