Turbine Engine Pinion Web Lattice for Low-Mass Vibration Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft turbomachine pinions face challenges in reducing mass while maintaining mechanical performance, with conventional methods either weakening the structure through vibrations or increasing windage losses by making the web openwork, and existing designs struggle to optimize mechanical properties under load.
Innovation Solution
A pinion design featuring a cross-linked structure within the web, manufactured using additive techniques, which reduces mass without turning the web into openwork, optimizing mechanical properties by distributing forces and limiting deformations and vibrations, achieved through a cylindrical body with a concentric rim and axially delimited web, where the cross-linked structure has a lower density than the walls, allowing for reduced thickness and improved stiffness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the web is made into openwork with through perforations to reduce mass, then mass is reduced, but windage losses increase and mechanical performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The web is transformed into a porous material with controlled porosity (10-50%), creating a three-dimensional network structure that reduces mass while maintaining mechanical integrity. This porous structure allows mass reduction without the need for through perforations that would cause windage losses, as the porous network maintains continuity of material while removing excess mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The pinion employs a composite structure where the web consists of a porous material with different density characteristics than the rim and hub. This composite approach allows optimization of each zone's mechanical properties - the porous web reduces mass while the denser rim and hub maintain structural strength and gear engagement performance.
2Weight of moving object
If the web is made into openwork to reduce mass, then mass is reduced, but mechanical strength and load tolerance decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The web is transformed into a porous material with controlled porosity (10-50%), creating a three-dimensional network structure that reduces mass while maintaining mechanical integrity. This porous structure allows mass reduction without the need for through perforations that would cause windage losses, as the porous network maintains continuity of material while removing excess mass.
Solution Approach 2:
Different zones of the pinion have different material densities optimized for their specific functions: the web has controlled porosity (10-50%) for mass reduction, while the rim and hub maintain higher density for structural strength. This local quality differentiation allows mass reduction in the web without compromising the mechanical strength required in load-bearing zones.
3Weight 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 web is transformed into a porous material with controlled porosity (10-50%), creating a three-dimensional network structure that reduces mass while maintaining mechanical integrity. This porous structure allows mass reduction without the need for through perforations that would cause windage losses, as the porous network maintains continuity of material while removing excess mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The porosity parameter of the web is controlled within the range of 10-50% to optimize the balance between mass reduction and mechanical performance. This parameter change allows the web to maintain sufficient stiffness and load-bearing capacity while achieving significant mass reduction compared to a solid web structure.
4Weight of moving object
If the web thickness is reduced to minimize mass, then mass is reduced, but vibrations of lateral cantilevers increase
Solution Approach 1:
The web is transformed into a porous material with controlled porosity (10-50%), creating a three-dimensional network structure that reduces mass while maintaining mechanical integrity. This porous structure allows mass reduction without the need for through perforations that would cause windage losses, as the porous network maintains continuity of material while removing excess mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The pinion employs a composite structure where the web consists of a porous material with lower density than the rim and hub. This composite approach allows optimization of each zone's mechanical properties - the porous web reduces mass while the denser rim and hub maintain structural strength and gear engagement performance.
Data Source
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.