Radial Tie-Bolt Support Spring for Gas Turbine Rotor Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tie-bolt systems in gas turbine engines face challenges in reducing weight while maintaining natural frequencies and preventing lateral vibratory motion, as the removal of heavy spanner nuts decreases rigidity and allows increased lateral motion.
Innovation Solution
A tie-bolt support assembly with a spring engaged between the tie-bolt and rotor assembly, allowing axial movement and maintaining a load path to resist lateral loads, thereby increasing natural frequencies and reducing weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heavy spanner nut is used to maintain connection and increase stiffness of the tie-bolt, then the natural frequency of the tie-bolt is increased, but the weight of the rotor structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the heavy spanner nut from the tie-bolt system and replaces it with a lightweight spring mechanism. The spring is engaged with the tie-bolt and rotor assembly to provide the necessary lateral support and maintain natural frequency without requiring the heavy spanner nut, thus reducing the weight of the rotor structure while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameter of the tie-bolt system by introducing a spring with specific stiffness characteristics. The spring is designed to provide the necessary lateral support and maintain the natural frequency of the tie-bolt while being significantly lighter than the traditional spanner nut, effectively changing the weight-stiffness parameter relationship of the system.
2Weight of stationary object
If the spanner nut is removed to reduce weight, then the weight of the rotor structure is reduced, but the rigidity of the tie-bolt decreases allowing increased lateral vibratory motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heavy spanner nut from the system and replaces it with a lightweight spring mechanism that maintains the necessary rigidity and stability of the tie-bolt while significantly reducing the weight of the rotor structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dynamic spring element that can adapt to lateral loads and vibratory motion while maintaining the necessary rigidity. The spring provides elastic support that maintains the stability of the tie-bolt system without requiring the heavy, rigid spanner nut, thus reducing weight while maintaining structural integrity.
3Reliability
If a spring is engaged between the tie-bolt and rotor assembly to maintain load path, then lateral support is maintained and natural frequencies are increased, but axial movement is allowed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the functional requirements of the spring mechanism into distinct components: the spring element provides lateral support and maintains natural frequency, while the groove structure allows axial movement. This segmentation of functions allows the system to simultaneously provide reliable lateral support while maintaining ease of axial movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring acts as an intermediary element between the tie-bolt and rotor assembly, providing lateral support and maintaining natural frequencies while allowing axial movement. The groove structure serves as an intermediary guide that permits axial movement while maintaining the spring's lateral support function, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
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
The solution effectively reduces the weight of the rotor while maintaining lateral support and resisting asymmetric deflection, enhancing the tie-bolt's natural frequencies and preventing unwanted lateral motion.
Implementation Method 1
a spring engaged between the tie-bolt and rotor assembly to maintain a load path between the tie-bolt and the rotor assembly while allowing for axial movement of the tie-bolt
Data Source
AI summary
According to some embodiments, a tie-bolt support assembly is provided which includes a support spring for engagement with both the tie-bolt and a rotor assembly to maintain a load path between the tie-bolt and the rotor assembly while also allowing for axial movement of the tie-bolt.