Gas Turbine Rotor Assembly With Replaceable Blade Platform
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current spool structures in gas turbine engines, formed of metal or composite systems with integrally formed blades, necessitate complex and difficult maintenance due to the need for replacing entire assemblies or large sections when a single blade breaks.
Innovation Solution
A rotor assembly with blades extending from a platform, installed within a spool, utilizing minimal retention devices and featuring a platform that carries centrifugal loads, along with optional balancing components and sealing members to secure the blades, allowing for easier maintenance and reduced weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If blades are integrally formed with the spool, then structural integrity is improved, but maintenance complexity increases and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor assembly is divided into separable components: the spool and the blade assembly. The blade assembly can be independently removed and replaced without replacing the entire spool, enabling modular maintenance while preserving the structural integrity of each component through proper design of retention devices and mounting interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The blades are extracted from the spool structure as a separate blade assembly that can be independently installed and removed. This extraction allows the blade assembly to be replaced without replacing the spool, reducing maintenance complexity while maintaining the strength of both components through dedicated retention devices.
2Reliability
If entire spool assemblies are replaced when a blade breaks, then reliability is maintained, but loss of time and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor assembly is segmented into the spool and the blade assembly, allowing the blade assembly to be independently replaced. This segmentation enables maintenance crews to replace only the damaged blade assembly rather than the entire spool, significantly reducing maintenance time while maintaining reliability through proper retention devices that ensure secure reassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade assembly is designed as a pre-assembled unit with blades attached to the platform, allowing it to be prepared and replaced as a complete module. This preliminary assembly of the blade unit enables faster replacement during maintenance while ensuring proper installation through retention devices, reducing overall maintenance time without compromising reliability.
3Ease of operation
If minimal retention devices are used, then ease of operation and maintenance improve, but reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The retention devices are extracted as separate, minimal components rather than being integrated into the spool structure. This extraction allows for simple, easy-to-install retention mechanisms that secure the blade assembly to the spool, facilitating ease of maintenance while maintaining reliability through proper retention device design that ensures secure attachment during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The retention devices are designed to be simple, self-contained components that can be easily installed and removed by maintenance personnel without requiring complex tools or procedures. This self-service design maintains reliability through straightforward securement while greatly improving ease of operation and maintenance.
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
Facilitates easier and less complex maintenance by minimizing the need for replacing entire assemblies, while maintaining structural integrity and reducing weight through the use of ceramic matrix composites and innovative retention and balancing designs.
Implementation Method 1
a platform positioned to contact an inner surface of the spool such that the platform carries centrifugal loads
Data Source
AI summary
A rotor assembly is provided, along with gas turbine engines for its use. The rotor assembly may include a spool defining a plurality of apertures arranged in a first row and spaced circumferentially around the spool, wherein each aperture of the plurality of apertures extends through the spool from a radially inward-facing surface to a radially outward-facing surface; and a blade assembly comprising at least two blades connected to each other via a platform, wherein each blade extends through a respective aperture.