Gas Turbine Rotor Balancing via Cooling Hole Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for balancing gas turbine engine rotors using balancing weights introduce stress concentrations due to additional attachments, which can be detrimental, especially when using materials sensitive to stress.
Innovation Solution
The use of annular balancing weights with central apertures inserted into cooling holes of the rotor assembly, allowing cooling air access and installed asymmetrically to balance the rotor, reduces stress concentrations and maintains cooling functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If balancing weights are attached to the rotor assembly using conventional attachment points, then the rotor can be balanced, but stress concentrations are introduced on the rotor assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The balancing weight is nested within the existing cooling hole structure of the rotor assembly. The weight fits inside the cooling hole cavity, utilizing the pre-existing structural feature rather than adding external attachments. This nesting approach allows the balancing function to be achieved while avoiding stress concentrations that would result from conventional attachment methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the cooling hole (a porous or hollow structure) in the rotor assembly to house the balancing weight. By inserting the weight into the cooling hole, the solution exploits the existing void space in the rotor structure, thereby achieving balance without introducing additional attachment points that would create stress concentrations.
2Strength
If balancing weights are inserted into cooling holes, then stress concentrations are reduced, but cooling air access to the cooling path may be blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The balancing weight is designed with a central aperture that segments the weight into regions that allow cooling air passage. The aperture creates a通道 (channel) through the weight, enabling cooling air to flow through the weight itself rather than being blocked by a solid structure. This segmentation maintains the stress-reduction benefit while preserving cooling functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The balancing weight serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the necessary mass for rotor balancing, maintains structural integrity without stress concentrations, and facilitates cooling air flow through its central aperture. The aperture design allows the weight to function both as a balancing mass and as a component that preserves the cooling pathway, achieving multi-functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for balancing a gas turbine engine rotor includes a plurality of balancing weights adapted to be selectively attached to at least one of inlets or outlets of a cooling passage of the rotor. The weights include cooling access which permits coolant to communicate with the cooling passage.