Gas Turbine Rotor Blade Key Locking for Axial Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine rotor assemblies lack an effective mechanism to securely fasten blades to the rotor disk, allowing for axial movement that leads to wear and reduced durability.
Innovation Solution
A rotor assembly with a blade fastening assembly that includes a fastening key with a through hole, a first groove on the rotor disk, a second groove on the blade platform, a pin groove, and a fastening pin inserted through the key and pin groove, securely fixing the blade in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a blade is installed on a rotor disk without a fastening mechanism, then the installation process is simple, but the blade can move axially causing wear and reduced durability
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening mechanism is divided into separate components: a fastening key with identification marks and a fastening pin. The fastening key is inserted into grooves on the blade and rotor disk, while the fastening pin secures it in place. This segmentation allows for easier installation while ensuring reliable axial position stability through the coordinated action of multiple simple components.
2Reliability
If a fastening mechanism is added to secure the blade axially, then the blade axial position stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening function is extracted as a separate, dedicated mechanism (fastening key and pin) rather than integrating it into the blade or rotor disk structures themselves. This allows the fastening system to be designed independently for optimal reliability while keeping the overall device complexity manageable through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening key is pre-inserted into the grooves formed on the blade platform and rotor disk before final assembly. The grooves are pre-formed with specific geometries that guide the fastening key into the correct position, and the identification marks on the fastening key provide preliminary alignment information, simplifying the overall fastening process.
3Ease of operation
If identification marks are added to the fastening key, then the ease of operation during installation is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Identification marks (such as colored bands or patterns) are added to the surface of the fastening key. These marks provide visual information to operators during installation, indicating the correct orientation or position of the fastening key. The marks can be applied through simple surface treatment processes, adding minimal manufacturing complexity while significantly improving ease of operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A rotor assembly and a gas turbine (1000) including the same are proposed. The rotor assembly includes blade fastening assembly (2000) including a fastening key (2100) having a through hole (2111), a rotor disk (1120) including a disk slot (1321) into which a root member (1313) is inserted, the rotor disk (1120) having a first groove (2001) with a shape corresponding to a portion of the fastening key (2100), and a pin groove (2003) connected with the first groove (2001), a platform (1312) having a second groove (2002) formed in communication with the first groove (2001) and forming a shape corresponding to a remaining portion of the fastening key (2100) in a state of being inserted into the disk slot (1321), and a fastening pin (2200) inserted into the threaded hole (2111) and the pin groove (2003). Further a method for assembling the rotor assembly is proposed.