Rotor Blade Tip Shroud Interlocking Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Known gas turbine engines face issues with rotor assembly resonance due to weight differences between rotor and stator components, leading to potential damage and failure over time.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a rotor blade tip shroud with increased cross-sectional thickness sections for interlocking and a reduced thickness intermediate portion, facilitating weight reduction and improved resonance alignment with other engine components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the tip shroud is made with increased cross-sectional thickness for interlocking, then the interlocking strength between adjacent rotor blades is improved, but the weight of the rotor assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tip shroud features localized increased cross-sectional thickness sections positioned specifically at the interlocking surfaces where strength is needed, while other portions maintain reduced thickness to minimize weight. This creates non-uniform thickness distribution that optimizes both interlocking strength and weight reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip shroud is divided into distinct sections with different thickness characteristics: increased thickness sections for interlocking and reduced thickness intermediate portions for weight reduction. This segmentation allows different parts of the same component to serve different functional requirements.
2Reliability
If the tip shroud weight is reduced to align resonance frequency with other engine components, then the rotor assembly resonance alignment is improved, but the interlocking strength between adjacent rotor blades may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The design applies local quality by concentrating the increased thickness material specifically at the interlocking surfaces where strength is critical for maintaining blade-to-blade connection, while allowing other regions to have reduced thickness for weight reduction and resonance alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip shroud structure is segmented into functional zones: interlocking surfaces with increased thickness for strength, and intermediate portions with reduced thickness for weight control. This segmentation enables simultaneous optimization of both resonance alignment and interlocking strength.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for fabricating a rotor blade is provided. The method includes providing a rotor blade that includes a tip shroud having a portion of increased cross-sectional thickness relative to adjacent portions of the tip shroud. The increased cross-sectional thickness section extends across substantially an entire circumferential width of the tip shroud. The increased cross-sectional thickness section defines a pair of opposite interlock surfaces that each form a portion of a respective side of the pair of opposite tip shroud sides used for interlocking the tip shrouds of two adjacent rotor blades on the rotor. The method also includes removing a portion of the increased cross-sectional thickness section between the pair of opposite tip shroud sides to facilitate enhancing the efficiency of the rotor blade.