Rotor Throat Distribution for Flow Capacity and Flutter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine rotors face challenges in achieving increased flow capacity without reducing efficiency or flutter margin, while also requiring reduced weight and enhanced robustness to withstand foreign object encounters without increasing weight or compromising efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The rotor design incorporates a throat distribution that increases flow capacity, a camber distribution to reduce flutter, and a location of local maximum thickness distribution for robustness, all without increasing weight or reducing efficiency, by optimizing the throat dimension and camber line geometry of the rotor blades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the overall thickness of the airfoil is increased to provide robustness against foreign objects, then the robustness is improved, but the weight of the rotor blade increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the maximum thickness of the airfoil at a specific location (between 30-70% of the chord length from the leading edge) rather than distributing thickness uniformly. This localized thickness concentration provides robustness where needed (to withstand foreign objects) while minimizing overall weight by reducing thickness in other regions.
2Productivity
If the flow capacity of the rotor is increased, then the productivity is improved, but the efficiency of the rotor is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes geometric parameters of the airfoil (camber distribution, maximum camber location, and maximum thickness location) to optimize the balance between flow capacity and efficiency. By positioning the maximum camber at 20-40% of the chord length and maximum thickness at 30-70% of the chord length, the design achieves enhanced flow capacity while maintaining acceptable efficiency through optimized flow characteristics.
3Strength
If the overall thickness of the airfoil is increased to provide robustness, then the robustness is improved, but the weight of the rotor blade increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the maximum thickness of the airfoil at a specific location (between 30-70% of the chord length from the leading edge) rather than distributing thickness uniformly. This localized thickness concentration provides robustness where needed (to withstand foreign objects) while minimizing overall weight by reducing thickness in other regions.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the camber distribution is modified to reduce flutter, then the stability is improved, but the aerodynamic performance may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the camber distribution parameters by positioning the maximum camber at 20-40% of the chord length from the leading edge, which differs from conventional airfoils. This parameter modification reduces flutter tendency by altering the structural dynamics while the accompanying thickness distribution optimization maintains aerodynamic efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A rotor (200) for a compressor includes a hub and a plurality of airfoils (200) having a root, a tip opposite the root and a span that extends from 0% at the root to 100% at the tip. Each of the airfoils is coupled to the hub at the root and is spaced apart from adjacent ones of the airfoils over the span by a throat dimension. The throat dimension has a maximum value (246) at a spanwise location between 60% of the span and 90% of the span of the adjacent ones of the airfoils, and at 10% of the span of the adjacent ones of the airfoils above or below the spanwise location of the maximum value, the throat dimension (248,250) is less than 97% of the maximum value. The throat dimension (244) at 5% of the span of the adjacent ones of the airfoils is less than 70% of the maximum value.