Gas Turbine Rotor Web Slots for Stress Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine components, such as rotor disks and blades, experience stress due to temperature differences during operation, leading to potential vibration and fatigue issues.
Innovation Solution
A rotor component design featuring a web and rim with strategically placed holes and twisted slots that form specific angles with the engine axis, providing stress relief and improved durability through optimal alignment with the flow path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If rotor disks and blades are used in gas turbine engines, then energy generation and propulsion are achieved, but stress and fatigue issues arise due to temperature differences during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The rotor disk is segmented into multiple sections with holes and slots that divide the continuous structure into manageable segments. This segmentation allows for stress distribution and reduction, preventing fatigue failure while maintaining the overall structural integrity needed for energy generation
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the rotor disk are given different properties through the strategic placement of holes and slots in specific patterns. The web portion has a different hole/slot configuration compared to the rim, creating local quality variations that optimize stress distribution in high-stress areas while maintaining structural strength where needed
2Reliability
If rotor disks with holes and slots are designed to reduce stress, then fatigue capability increases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The holes and slots are pre-designed and pre-positioned in the rotor disk during manufacturing, with their locations, sizes, and orientations predetermined to achieve optimal stress distribution. This preliminary action ensures that the stress-reducing features are correctly implemented without requiring complex post-manufacturing adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The slots are designed with curved or twisted geometries rather than straight lines, following the natural stress flow patterns in the rotor disk. This curvature optimizes stress distribution while the patterns are designed to be manufacturable using standard aerospace manufacturing techniques
Data Source
AI summary
A component for a gas turbine engine having an engine axis includes a rotor disk and a plurality of airfoils. The rotor disk comprises a web and a rim. The web has a first outer surface at least partially defining a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of slots extends from a corresponding one of the plurality of holes and forms a first angle with the engine axis at the point of intersection with the corresponding one of the plurality of holes. The rim has a second outer surface also at least partially defining the plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of slots forms a second angle with the engine axis at the second outer surface, the second angle being different from the first angle. Each of the plurality of airfoils extends from the second outer surface.