Segmented Intermediate Casing Extension for Aircraft Turbine Engine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional propulsion assembly designs for aircraft turbine engines require entire replacement of the annular groove if damaged, leading to high costs and maintenance inefficiencies due to non-uniform loading and localized wear, and do not optimize for cost, mass, and quality.
Innovation Solution
The extension of the intermediate frame includes a downstream annular connecting part segmented into multiple angular sectors, where a single-piece junction ring and second angular sectors reduce mass and manufacturing costs, allowing for easier maintenance by replacing only damaged sectors, and enabling different materials and designs for varying load zones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the annular groove is made as a single continuous structure, then the structural integrity is maintained, but the entire groove must be replaced if any part is damaged, increasing maintenance cost and time
Solution Approach 1:
The annular groove is segmented into multiple independent angular sectors that can be replaced individually. Each sector is a separate component that can be removed and replaced without affecting the other sectors, allowing localized maintenance while preserving the overall structural integrity of the annular groove assembly.
2Ease of repair
If the annular groove is segmented into multiple sectors, then localized replacement is enabled, but the device complexity increases due to multiple components
Solution Approach 1:
The groove is divided into standardized angular sectors that are modular in design. This segmentation enables localized replacement of only the damaged sector while maintaining the other sectors in service, reducing overall device complexity compared to replacing the entire annular groove structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented design allows the damaged angular sector to be discarded and replaced with a new or refurbished sector, while the undamaged sectors are recovered and retained in the assembly, reducing the total number of components that need to be manufactured and managed.
3Reliability
If the entire annular groove is replaced when damaged, then structural integrity is ensured, but manufacturing cost and mass increase
Solution Approach 1:
The annular groove is divided into separate angular sector components, allowing only the damaged sector to be manufactured and replaced rather than the entire groove structure. This reduces the total mass of material required and decreases manufacturing costs while maintaining the structural integrity of the assembled groove.
Solution Approach 2:
Different angular sectors can be manufactured with locally optimized properties based on their specific loading conditions and wear patterns. This allows for cost-effective manufacturing by applying material and design resources only where needed, rather than uniformly across the entire annular groove structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an extension (30) of an intermediate frame for an aircraft turbine engine, that will project downstream from an outer ring of the intermediate frame, this extension comprising a downstream annular connecting part (64) preferably forming an annular groove (66) open radially outwards, into which the nacelle cowls will fit (38), the end (64) comprising at least one first angular sector (76b). According to the invention, the extension comprises a body (77) made from a single piece comprising a junction ring (74) and at least one second angular sector (76a) of said downstream annular connecting part (64), the first angular sector being added onto the extension body (77).