Single Crystal Seal Crystalline Orientation for Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft engine seals face challenges in accommodating eccentricity between rotor axes and shoe displacements while maintaining adequate resonant frequency margins, especially under varying temperature, pressure, and rotational speed conditions.
Innovation Solution
A seal designed with a single crystal nickel-based alloy, featuring a specific crystalline orientation to achieve tailored stiffness and natural frequency, allowing for increased displacement and temperature ranges without increasing the seal's size, utilizing a beam structure with a predetermined crystalline orientation to accommodate geometrical profiles and deflection ranges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional seal materials and structures are used, then the seal can maintain basic sealing function, but the seal cannot accommodate large eccentricity and displacement while maintaining adequate resonant frequency margin
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from conventional polycrystalline materials to single crystal materials with specific crystalline orientations. This parameter change enables the seal to achieve both large displacement accommodation and adequate resonant frequency margin, as the single crystal structure provides predictable and tailored mechanical properties that simultaneously satisfy both requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material strategy by combining single crystal material with specific crystalline orientation architecture. The seal structure integrates beams with <100> orientation and <110> orientation in specific configurations, creating a composite structural-material system that achieves both compliance for displacement and stiffness for resonant frequency requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the seal size is increased to accommodate larger displacement ranges, then the displacement capability improves, but the seal packaging flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material compliance parameter by using single crystal materials with specific orientations instead of conventional materials. This allows the seal to achieve larger effective displacement range without increasing physical size, as the crystalline orientation provides enhanced compliance in specific directions while maintaining compact dimensions for packaging flexibility.
3Temperature
If the seal is designed for high temperature operation, then the temperature range improves, but the material stiffness and resonant frequency may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter to single crystal nickel-based superalloys with specific crystalline orientations that are known to maintain high stiffness and strength at elevated temperatures. The <100> and <110> orientations provide temperature-stable mechanical properties, allowing the seal to operate in high temperature environments while maintaining adequate resonant frequency margin and structural integrity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced displacement, temperature, and rotational speed ranges compared to conventional seals, offering flexibility in seal packaging and a tailored spring-rate, accommodating varied application environments with improved stability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a seal designed with a single crystal nickel-based alloy, featuring a specific crystalline orientation to achieve tailored stiffness and natural frequency
Data Source
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AI summary
Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a seal (200) comprising: a shoe (202), and at least one beam (206) coupled to the shoe (202), wherein the seal (200) includes a single crystal material with a predetermined crystalline orientation. Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a method for designing a seal (200), comprising: obtaining a requirement associated with at least one of: a geometrical profile of the seal (200), a temperature range over which the seal (200) is to operate, a natural frequency associated with the seal (200), or a range of deflection associated with the seal (200), selecting a crystalline orientation for a single crystal material of the seal (200) based on the requirement, and fabricating the seal based on the selected crystalline orientation.