Single-Shaft Multi-Stage Rotor for Compact Air Cycle Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
The number of rotary components in traditional air cycle machines occupies significant space on an aircraft, which is undesirable.
Innovation Solution
A single shaft, multi-stage rotor with integrated blade stages and shrouds, additively manufactured, that includes a hub and shrouds, with flow paths designed to increase towards the forward end, and a housing that defines fluidly and thermally isolated passages, allowing for compact integration of compressor and turbine stages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional multi-component rotor design is used, then functional requirements are met, but space occupation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple rotary components (compressor and turbine stages) into a single integrated rotor assembly. The rotor includes a common hub with multiple blade stages radially spaced apart, eliminating the need for separate rotary components and reducing overall space occupation in the air cycle machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested configuration where inner and outer blade stages are arranged concentrically around the hub, with intermediate shrouds separating them. This nesting allows multiple functional stages to occupy overlapping radial and axial spaces, significantly reducing the overall volume required for the rotor assembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate rotary components are used, then functional requirements are met, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compressor stages and turbine stages are merged into a single rotor component that is additively manufactured as one piece. This integration eliminates the need for complex assembly procedures involving multiple separate rotary components, bearings, and shafts, thereby simplifying manufacturing and assembly while reducing part count.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs additive manufacturing technology to create the complex multi-stage rotor geometry that would be difficult or impossible to manufacture using traditional methods. This manufacturing parameter change enables the integration of multiple stages into a single component with complex internal and external features, simplifying assembly while maintaining functional complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A single shaft, one piece rotor having: a hub that extends from a hub aft end to a hub forward end, wherein the hub aft end defines a first diameter and the hub forward end defines a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter; a plurality of blade stages extending from a forward end to an aft end, wherein the blade stages are stacked, one on top of the other, radially outwardly from the hub, including an inner stage that is integral with the hub and an outer stage that is radially spaced apart from the hub; and a shroud between adjacent ones of the blade stages.