Spherical-Joint Ducting for Cooling Articulated Exhaust Flaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine engines face a challenge in effectively cooling exhaust flaps without significantly reducing thrust output due to the high airflow requirements for film cooling, which is typically used to manage high temperatures.
Innovation Solution
An articulatable ducting system with spherical joints and conduits that allow for the transfer of coolant fluid from a static structure to a movable exhaust flap, enabling efficient effusion cooling across a wide range of positions and movements, reducing the need for excessive airflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If film cooling is used to cool exhaust flaps, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but airflow consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust flaps incorporate porous material or porous structure that enables effusion cooling, where coolant flows through the porous surface to form a cooling film on the gas-exposed surface, achieving effective cooling with reduced airflow consumption compared to conventional film cooling systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the cooling parameter from conventional film cooling to effusion cooling through porous material, altering the coolant delivery mechanism to reduce airflow requirements while maintaining cooling effectiveness across a wide range of flap positions
2Temperature
If exhaust flaps are cooled with significant airflow, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but thrust output is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By using porous material for effusion cooling, the system achieves effective exhaust flap cooling with significantly reduced airflow consumption, thereby minimizing the negative impact on thrust output that is associated with conventional film cooling systems requiring large airflow
3Adaptability or versatility
If exhaust flaps are actuated through wide range of positions, then versatility is improved, but maintaining fluidic connection becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The ducting system incorporates dynamic elements including spherical joints and flexible sections that enable the conduit to articulate and maintain reliable fluidic connection between the stationary structure and movable exhaust flap across a wide range of positions, thereby achieving both versatility and connection reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The ducting system employs spherical joints that allow multi-axis rotation and articulation, enabling the conduit to follow the exhaust flap through wide ranges of motion while maintaining continuous fluidic connection, thus achieving both wide position range and connection reliability
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 system achieves effective cooling of exhaust flaps with reduced airflow requirements, maintaining thrust output and increasing the mean time between failures while allowing for wide-range actuation of exhaust flaps.
Implementation Method 1
enabling efficient effusion cooling across a wide range of positions and movements
Implementation Method 2
a first spherical joint associated with the first structure; a second spherical joint associated with the second structure
Data Source
AI summary
There is described an articulatable ducting system 700 for a gas turbine engine. The system comprises a first structure 710, a second structure 720, a first spherical joint 740, a second spherical joint 750 and a conduit 730. The first structure 710 defines a first internal volume 711. The second structure 720 defines a second internal volume 721, with the second structure 720 being movable with respect to the first structure 710. The first spherical joint 740 is associated with the first structure 710 and the second spherical joint 750 is associated with the second structure 720. The conduit 730 extends between the first and second spherical joints 740, 750 and thereby fluidically connects the first internal volume 711 to the second internal volume 721.