Split Turbine Fairings with Staggered Join Lines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine engine designs face challenges in maintaining high operating temperatures due to strut exposure, with current fairing configurations either complicating installation and maintenance or increasing aerodynamic blockage through interlocking features.
Innovation Solution
The design features split fairings with staggered join lines that encircle struts, allowing for reduced aerodynamic blockage and easier assembly by positioning join lines forward and aft of the strut's maximum width, enabling a more efficient airfoil configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a one-piece wraparound fairing is used to protect struts from high temperatures, then thermal protection is improved, but installation and field maintenance become difficult because struts must be separable from the frame assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The fairing is divided into a forward section and an aft section that can be assembled around the strut in two stages. The forward section includes a forward end plate that attaches to the frame, and the aft section includes an aft end plate. This segmentation allows installation without requiring strut separation from the frame assembly, while still providing complete thermal protection when both sections are assembled together.
2Strength
If a split fairing arrangement with interlocking features is used to keep fairing halves together, then structural integrity is improved, but aerodynamic blockage increases due to the interlocking features consuming physical space
Solution Approach 1:
The forward and aft fairing sections are merged together through overlapping end plates that extend axially beyond the strut boundaries. The forward end plate of the aft section overlaps with the aft end plate of the forward section, creating a continuous fairing surface without requiring protruding interlocking features. This merging approach maintains structural integrity while minimizing aerodynamic blockage.
3Loss of energy
If fairing join lines are positioned to minimize aerodynamic blockage, then aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The join lines between fairing sections are positioned in the circumferential dimension rather than creating axial gaps. The forward and aft end plates overlap in the axial direction while joining together circumferentially, effectively moving the joint location to a different dimensional plane. This eliminates aerodynamic blockage from axial misalignment while maintaining structural stability through circumferential continuity.
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine frame for a turbine engine having an axial centerline, the turbine frame comprising an inner hub, an outer hub encircling the inner hub, a plurality of struts extending between the inner and outer hubs and having a maximum width portion relative to the axial centerline and an airfoil comprising at least first and second fairings mounted to the inner and outer hubs and encircling one of the struts.