Turbomachine Stator Support Radial Fluid Circuit Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing architecture of turbomachines with a speed reduction gearbox poses challenges in reducing radial space requirements due to the proximity of bearings and fan disks, making it difficult to accommodate fan blades and maintain necessary clearances for Fan Blade Out (FBO) displacements.
Innovation Solution
A stator structure with a bearing support and flange that houses a fan shaft bearing, featuring fluid circuits oriented radially to the axis, reducing the radial space requirement by integrating air and oil channels in a compact design, and utilizing sealing grooves and error-proofing devices for precise angular positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the first roller bearing is positioned under the fan disk in an annular volume inside the disk, then the bearing support can be placed close to the fan disk, but the radial space requirement increases and hub ratio is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reorients the fluid circuit direction from axial to radial, changing the dimensional approach to fluid delivery. This allows the bearing support to be positioned closer to the fan disk in the axial direction while maintaining adequate radial clearances, effectively using a different spatial dimension to resolve the conflict between bearing positioning and radial space requirements.
2Device complexity
If the fluid circuit is oriented axially, then the bearing support structure is simplified, but the radial space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions the fluid circuit orientation from axial to radial, fundamentally changing the spatial arrangement. This dimensional shift reduces the radial footprint of the bearing support structure while distributing the fluid delivery path along the radial direction, thereby decreasing the overall radial space requirement without significantly complicating the bearing support structure.
3Area of moving object
If clearances between bearing support and fan disk are reduced, then radial compactness is improved, but Fan Blade Out displacement accommodation is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By reorienting the fluid circuit from axial to radial orientation, the invention enables reduced radial clearances between the bearing support and fan disk while maintaining adequate axial clearances. This dimensional reconfiguration allows the structure to achieve radial compactness without compromising the axial space needed for Fan Blade Out displacement accommodation, effectively decoupling the two clearance requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Stator structure (22) extending around an axis of the turbomachine and comprising: —a support (50) having an inner surface centred on the axis and—a flange (60) defining an air chamber (A2) and having an outer surface centred on the axis, the support (50) extending around the flange (60) such that the inner and outer surfaces are opposite to each other, the structure (22) defining an oil circuit and an air circuit which are formed by upstream channels (64, 65) and downstream channels (54, 55), —each upstream channel (64, 65) defining an outer opening in the outer surface, —each downstream channel (54, 55) defining an inner opening in the inner surface, each circuit being oriented between the outer and inner openings in a direction comprising a component radial to the axis.