Turbine Stator Valve Continuous Sealing Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engine stator control valves with labyrinth seals face challenges in minimizing leaks and preventing premature wear of abradable materials due to ventilation constraints, which also reduce engine efficiency and are difficult to adjust.
Innovation Solution
A turbine engine stator control valve featuring a continuous sealing ring with slide connections and helical springs that allow radial deflection, maintaining concentricity and independent diameter adjustment based on gas temperature, reducing the need for ventilation and improving clearance adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If ventilation is used to adjust the diameter of the control valve through thermal expansion, then the clearance control in the labyrinth seal is improved, but the engine efficiency deteriorates due to the withdrawal of pressurized air flow
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the sealing function from the ventilation system by introducing a separate abradable seal ring that works independently of the air flow ventilation, allowing the ventilation to focus solely on cooling without the burden of clearance control
Solution Approach 2:
The control valve is segmented into multiple sectors that can expand and contract independently through thermal effects, while the continuous abradable seal ring maintains consistent sealing across all sectors regardless of their individual dimensional changes
2Manufacturing precision
If ventilation is used to adjust the diameter of the control valve, then the clearance control is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for variable flow rate control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The abradable seal ring automatically adapts to clearance requirements through its own thermal expansion and contraction in response to gas temperature changes, eliminating the need for complex external control systems to adjust the clearance
3Object-generated harmful factors
If a continuous sealing ring is introduced to improve sealing, then the leak reduction is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the additional sealing components
Solution Approach 1:
The seal ring is constructed from composite materials including an abradable material layer on a support structure, combining the benefits of wear resistance with the ability to conform to the rotor surface for effective sealing
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is merged with the structural support function in the abradable seal ring design, where the ring both supports the abradable material and provides the structural connection to the control valve sectors
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
This design significantly reduces residual leaks through the labyrinth seal, maintains ring temperature close to the rotor, and eliminates ventilation constraints, enhancing sealing efficiency and reducing wear on abradable materials.
Implementation Method 1
each slide connection including a spring contained in the housing and constrained in the radial direction by being mounted, on the one hand, against one of the platforms and, on the other hand, against the sealing ring
Implementation Method 2
the radially inner ends thereof are provided with seals, made of materials called abradable materials, cooperating with adjacent wipers (circular ridges), belonging to the rotor, to form labyrinth seals
Implementation Method 3
to adjust its diameter through thermal expansions and therefore the radial position of the blades
Data Source
AI summary
A control valve composed of sectors of stationary blades, which are externally connected to a stator, includes an inner platform divided into an outer portion formed of sectors and associated, by radial slide connections, with an inner portion in the form of a ring which is continuous over a circumference, which carries an abradable seal. Springs ensure the radial position of the crown, and the concentricity thereof to the rest of the machine. The diameter of the crown is essentially determined by the temperature of the gases which pass in front of it. The independence of the radial thermal deformations is ensured by slides composed of sliding sleeves.