Stiffened Unit Cell Structures for Gas Turbine Engine Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines, such as turbofans, experience overturning moments, axial compressive forces, and torsion during flight, leading to potential displacement, deformation, and buckling of components like bypass ducts and fan casings, which existing structures struggle to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of unit cell structures with stiffening patterns, featuring alternating recessed and protruding trigonal unit cells, which are laterally adjacent and interconnected, increasing the moment of inertia and isotropic stiffness of the structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional unit cell structures are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but the structure experiences displacement, deformation, and buckling under overturning moments and compressive forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from conventional 2D unit cell structures to 3D isometric unit cells with vertices extending in multiple spatial dimensions. This dimensional enhancement allows the structure to resist loads from multiple directions simultaneously, significantly improving buckling resistance and structural strength while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through additive processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining multiple unit cells into a lattice structure that integrates different geometric elements (edges, vertices, and cell walls) to create a composite material-like behavior. This composite approach enables the structure to achieve superior mechanical properties including enhanced stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio
2Object-affected harmful factors
If existing structures are used, then the design is simpler, but aerodynamic disturbance is higher
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes curved and rounded geometric features in the unit cell design, including curved edges and vertices that blend smoothly rather than creating sharp discontinuities. This curvature approach reduces flow separation and turbulence generation, thereby minimizing aerodynamic disturbance while the overall lattice configuration maintains structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different geometric characteristics to different regions of the unit cell structure, optimizing local areas for aerodynamic performance while maintaining global structural strength. Specific vertices and edges are designed with enhanced curvature or reinforcement based on their exposure to aerodynamic loads, creating locally optimized quality that reduces overall drag
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional stiffening methods are used, then manufacturing is more difficult, but additive techniques enable easier production of complex unit cell structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical manufacturing methods (such as machining, welding, or assembly of separate components) with additive manufacturing technology. This substitution enables the direct fabrication of complex 3D unit cell geometries that would be impossible or extremely difficult to produce using conventional mechanical processes, thereby simplifying manufacturing while embracing geometric complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent leverages additive manufacturing's ability to easily modify geometric parameters such as cell size, wall thickness, vertex configuration, and lattice density. These parameter changes can be implemented through software modeling without requiring different tooling or manufacturing processes, enabling flexible optimization of unit cell structures for specific performance requirements while maintaining ease of manufacture
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 solution effectively reduces displacement, deformation, and buckling of engine components by enhancing their stiffness and resistance to bending moments, compressive forces, and torsion, while also allowing for lower aerodynamic disturbance and easier manufacturing using additive techniques.
Implementation Method 1
the first plurality of unit cells and the second plurality of unit cells are arranged in pairs such that ones of the first plurality of unit cells are laterally adjacent to and interconnected with ones of the second plurality of unit cells, and wherein the structure is a stiffened structure
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for a structure of an engine component, including a first plurality of unit cells offset from a neutral plane in a first direction, a second plurality of unit cells offset from the neutral plane in a second direction, a plurality of nodes joining ones of the first plurality of unit cells and ones of the second plurality of unit cells, wherein the first plurality of unit cells and the second plurality of unit cells are arranged in pairs such that ones of the first plurality of unit cells are laterally adjacent to and interconnected with ones of the second plurality of unit cells, and wherein the structure is a stiffened structure.