Thin Cooling Passage Partition for Complex Turbine Airfoil Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming internal architecture of turbine engine parts, such as airfoils, are limited by casting dimensions and material temperature limitations, particularly in creating complex cooling passage designs and using sheet metal inserts that lack sufficient heat resistance.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing separately formed cooling passage partitions made from materials like single crystal grain structure super alloys, cobalt-based super alloys, or coated refractory metals, with a maximum thickness of 8 mils, which can be attached to turbine components to enhance cooling efficiency and flexibility in design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If casting is used to form internal passages, then the airfoil can be manufactured with integrated cooling passages, but the dimensions and shapes of internal architecture and heat transfer features are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling passage partition is separated from the airfoil structure, allowing independent formation and insertion into the airfoil. This segmentation enables complex internal architectures to be created without casting limitations, while the airfoil itself can be manufactured using conventional casting methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling passage partition acts as an intermediary component that bridges the airfoil structure and the cooling fluid flow. By inserting this separately formed partition into the airfoil, complex internal passages and heat transfer features can be achieved without modifying the casting process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sheet metal inserts are used for internal passages, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but heat resistance is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling passage partition is constructed from composite materials including refractory metal substrates with oxidation-resistant coatings, or nickel-based superalloys. These composite structures provide both the manufacturing flexibility of separately formed components and the high-temperature heat resistance required for turbine applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The material parameters of the partition are specifically selected to withstand high temperatures, using refractory metals and superalloys with appropriate thermal properties. The coating thickness and material composition are optimized to maintain heat resistance while allowing flexible manufacturing of complex geometries.
3Strength
If thicker partitions are used, then structural integrity is improved, but weight increases and cooling efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The partition utilizes thin-walled structures with optimized thickness to achieve the required structural integrity while minimizing weight. The refractory metal and superalloy materials provide sufficient strength at reduced thicknesses, enabling thin film-like partitions that maintain structural integrity without excessive weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition thickness is optimized locally based on specific structural and thermal requirements. Thinner sections are used where structural demands are lower and cooling efficiency is critical, while thicker sections are provided only where necessary for structural support, achieving overall weight reduction while maintaining integrity.
4Reliability
If complex cooling passage designs are implemented, then convective cooling efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex cooling passage design is segmented into a separately formed partition that can be manufactured independently using appropriate processes. This allows complex geometries with optimized cooling passages to be created without increasing the complexity of the main airfoil manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition serves as an intermediary component that embodies the complex cooling passage design. By separating the cooling passage geometry from the airfoil structure, the complex passages can be formed using specialized processes while the airfoil itself maintains a simpler manufacturing process.
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 solution provides improved heat tolerance and weight savings, allowing for more complex cooling passage designs that maintain structural integrity at high temperatures, enhancing convective cooling efficiency and reducing pressure losses.
Implementation Method 1
internal passages through which a cooling fluid is directed to convectively cool the internal walls of the hollow airfoils
Implementation Method 2
provide turbulence promoters within the internal cooling passages to interrupt the boundary layer growth of the cooling fluid adjacent the internal walls. By producing turbulent flow adjacent the internal wall surfaces, an improvement in heat transfer from these surfaces to the cooling fluid can be realized
Implementation Method 3
interrupt the boundary layer growth of the cooling fluid adjacent the internal walls
Data Source
AI summary
A hollow turbine airfoil or a hollow turbine casting including a cooling passage partition. The cooling passage partition is formed from a single crystal grain structure nickel based super alloy, a cobalt based super alloy, a nickel-aluminum based alloy, or a coated refractory metal.