Gas Turbine Transition Piece Cooling Sleeve Ribs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas turbine engines face issues with uneven cooling of transition ducts due to perforated cooling sleeves, leading to temperature gradients that reduce operational life and increase maintenance costs, and complex cooling systems that are difficult to fabricate and prone to obstruction.
Innovation Solution
A double-walled transition piece with a solid cooling sleeve featuring axial and circumferential ribs, and a corrugated design that provides uniform cooling and structural support, allowing for efficient heat transfer and reduced thermal stresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If perforated cooling sleeves are used to cool the transition piece, then cooling is provided, but uneven cooling occurs leading to temperature gradients that reduce operational life
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling sleeve incorporates axial ribs and circumferential ribs that create localized cooling zones. The axial ribs divide the cooling flow into multiple streams along the axial direction, while circumferential ribs distribute cooling uniformly around the circumference, ensuring uniform temperature distribution across the transition piece surface.
2Temperature
If complex cooling passages are formed in cooling sleeves, then cooling performance is enhanced, but fabrication difficulty and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling sleeve is divided into multiple functional sections using axial ribs and circumferential ribs. These ribs segment the cooling flow path into manageable zones, allowing each section to be optimized independently while simplifying the overall manufacturing process compared to creating complex internal passages.
3Temperature
If complex cooling circuits are used, then cooling capability is improved, but the system becomes prone to obstruction by contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cooling function from complex internal passages and implements it through external axial and circumferential ribs on the cooling sleeve. This external rib structure provides effective cooling while maintaining a simple, open flow path that is less susceptible to contamination and obstruction.
4Reliability
If materials resistant to thermal stresses are used, then thermal fatigue resistance is improved, but component cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying solely on material properties to resist thermal stress, the invention addresses thermal fatigue by adding dimensional complexity to the cooling sleeve structure through axial and circumferential ribs. These ribs create a three-dimensional cooling pattern that uniformly distributes thermal loads, reducing thermal fatigue without requiring heavier or more expensive materials.
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 achieves more uniform cooling, reduced thermal stresses, and lower manufacturing costs by simplifying the cooling system and enhancing heat transfer, while maintaining structural integrity and reducing high cycle fatigue.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling flow is channeled through an annular passage defined between the transition duct and the cooling sleeve to cool the transition duct
Implementation Method 2
circumferential ribs extend from the cooling sleeve inner surface within the annular passage... axial and circumferential ribs, and a corrugated design that provides uniform cooling and structural support, allowing for efficient heat transfer
Data Source
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AI summary
A transition piece (230) for a gas turbine engine includes a cooling sleeve. The cooling sleeve includes a first end (233) and an opposite second end (235), and the cooling sleeve is coupled to the inner wall (240) of the transition piece, such that an annular passage (238) is defined between the inner wall and the cooling sleeve. The first end defines an annular inlet (237) and second end defines an annular outlet.