Trench Filler Layer for Gas Turbine Fan Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containment systems for gas turbine engine fan blades, which use abradable materials to dissipate impact energy, face challenges in achieving sufficient sheer stiffness without increasing weight and space, and are limited by the physical characteristics of materials like paper-based composites.
Innovation Solution
A containment case with a trench filler layer made of fibrous composite materials, where each sheet is fabricated with a repeating pattern of hollow units, allowing for customizable sheer stiffness and effective energy dissipation upon impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If abradable material is used to dissipate impact energy, then damage to the gas turbine engine is minimized, but the material requires increased weight and space to achieve sufficient sheer stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite abradable materials comprising a matrix material (such as metal or polymer) combined with dispersed particles or reinforcement elements. This composite structure achieves the required sheer stiffness for effective energy dissipation while maintaining reduced weight compared to solid homogeneous materials of equivalent performance
Solution Approach 2:
The abradable material is designed with a porous or cellular internal structure that allows for energy absorption through cell collapse and deformation mechanisms. This porous architecture provides high specific stiffness (stiffness-to-weight ratio) and enables effective impact energy dissipation without requiring increased material weight or occupying excessive space
2Object-affected harmful factors
If abradable material is used to dissipate impact energy, then damage to the gas turbine engine is minimized, but the material requires increased space to achieve sufficient sheer stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The composite construction with strategically placed reinforcement elements or particulate matter within a matrix provides enhanced stiffness per unit volume, allowing the abradable material to achieve sufficient sheer stiffness without occupying increased space within the fan casing
Solution Approach 2:
The porous or cellular structure utilizes efficient space utilization through three-dimensional cell arrangements that provide high stiffness-to-volume ratios. The cell walls and struts are optimized to maximize structural efficiency within the available space, achieving required mechanical properties without increasing the overall volume of the abradable material layer
3Ease of repair
If paper-based abradable material is used, then the material is easy to replace or repair, but the material is not easily tailored in terms of physical characteristics including sheer stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables tailoring of physical characteristics by varying parameters such as particle size, particle concentration, matrix material composition, porosity level, and cell structure geometry. These parameter adjustments allow customization of sheer stiffness and other mechanical properties to match specific operational requirements while maintaining the modular nature of the material for ease of replacement
Solution Approach 2:
The composite formulation allows independent optimization of different components - the matrix material provides baseline properties and ease of installation, while the dispersed particles or reinforcement elements provide tunable stiffness characteristics. This modular composite approach maintains ease of repair through standardized installation procedures while enabling versatile tailoring of physical properties through material composition design
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 effectively mitigates damage to the gas turbine engine and reduces the threat to operators by dissipating impact energy while tailoring physical characteristics like sheer stiffness to operational requirements without increasing weight or space.
Implementation Method 1
the trench filler layer configured to dissipate an amount of impact energy from a released fan blade and including a plurality of sheets. Each sheet of the plurality of sheets includes a fibrous composite material having a plurality of fibers fabricated within each sheet of the plurality of sheets, where the plurality of sheets are coupled together into a repeating pattern of hollow units
Data Source
AI summary
A containment case includes a fan assembly including a hub having a plurality of fan blades extending radially outward between radially inward blade roots and radially outward blade tips. Containment case includes a radially outer shell circumscribing fan assembly and having a first radially inner surface and a radially outer surface, an inner structure having a second radially inner surface extending along first radially inner surface, and a trench extending circumferentially along second radially inner surface into inner structure from second radially inner surface. The trench is approximately axially aligned with the fan assembly. The containment case also includes, within the trench, a trench filler layer configured to dissipate impact energy from a released fan blade and having a plurality of sheets including a fibrous composite material having a plurality of fibers fabricated within each sheet, where the sheets are coupled together into a repeating pattern of hollow units.