Turbine Blade Segmented Platform for Stress Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing turbine blades in gas turbines face increased stress due to rising hot gas temperatures and reduced cooling air consumption, requiring design measures to reduce stress while allowing for higher temperatures and lower cooling air usage, with existing solutions being complex or not suitable for retrofitting.
Innovation Solution
A turbine blade design featuring a separate platform composed of multiple elements that can be directly attached to the rotor without altering the attachment, using a composite structure with connecting surfaces and sealing grooves for assembly, allowing for flexible attachment and sealing without changing the rotor attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the platform is designed as a separate element fastened to the blade by special pins, then the stress on the blade is reduced, but the production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is divided into multiple platform elements that are assembled together to form the complete platform structure. This segmentation allows each element to be manufactured separately with reduced complexity, while still achieving the stress reduction benefit through the modular construction that distributes mechanical loads across multiple connection points.
2Strength
If the blade element and platform element are designed as separate elements fastened separately to the blade carrier, then the stress on the blade is reduced, but the rotor attachment must be adapted making it unsuitable for retrofit tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The platform elements are designed with a universal attachment interface that can be fastened to the blade using existing attachment methods without requiring modifications to the rotor or blade carrier. This allows the stress-reducing separate platform design to be applied to existing turbines through retrofitting, maintaining compatibility with standard attachment procedures while achieving the mechanical benefits of separation.
3Device complexity
If the platform is designed in two parts with form-fitting connection, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but sealing between platform elements becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing element acts as an intermediary component between the platform elements at their connecting surfaces. This separate sealing component ensures reliable sealing between the two platform parts without compromising the simplified form-fitting connection design, maintaining both manufacturing ease and sealing reliability through the addition of this dedicated sealing intermediary.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a turbine blade (10), comprising a blade (11) having a front edge (13) and a rear edge (14), which blade transitions by means of a shaft (15) into a blade root (16) designed for fastening the turbine blade (10), and comprising a platform (17), which is arranged at the lower end of the blade (11) in order to bound a flow channel, wherein the platform (17) is designed as a separate component and can be connected to the blade (11) in a form-fit manner. Flexible application is achieved in that the platform (17) is composed of several individual platform elements (17a, 17b), which enclose the blade (11) in the assembled state.