Turbine Casing Heat Pipe Cooling Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine casings in gas turbine engines experience high thermal gradients between high pressure and low pressure turbine regions, leading to significant thermo-mechanical stresses and structural deformations due to inadequate heat management.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of a heat pipe cooling system within the turbine casing, featuring a vaporization section in the high pressure turbine region and a condensation section in the low pressure turbine region, with a thermally conductive material between the heat pipe and the casing, and the heat pipe disposed in a groove on the casing surface or within the casing, utilizing a working medium such as water or indium to facilitate efficient heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional cooling structures are used in turbine casing, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but high thermal gradients cause large deformations and increased thermo-mechanical stresses
Solution Approach 1:
A heat pipe is introduced as an intermediary thermal management device between the high pressure turbine region and low pressure turbine region. The heat pipe includes a vaporization section in contact with the high pressure turbine casing and a condensation section in contact with the low pressure turbine casing, acting as a thermal bridge to transfer heat from high temperature to low temperature regions, thereby reducing thermal gradients and preventing structural deformation
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe utilizes phase change of a working fluid (liquid to vapor and back) to transfer thermal energy. The working fluid evaporates in the vaporization section, absorbs latent heat, condenses in the condensation section, and releases latent heat, creating an efficient thermal transport mechanism that actively manages the thermal gradient across the turbine casing
2Reliability
If a heat pipe cooling system is implemented, then thermal gradients are reduced and structural integrity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe is disposed within a groove formed in the turbine casing body, with the groove providing a recess that accommodates the heat pipe. This nesting approach integrates the cooling system into the existing casing structure, reducing the need for additional external components and simplifying the overall device complexity while maintaining the thermal management benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The heat pipe cooling system is merged with the turbine casing structure by disposing the heat pipe within a groove in the casing body and using a thermally conductive material to bond the heat pipe to the casing. This integration combines the cooling function with the structural component, eliminating the need for separate mounting hardware and reducing assembly complexity
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 heat pipe system effectively reduces thermal gradients across the turbine casing, thereby decreasing thermomechanical stresses and enhancing structural integrity by actively conducting heat away from the high pressure region to the low pressure region, improving thermal performance and reducing deformation.
Implementation Method 1
a heat pipe disposed in the turbine casing and may comprise a vaporization section and a condensation section. The vaporization section may be radially outward from the high pressure turbine.
Implementation Method 2
The heat pipe may include a working medium comprising at least one of water, ethanol, mercury, sulfur, cesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, or indium
Implementation Method 3
A thermally conductive material may be disposed between the heat pipe and a surface of the casing body
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine casing may comprise a casing body a heat pipe disposed in the casing body. The heat pipe may include a vaporization section and a condensation section. The vaporization section may be located forward the condensation section. The vaporization section may be located in a high pressure turbine region of the casing body. The condensation section may be located in a low pressure turbine region of the casing body.