Turbine Guide Vane Radial Gas Redistribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guide vanes in axial turbomachines, such as jet engines, face issues with temperature gradients and flow disruptions due to hot working gas flowing around the outer shroud, leading to mechanical problems and efficiency losses, particularly in the housing area where temperatures are higher.
Innovation Solution
A hollow guide vane with a blade channel that redirects cooler working gas and barrier fluid from the inner to the outer radial direction, reducing temperature gradients and minimizing flow disruptions by using a labyrinth seal and optimizing the outlet of the guide vane channel to direct gas away from the main flow path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If hot working gas flows around the outer shroud in the annular space, then the turbine can operate with simple guide vane structure, but the temperature in the housing area increases significantly causing mechanical problems and efficiency losses
Solution Approach 1:
The guide vane is segmented into functional zones with an internal channel system that divides the flow path. The channel separates the hot working gas flow in the annular space from the cooler gas flow through the blade interior, allowing independent temperature management of different structural components.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide vane channel is nested within the guide vane blade structure itself. The channel runs through the interior of the blade, allowing the blade to serve dual functions: guiding the main working gas flow externally while simultaneously transporting cooler gas internally to cool the outer shroud and housing area.
2Reliability
If cooler working gas is redistributed from radially inside to radially outside through the guide vane channel, then temperature management improves and mechanical problems are reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide vane blade is designed with multi-functionality: it serves as a flow guide for the main working gas, contains an internal cooling channel, acts as a structural support element, and functions as a heat transfer medium. This consolidation of multiple functions into a single component achieves temperature management without adding separate cooling systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide vane channel utilizes the existing pressure differential and flow characteristics of the working gas to drive the cooling flow through the channel. The system is designed so that the normal operation of the turbine automatically provides the conditions needed for cooling, without requiring external power sources or active control systems.
3Temperature
If barrier fluid is injected radially within the inner shroud to shield rotor disks, then temperature gradients are compensated, but flow disruptions occur when barrier fluid flows into the annular space
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier fluid is extracted from the annular space through the guide vane channel inlet before it can mix with and disrupt the main working gas flow. By removing the barrier fluid at a controlled location and routing it through the channel, the system eliminates the harmful flow disruptions while preserving the temperature gradient compensation benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide vane channel acts as an intermediary pathway that separates the barrier fluid from the main working gas flow in the annular space. The channel provides a dedicated transport route that prevents direct interaction between the two fluid streams, allowing the barrier fluid to perform its shielding function without disrupting the productivity-critical main flow.
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
This design reduces temperature and flow losses in the housing area, enhances efficiency, and allows for the use of forged materials, extending the service life and reducing mechanical stress on rotor blades.
Implementation Method 1
the gas flowing through the guide vane channel during operation is at least partially formed by the working gas guided in the annular space. This working gas is thus redistributed by the blade channel from radially inside to radially outside.
Implementation Method 2
The invention addresses this by bringing cooler working gas from the radially inward to the radially outward side through the guide vane channel. One advantage in this case can result from the reduction of the temperature on the outer cover strip of the impeller blade
Implementation Method 3
minimizing flow disruptions by using a labyrinth seal and optimizing the outlet of the guide vane channel to direct gas away from the main flow path
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The present invention relates to a guide vane (3) for a turbine (50c) of a turbomachine (50), comprising a guide vane blade (3c), an inner deck band (3a) and an outer deck band (3b), wherein the inner deck band (3a) and the outer deck band (3b) define an annular space (2) in a radial direction with respect to a longitudinal axis (52) of the turbomachine (50), in which working gas (51) is guided during operation, and wherein the guide vane blade (3c) is traversed internally by a guide vane channel (3d) extending between an inlet (6) radially inside and an outlet (7) radially outside, characterized in that the inlet (6) is arranged such that a gas (8) flowing through the guide vane channel (3d) during operation is formed at least partially by the working gas (51) guided in the annular space (2), i.e., it is redistributed from radially inside to radially outside.