Gas Turbine Inlet Duct Cooling Airflow Path
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Miniature gas turbine engines used in aircraft face challenges due to high heat generation and speed, which lead to excessive heat exposure for various components, necessitating effective cooling solutions to maintain performance and reliability.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a cooling airflow system where cooling air exits at a downstream end adjacent the nozzle, passing between the gas turbine engine's outer casing and the vehicle's inner casing, effectively cooling components such as actuators and electronic controls by utilizing a portion of the inlet air.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the gas turbine engine operates at high speed and generates high power, then propulsion performance is improved, but heat generation increases causing excessive heat exposure to components
Solution Approach 1:
A cooling airflow system acts as an intermediary between the hot gas turbine components and the surrounding environment. The system introduces cooling air that flows through designated pathways to extract heat from actuators and electronic controls, then dissipates it through a cooling structure with fins or ribs, preventing excessive heat exposure while maintaining high power operation
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes pneumatic cooling by introducing cooling air that flows through the engine structure. The cooling airflow is directed through passages and over heat-generating components, using the kinetic energy and thermal properties of the moving air to remove heat. The cooled air then exits through a cooling structure, effectively managing thermal loads during high-power operation
2Reliability
If cooling air is introduced to manage heat, then component reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling airflow system is merged with the existing engine structure by integrating cooling passages, airflow directors, and cooling surfaces into the housing and component mounts. This combination approach allows cooling functionality to be achieved without adding separate, complex cooling subsystems, thereby improving component reliability while minimizing increases in device 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
This cooling mechanism helps in managing the high heat generated by the miniature gas turbine engine, ensuring the reliability and performance of critical components, thereby enhancing the overall propulsion efficiency and vehicle operation.
Implementation Method 1
The cooling airflow passes between an inner surface of the vehicle outer casing and the outer casing of the gas turbine engine
Implementation Method 2
A portion of the inlet air is used to cool components in the gas turbine engine
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A gas turbine engine has an inlet duct, which is configured to communicate with an inlet to a compressor. The inlet duct is further configured to communicate air outwardly of an outer casing of the gas turbine engine, and to pass the air along an axial length of the gas turbine engine to cool a component associated with the gas turbine engine.