Turbine Nozzle Swept Surface Arc Profile
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine systems, particularly gas turbine systems, face challenges with nozzle-to-nozzle interference due to hot deflections and stress concentration issues, especially in advanced systems with fewer nozzles, leading to increased gaps and performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates nozzles with airfoils and sidewalls featuring first and second swept surfaces that meet at a joining line or an arc aligned with a stiffening member, providing varying gap distances to accommodate hot distortions and reduce stress concentrations, thereby minimizing interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If dogleg profiles with concave intersections are used, then the airfoil can be easily coupled to the sidewalls, but high stress concentration regions are created and hot distortions cause nozzle-to-nozzle interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the concave dogleg intersection with a convex arc-shaped profile. The arc has a radius of curvature that is at least 10% of the slash face length, creating a smooth curved transition instead of a sharp corner. This curvature eliminates the stress concentration while maintaining the structural integrity and ease of manufacturing the airfoil-sidewall coupling.
2Ease of manufacture
If larger concavities are used in the dogleg slash face shape, then the airfoil coupling is improved, but the slash face total length increases and leakages increase
Solution Approach 1:
The convex arc profile provides a smooth curved transition that maintains proper airfoil coupling while minimizing the slash face length. The arc geometry is optimized to achieve the necessary structural coupling without creating excessive gaps, thereby reducing gas leakage compared to traditional dogleg designs with larger concavities.
3Stress or pressure
If relief radii are introduced at concave intersections, then stress concentration is reduced, but the slash face total length increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding relief radii to concave intersections, the patent uses a convex arc profile that inherently provides stress relief through its geometry. The arc shape distributes stresses smoothly along the curve without requiring additional relief features, thereby maintaining a compact slash face length while achieving stress reduction.
4Device complexity
If fewer nozzles are used in advanced turbine systems, then device complexity is reduced, but hot deflections cause increased nozzle-to-nozzle interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a convex arc profile specifically at the slash face regions where hot deflections cause interference between adjacent nozzles. This localized geometric modification allows each nozzle to accommodate thermal expansion and deflection independently, reducing interference with neighboring nozzles while maintaining the overall reduced nozzle count in advanced turbine systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
A nozzle (24, 224) for a turbine system (10) is disclosed. The nozzle (24, 224) includes an airfoil (40), an inner sidewall (42, 242), and an outer sidewall (44, 244). The inner sidewall (42, 242) and outer sidewall (44, 244) each includes a peripheral edge (70, 80, 270, 280) defining a pressure side slash face (72, 82, 272, 282), a suction side slash face (74, 84, 274, 284), a leading edge face (76, 86, 276, 286), and a trailing edge face (78, 88, 278, 288). At least one of the inner sidewall (42, 242) pressure side slash face (72, 82, 272, 282), the inner sidewall (42, 242) suction side slash face (74, 84, 274, 284), the outer sidewall (44, 244) pressure side slash face (72, 82, 272, 282), or the outer sidewall (44, 244) suction side slash face (74, 84, 274, 284) includes a first swept surface (100) extending at a first angle (102) relative to an axis of the turbine system (10) and a second swept surface (104) extending at a second angle (106) relative to an axis of the turbine system (10). The first and second swept surfaces (100, 104) meet at an arc (210) having a peak that is circumferentially aligned with the stiffening member (90).