Post-Shutdown Turbine Cooling System for Thermal Gradient Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines experience residual heat-induced thermal hotspots and gradients after shutdown, leading to degradation, coking of fluids, and contact-related damage, which reduces service life, performance, and increases startup time.
Innovation Solution
A post-shutdown cooling system with a coolant reservoir and cooling device that uses onboard cooling fluid to provide targeted spot cooling to heated components, controlled by a controller that manages valve positions to facilitate efficient cooling and reduce startup time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the turbine engine shuts down for between flights, then passengers can disembark and the aircraft can be prepared for the next flight, but residual heat causes thermal hotspots and gradients that lead to fluid degradation, coking, and contact-related damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is activated before the engine completely shuts down and maintains operation during the shutdown period. The cooling device continues to circulate coolant through the turbine components, compressors, and other heated parts to prevent thermal hotspots and gradients from forming during the shutdown interval between flights.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system maintains continuous operation during the engine shutdown period. The cooling device keeps circulating coolant through the turbine engine components, ensuring that the cooling action continues uninterrupted during the shutdown phase, thereby preventing thermal degradation while allowing the engine to be off for flight operations.
2Reliability
If special startup procedures or engine startup delays are implemented to reduce contact-related damage, then component damage is reduced, but startup time increases and flight schedules are delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system performs preliminary cooling action during the shutdown phase, bringing the engine components to a lower temperature state before the next startup. This preliminary cooling reduces the thermal gradients and prevents coking, so that when the engine is restarted, standard startup procedures can be used without delays or special procedures to prevent damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the harmful residual heat that would normally cause thermal damage into a beneficial controlled cooling process. By actively managing the cooling during shutdown, the system transforms what would be a harmful thermal state into a controlled cooling state that prepares the engine for rapid, damage-free restart.
3Reliability
If the cooling system uses onboard cooling fluid stored in a coolant reservoir, then targeted spot cooling is provided to heated components, but the device complexity increases with additional reservoir and valve components
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid stored in the coolant reservoir serves multiple functions: it cools the turbine components during shutdown, prevents thermal hotspots, avoids fluid degradation and coking, and prepares the engine for rapid restart. This multi-functional approach consolidates several cooling-related functions into a single system, reducing overall complexity compared to having separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system uses the engine's own onboard cooling fluid, stored in a coolant reservoir, to cool itself during shutdown. The system is self-sufficient, using the engine's existing fluid resources rather than requiring external cooling sources, which simplifies the overall system architecture by eliminating the need for external cooling connections or additional complex cooling mechanisms.
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 system effectively reduces engine startup time, minimizes fluid coking and component damage, and improves the service life and reliability of turbine engines by controlling thermal deformation.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling device for cooling heated components of the turbine engine with the cooling fluid
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooling system for use with a turbine engine. The system includes a coolant reservoir configured to store cooling fluid therein, and a cooling device coupled in flow communication with the coolant reservoir, wherein the cooling device is configured to cool heated components of the turbine engine with the cooling fluid. The system further includes a first valve configured to control flow of the cooling fluid from the coolant reservoir towards the cooling device, and a controller coupled in communication with the first valve. The controller is configured to monitor an operational status of the turbine engine, and actuate the first valve into an open position after the turbine engine has been shut down such that the cooling fluid cools the heated components.