Turbine Engine Spray Nozzle for In-Situ Restorative Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for restoring coatings on turbine engine components require disassembly, which is time-consuming and costly, and existing spray devices struggle to apply uniform coatings without moving parts, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A spray nozzle device with an internal atomizing zone and plenum chamber that delivers a two-phase ceramic-liquid droplet mixture through a fixed nozzle system, allowing for uniform coating application without disassembly, using a controlled rotation of the turbine engine to ensure complete coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If disassembly is performed to access interior components for coating restoration, then complete coating restoration is achieved, but time loss and operational disruption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The spray nozzle device is inserted through an existing opening in the engine casing, with the nozzle positioned inside the engine cavity to spray coatings on interior components. This nested configuration allows coating restoration without disassembling the engine, eliminating the need to remove components to access interior surfaces.
2Loss of time
If spray devices are inserted through small openings without disassembly, then operational disruption is minimized, but coating uniformity and control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The spray nozzle device includes a rotatable component that allows the spray direction to be dynamically adjusted. This rotation capability enables the operator to control the spray pattern and ensure uniform coating distribution across interior surfaces, compensating for the limited access through small openings.
Solution Approach 2:
A plenum chamber is introduced as an intermediary component between the coating material supply and the spray nozzle. The plenum chamber distributes the coating material evenly to multiple spray outlets, ensuring uniform coating application while the nozzle remains accessible through the small opening in the engine casing.
3Manufacturing precision
If complex spray mechanisms with moving parts are used to achieve uniform coating, then coating quality improves, but device complexity and potential damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spray device is segmented into a stationary outer housing and an inner rotatable spray component. This segmentation allows the simple stationary structure to provide stability and protection, while the smaller rotatable section provides the necessary spray direction control with fewer moving parts, reducing overall complexity and potential failure points.
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
Enables efficient and uniform restoration of coatings on turbine engine components without disassembly, extending overhaul intervals and ensuring minimal disruption to engine operation.
Implementation Method 1
An atomizing spray nozzle device atomizes a two-phase mixture of ceramic-liquid droplets in a carrier gas and coats a thermal barrier coating on a component
Implementation Method 2
A spray system includes a spray nozzle device that atomizes a two-phase mixture of ceramic-liquid droplets in a carrier gas
Data Source
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AI summary
An atomizing spray nozzle device (110) includes an atomizing zone housing (522; 722; 922) that receives different phases of materials used to form a coating. The atomizing zone housing (522; 722; 922) mixes the different phases of the materials into a two-phase mixture of ceramic-liquid droplets in a carrier gas. The device (110) also includes a plenum housing (524) (524) fluidly coupled with the atomizing housing and extending from the atomizing housing to a delivery end (516; 716; 916). The plenum housing (524; 724; 924) includes an interior plenum (546; 746; 946) that receives the two-phase mixture of ceramic-liquid droplets in the carrier gas from the atomizing zone housing (522; 722; 922). The device also includes one or more delivery nozzles (526, 528, 530) fluidly coupled with the plenum chamber (546; 746; 946). The delivery nozzles (526, 528, 530) provide outlets from which the two-phase mixture of ceramic-liquid droplets in the carrier gas is delivered onto one or more surfaces of a target object as the coating on the target object.