Turbine Epicyclic Gear Stator Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Turbine engines face challenges in integrating additional generators due to space constraints and complexity in transmitting power, especially with thin nacelles, which affects aerodynamic lines and fuel consumption, and existing solutions for placing generators in the nose cone or tail cone are complex and prone to maintenance issues.
Innovation Solution
A turbine engine design with an epicyclic reduction gear train that includes a stator fixed to the stator housing via an annular member with elongated legs traversing the reduction gear, allowing for a compact and efficient installation of the electrical apparatus, with a rotor integral to the sun gear and a frustum-shaped upstream extension for coupling, enabling axial fixation and misalignment compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a generator is installed in the engine compartment between primary and secondary flow paths, then electrical power can be provided to the aircraft, but the aerodynamic lines are impacted and fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The generator is relocated from the engine compartment to the fan assembly area, utilizing the radial space within the fan structure. This dimensional relocation allows the generator to be positioned in a previously unused spatial zone that does not interfere with the primary and secondary flow paths, thereby maintaining aerodynamic efficiency while providing the required electrical power.
Solution Approach 2:
The generator is nested within the fan assembly structure, with the stator positioned in the radial space between the fan blades and the fan hub. This nesting approach allows the generator to be integrated into the existing fan structure without adding external components that would disrupt the aerodynamic lines, effectively hiding the generator within the fan's internal volume.
2Power
If a generator is buried in the turbine engine, then electrical power can be provided, but maintenance becomes very complex and environmental constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
The generator is extracted from the buried position within the turbine engine and relocated to the fan assembly area, where it can be accessed more easily for maintenance. The generator shaft extends through the fan hub to the exterior of the engine, allowing maintenance personnel to access and service the generator without disassembling complex internal engine components, thereby reducing maintenance complexity while still providing the required electrical power.
3Power
If the stator is made rotating and connected to LP and HP shafts, then electricity can be produced, but the rotating contacts become complex, voluminous, or have short lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the stator rotating and the rotor stationary, the patent inverts this arrangement by making the rotor stationary (fixed to the fan hub) and the stator rotating (connected to the sun gear). This inversion eliminates the need for rotating electrical contacts on the stator side, as the stationary rotor can use simple sealed bearings, while the rotating stator's electrical connections are managed through the gear train interface, thereby improving reliability and extending lifespan.
4Ease of operation
If mechanical power is taken off entirely from the HP shaft, then the accessory gearbox can be driven, but engine operability at low speed is negatively affected
Solution Approach 1:
The epicyclic reduction gear train is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides speed reduction for the fan, generates electrical power through the generator connected to the sun gear, and can still drive the accessory gearbox through the ring gear. This multi-functionality allows the system to operate effectively at both high and low speeds, maintaining engine operability while providing the required electrical and mechanical power outputs.
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine engine equipped with an electrical apparatus with rotor and an epicyclic reduction gear train, includes a sun gear driven by a drive shaft about an axis of rotation, a ring gear surrounding the sun gear and configured to drive a fan shaft about the axis, and an annular row of planet gears interposed between the sun gear and the ring gear and held by a planet carrier fixed to a stator housing of the turbine engine. The stator of the electrical apparatus is fixed to the stator housing with an annular member for apparatus support. The annular member includes elongate legs that axially traverse the reduction gear. The annular member includes a first annular element for fixing to an annular flange integral with the stator housing. The stator of the apparatus has a first annular fixing flange connected integrally to opposed longitudinal extremities of the legs of the annular member.