Turbine Tip Cooling Channel via Layered Sheet Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for forming cooling channels in turbine components, such as drilling or electrical discharge machining, struggle with creating complex channels and fail to provide fluid circulation within the walls, leading to inadequate cooling in areas like the tip portion of turbine buckets, which rely on film and conductive cooling instead.
Innovation Solution
A method involving forming a sheet with a channel that is secured over a body to create a cooling channel within the tip portion, allowing for fluid circulation and improved cooling efficiency, where the channel can extend circumferentially around the tip portion and be in fluid communication with other channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If drilling or electrical discharge machining is used to form cooling channels, then cooling channels can be formed in metal components, but complex cooling channels cannot be formed and fluid circulation within the walls is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channel is formed by segmenting the component wall into multiple layers, with each layer containing a portion of the cooling channel. This allows complex three-dimensional cooling channel geometries to be created by assembling simpler layered structures, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and geometric complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are nested within the layered structure of the component wall, with channels in inner layers surrounded by material layers. This nesting approach enables complex internal cooling channel geometries to be formed without requiring complex external machining operations, improving ease of manufacture while achieving high geometric complexity.
2Ease of operation
If cooling channels are formed directly through the wall, then fluid flow between inner and outer regions is provided, but fluid circulation within the walls is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple channels distributed across different layers of the component wall. This segmentation enables fluid to circulate through multiple pathways within the wall structure, achieving both fluid flow capability and effective cooling through the layered architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels extend through the thickness dimension of the component wall, creating three-dimensional cooling pathways. This dimensional approach allows fluid circulation within the walls rather than just surface-level cooling, improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation through the layered formation process.
3Ease of manufacture
If tip portion of turbine bucket does not include internal cooling channels, then manufacturing is simplified, but cooling efficiency is reduced and component life is shortened
Solution Approach 1:
The tip portion is formed as a separate layer that can be independently manufactured and then assembled to the main component. This segmentation allows the tip portion to include internal cooling channels without complicating the manufacturing of the entire component, as the layered structure enables modular fabrication and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are formed in the tip portion layer before assembly to the main component. This preliminary action allows the cooling infrastructure to be pre-formed in the tip portion, ensuring proper cooling capability is built-in during manufacturing rather than requiring post-assembly modifications that would increase manufacturing 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 approach enhances cooling efficiency, increases system efficiency, extends the life of turbine components, reduces oxidation and erosion, and provides more controlled cooling, thereby enabling higher operating temperatures and improved performance.
Implementation Method 1
cooling channels formed in metals and alloys used in high temperature regions of gas turbines... provide fluid flow between an inner region and an outer region of the component... fluid circulation within the walls of the component
Implementation Method 2
conductive cooling from cooling channels formed in other portions of the component
Data Source
AI summary
An article and method of forming an article are provided. The article includes a side wall at least partially defining an inner region and an outer region of the article, the side wall having a first end and a second end, an end wall formed proximal to the first end of the side wall, the end wall defining a tip portion of the article, and a cooling channel formed in the side wall, within the tip portion. The method of forming an article includes positioning a first sheet of material having a channel formed therein over a first end of a body, positioning at least one additional sheet of material over the first sheet of material, and securing the first sheet of material and the at least one additional sheet of material to the body to form a tip portion including a cooling channel formed therein.