Turbine Vane Ablative Geometry for Acceptance-Test Erosion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engines used in life-limited applications often employ less durable materials and simpler designs to reduce costs, making them less defect tolerant and susceptible to erosion or burn through in the turbine nozzle due to combustor instabilities.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an ablative turbine vane with a convex ablative region on its concave sidewall, which is configured to ablate during acceptance testing, forming an aerodynamic surface and mitigating erosion, thereby maintaining the engine's design life and performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If less durable materials and simpler designs are used to reduce manufacturing cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but erosion resistance and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing erosion compensation only at specific locations (concave sidewalls and leading edges) where erosion occurs most severely, rather than uniformly across the entire vane. This allows the use of less durable materials overall while protecting critical areas, resolving the contradiction between cost and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates preliminary action by pre-installing ablative material in convex regions that will erode during acceptance testing and early operation. This preliminary erosion protects the underlying vane structure from more severe damage later, allowing the engine to achieve its full design life despite using less durable materials.
2Ease of manufacture
If less durable materials are used to reduce cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but defect tolerance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by incorporating ablative material that acts as a protective buffer during acceptance testing and early operation. This cushioning effect absorbs the impact of defects and minor damage that would otherwise compromise less durable materials, thereby improving defect tolerance without increasing manufacturing cost.
3Device complexity
If conventional vane geometry is used without erosion compensation, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but erosion damage increases during acceptance testing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying only specific regions of the vane geometry (adding convex ablative regions and accounting for concave sidewall erosion) rather than redesigning the entire vane. This localized approach protects against erosion damage while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity and avoiding excessive geometric complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable ablative material in convex regions that is intentionally designed to erode away during acceptance testing. This sacrificial material protects the main vane structure from erosion damage at minimal cost, effectively using a cheap, short-living component to protect the more valuable permanent structure.
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 use of ablative turbine vanes with convex ablative regions effectively offsets damage from acceptance testing, ensuring the gas turbine engine retains its designed mission life and performance without significant additional cost.
Implementation Method 1
The combustion section exhaust gases impinge on the convex ablative region of the ablative turbine vane causing the convex ablative region to ablate to form an aerodynamic surface on the concave sidewall
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine vane for use in a gas turbine engine includes an airfoil section having a concave sidewall and a convex sidewall. Both the concave sidewall and convex sidewall extend spanwise between a platform and a radially outward airfoil tip and chordwise between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The concave sidewall includes a convex ablative region.