Turbine Vane Access Passage for On-Wing Rotor Cavity Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inspection methods for aircraft propulsion system components require disassembly of substantial portions of the gas turbine engine, making it difficult to inspect components while the engine is installed on the aircraft, thereby increasing maintenance and repair times.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the installation of a tooling jig on the engine case to create an access passage through the turbine vane stage, allowing for the formation of a drill path to the rotor cavity, enabling non-destructive testing of rotor stages without disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If substantial portions of the gas turbine engine are disassembled to enable inspection, then component accessibility for inspection is improved, but maintenance and repair time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engine is segmented into accessible zones through the creation of a localized access passage. The passage provides a dedicated inspection corridor to the rotor cavity without requiring disassembly of the entire engine, allowing inspectors to access specific components through a targeted opening while leaving the rest of the engine assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary access passage is created as a mediator between the external inspection environment and the internal rotor cavity. This passage serves as a bridge that allows inspection tools and personnel to reach previously inaccessible areas without removing engine components, thus maintaining engine integrity while enabling inspection.
2Productivity
If the engine remains installed on the aircraft during inspection, then aircraft downtime is reduced, but access to rotor cavity becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The access passage utilizes the radial dimension by extending through the turbine vane stage from the engine case. This creates a three-dimensional inspection corridor that penetrates through existing engine structure, allowing access to the rotor cavity while the engine remains in its installed position on the aircraft.
Solution Approach 2:
The access passage is pre-formed through the turbine vane stage before inspection activities begin. This preliminary structural modification creates ready-made access pathways, eliminating the need for complex disassembly operations during actual inspection events and enabling quick access when the engine is installed on the aircraft.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for forming an access passage for a gas turbine engine of an aircraft propulsion system includes installing a tooling jig on an engine case of the gas turbine engine at a port at a turbine section radially outward of a turbine vane stage, aligning the tooling jig on the engine case and fixedly mounting the tooling jig on the engine case, and drilling a first access aperture of the access passage through the inner ring along the tooling axis with a drill bit inserted into the first turbine vane through a tooling aperture of the tooling jig. The access passage extends through the turbine vane stage to a rotor cavity disposed radially inward of the turbine vane stage and between an upstream rotor stage and a downstream rotor stage of a bladed turbine rotor.