Turboexpander Inlet Nozzle Axial Bolt Gap Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional turbo expanders suffer from high friction between moving parts, leading to premature wear and frequent failures, particularly in the inlet guide vanes, which results in poor reliability and frequent overhauls.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of axial loading bolts to reduce the preload to zero, creating a gap of 0.02 to 0.04 mm between the nozzle cover ring and the nozzle blades, thereby eliminating sliding friction and reducing contact between the nozzle blades and the fixed ring, thus minimizing friction between the moving parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional inlet nozzles with direct contact between nozzle blades and cover ring are used, then the structure is simple, but high friction occurs leading to premature wear and frequent failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces axial loading bolts as an intermediary element between the nozzle cover ring and nozzle blades. These bolts create a controlled gap (0.02-0.04mm) that eliminates direct sliding contact, thereby reducing friction and wear while maintaining structural integrity. The loading bolts act as mediators that transmit forces without causing harmful friction between moving parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies equipotentiality by creating a uniform gap distance (0.02-0.04mm) between the nozzle cover ring and all nozzle blades. This consistent spacing ensures that friction and wear are evenly distributed and minimized across all blades, preventing localized premature failure while maintaining balanced mechanical forces throughout the nozzle assembly.
2Duration of action of moving object
If axial loading bolts are used to create a gap between nozzle cover ring and blades, then friction is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The axial loading bolts are pre-adjusted during assembly to establish the optimal gap (0.02-0.04mm) between the nozzle cover ring and blades before operation begins. This preliminary action ensures that the friction-reducing gap is already in place, allowing the turbo expander to operate with minimal friction from the start, thereby extending component life without requiring complex real-time adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A low friction inlet nozzle for a turbo expander (100) is provided. The inlet nozzle including a nozzle cover ring (101), which comprises a face (102), a set of nozzle blades (105), wherein each nozzle blade (105) comprises a face (107), a set of pressure springs (112), and a set of axial loading bolts (113). The axial loading bolts (113) may be configured to accept all or at least a portion of the force which the set of pressure springs (112) induces between the nozzle cover ring (101) and the face of the nozzle blades (105), thereby locating the first face of the nozzle blade (105) at a predetermined distance away from the face of the nozzle cover ring (101). The predetermined distance may be between 0.02 and 0.04 mm.