Turbine Vane Platform Cooling Plenum Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling systems for gas turbine engine vane clusters struggle to effectively cool the inbound regions between vanes due to their cluster construction, which creates challenging cooling air distribution and efficiency issues.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a vane cluster design featuring a plenum with film cooling holes and a feed hole connecting to a core cooling cavity, along with a baffle providing cooling fluid from an outboard compressor bleed, ensures efficient cooling of the inbound regions by distributing cooling air through a network of film cooling holes and maintaining adequate pressure within the cooling system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional cooling systems are used for vane clusters, then the cooling system structure is simple, but the cooling efficiency in inbound regions between vanes is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple functional components: a plenum chamber for air distribution, multiple film cooling holes positioned at different locations, and a feed hole connecting to the core cooling cavity. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function, with the plenum distributing cooling air to multiple vanes simultaneously, thereby improving cooling efficiency in previously difficult-to-reach inbound regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The plenum acts as an intermediary component between the cooling air source and the film cooling holes. It receives cooling air through the feed hole from the core cooling cavity and distributes it through multiple film cooling holes to different vanes. This intermediary structure enables efficient air distribution that directly addresses the cooling insufficiency in inbound regions between vanes.
2Reliability
If a plenum with multiple film cooling holes is implemented, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plenum is designed as a multi-functional component that serves multiple purposes: it acts as a cooling air distribution chamber, provides structural support for multiple film cooling holes, and facilitates cooling of multiple adjacent vanes simultaneously. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate cooling systems for each vane, thereby managing device complexity while maintaining improved cooling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the cooling functions for multiple vanes into a single integrated plenum structure. Instead of having separate cooling systems for each vane, the plenum combines air distribution for multiple vanes into one unified system, reducing overall structural complexity while achieving comprehensive cooling coverage including previously difficult-to-cool inbound regions.
3Temperature
If cooling air is distributed through the plenum to multiple vanes, then the temperature uniformity is improved, but the pressure distribution becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The plenum is designed with multiple film cooling holes positioned at specific locations to address local cooling needs of different vanes. Each hole is strategically placed to target specific high-temperature zones, ensuring temperature uniformity across vanes while allowing for localized pressure management. The feed hole connecting to the core cooling cavity provides a dedicated pressure source to maintain adequate pressure distribution throughout the system.
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 design enhances the cooling efficiency of the vane clusters by effectively distributing cooling air across the inner diameter platform, reducing temperature-related stress and improving the operational reliability of the gas turbine engine.
Implementation Method 1
the plenum including a plurality of film cooling holes fluidly connecting the plenum to a primary flowpath
Implementation Method 2
a feed hole connecting the plenum to a core cooling cavity of one of the first vane and the second vane
Implementation Method 3
a baffle disposed within the corresponding vane, the baffle including a plurality of inboard to outboard cooling fluid holes configured to provide cooling fluid from an outboard compressor bleed to the core cooling cavity
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 5~6
AI summary
A vane cluster (100) for a gas turbine engine (20) including an inner diameter platform (130) and an outer diameter platform (140). A plurality of vanes (110) span from the inner diameter platform (130) to the outer diameter platform (140). An inbound region (120) is defined between a first vane (110) and a second vane (110) of the plurality of vanes (110). A plenum (150) is defined in the inner diameter platform (130) at the inbound region (120). The plenum (150) including a plurality of film cooling holes fluidly connecting the plenum (150) to a primary flowpath. A feed hole connects the plenum (150) to a core cooling cavity of one of the first vane (110) and the second vane (110) to the plenum (150).