Gas Turbine Vane Stage with Interference Fit Seal Carrier
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine vane stages face challenges in durability and ease of manufacture due to high temperatures and pressures, requiring improved designs that maintain stiffness and operational efficiency while minimizing weight and manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A vane stage design featuring arcuate platforms with radially inward flanges, a seal carrier, and washers, allowing for separate fabrication of titanium vanes and platforms with a composite seal carrier, eliminating the need for adhesives and bushings, and utilizing an interference fit and through holes for secure fastening, which enhances durability and stiffness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If traditional vane stages are used in gas turbine engines operating at high temperatures and pressures, then the engine can achieve high power output, but the durability and stiffness of the vane stages deteriorate due to thermal and mechanical loading
Solution Approach 1:
The vane stage is divided into multiple independent arcuate platforms, each with its own flanges and seal carrier assembly. This segmentation allows each platform to independently withstand thermal and mechanical loads, improving overall durability while maintaining high power output capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal carrier is constructed from composite materials that provide both high-temperature durability and stiffness. The composite structure combines materials with complementary properties to resist thermal degradation and mechanical stress simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between power output and durability.
2Reliability
If traditional monolithic vane structures are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but weight and manufacturing complexity increase when durability and stiffness are improved
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the vane stage into modular platforms with standardized flange and seal carrier assemblies, the design achieves high stiffness through optimized structural distribution while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through component reuse and standardized fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The axial distance between flanges is optimized to 63-77% of the vane chord length, creating an optimal balance between stiffness and manufacturability. This parameter optimization allows the structure to achieve required stiffness without excessive material or complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If flanges are positioned closer together to reduce axial distance, then manufacturing is easier, but structural stiffness and durability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The axial distance between flanges is set to 63-77% of the vane chord length, optimizing the balance between manufacturability and structural stiffness. This parameter range ensures adequate stiffness while maintaining reasonable assembly complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Composite materials in the seal carrier provide enhanced stiffness-to-weight ratio, allowing the structure to maintain required stiffness even with optimized (closer) flange spacing, thereby improving ease of manufacture without sacrificing strength.
4Ease of operation
If adhesives and bushings are used in traditional vane assemblies, then assembly is simpler, but weight and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design eliminates adhesives and bushings from the assembly, removing unnecessary weight and simplifying the manufacturing process. The direct mechanical connection through flanges and seal carriers provides sufficient strength without additional bonding materials or intermediate components.
Solution Approach 2:
Mechanical fastening through flanges and seal carriers replaces chemical bonding (adhesives) and intermediate mechanical elements (bushings). This substitution reduces weight by eliminating additional materials while maintaining assembly simplicity through direct mechanical connections.
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 design provides improved durability and stiffness at high temperatures, reduces weight and manufacturing complexity, and addresses issues of hole alignment and drilling limitations, resulting in a vane stage that operates effectively in high-pressure environments with reduced material stress.
Implementation Method 1
Axial outwardly facing sides of each neck portion can be in an interference fit with corresponding axial inwardly facing sides of the neighboring seal carrier in which each neck portion rests.
Data Source
AI summary
A vane stage includes an arcuate platform defining an axial centerline axis having a pair of flanges that extend radially inward from the platform. The flanges are axially spaced from one another and from respective forward and aft ends of the platform. The vane stage includes a vane extending radially outward from the platform and a seal carrier mounted to the flanges of the platform. A method for constructing a vane stage includes sliding a seal carrier between flanges of an arcuate platform. Each flange includes at least a pair of through holes and interfaces with a respective axial side of the seal carrier. The method includes drilling through holes in each axial side of the seal carrier by using the through holes of each flange as guides.