Variable Section Centrifugal Oil Separator for Gas Turbine Engines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine aircraft engines face high oil consumption due to excessive air flow through seals, leading to inefficiencies and environmental issues, as the air flow required for sealing is excessive during engine operation phases beyond idling.
Innovation Solution
A centrifugal oil separator with a variable section, featuring a hollow cylindrical shaft and a piston that adjusts the air passage section based on pressure differences between the air/oil enclosure and ambient pressure, allowing for minimal air flow necessary for sealing, thereby reducing oil consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a high flow of air is passed through the seals to ensure perfect sealing, then the sealing performance is improved, but the oil consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a variable section orifice in the oil separator that dynamically adjusts the air passage area based on operating conditions. The orifice section can be modified to provide different passage areas, allowing the system to adapt the air flow rate to match the actual sealing requirements at different engine speeds, thereby preventing both insufficient sealing and excessive oil consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the orifice passage section to optimize the balance between sealing performance and oil consumption. By varying the orifice section area, the system can control the air flow rate through the seals to match the minimum required for sealing at different operating conditions, reducing unnecessary oil carryover
2Reliability
If the air flow is optimized for idling conditions, then the sealing is sufficient at low speed, but the air flow becomes superabundant at full speed causing overconsumption
Solution Approach 1:
The variable section orifice dynamically adapts the air passage area to match different operating speeds. At idle, the orifice provides a smaller passage area to prevent excessive air flow and oil consumption. At full speed, the orifice section is modified to allow greater air flow, ensuring sufficient sealing while preventing oil carryover
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the orifice passage section parameter to optimize performance across different operating conditions. The variable section design allows the system to transition from a restricted passage at idle to a larger passage at full speed, matching the sealing requirements to the actual operational needs
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 solution ensures perfect sealing of engine enclosures across all operating phases while minimizing oil consumption, reducing pollution and operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
the piston being able to move in translation inside the shaft between two extreme positions, a first position in which the air passage orifice(s) are cleared and a second position, different from the first, in which the passage orifice(s) of air are partially blocked by the piston
Implementation Method 2
centrifugal oil separator with variable section according to claim 1, comprising a hollow cylindrical shaft mobile in rotation about its axis of revolution
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a centrifugal oil separator having a variable channel section comprising a moving, rotating hollow rod (20). Said rod has at least one air channel opening (26) and a piston (30) fitted in the rod such that the piston divides the inside of the rod into two mutually sealed compartments, the downstream compartment (32a) provided with the air channel opening or openings being subjected to ambient pressure and the other upstream compartment (32b) being subjected to the variable pressure of the air/oil chamber. The piston, affected by the pressure difference between the two compartments, is capable of moving in translation with the inside of the rod between two extreme positions, a first position wherein the air channel opening or openings are free and a second position wherein the air channel openings are partially blocked by the piston.