Variable Stator Vane Fabrication Using Composite Fibre Sheets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for fabricating stator vanes in gas turbine engines are costly and time-consuming, particularly when using metal or composite materials, as they require complex tooling and machining processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving rolling fibre sheets around a mandrel to form spindle and aerofoil sections, using excess material to create the aerofoil sections and applying a polymeric material for impregnation, which eliminates the need for metallic spindles and reduces weight and tooling costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional casting methods are used to fabricate metal stator vanes, then manufacturing precision and strength are improved, but manufacturing cost and time consumption increase due to expensive tooling and complex processes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the material parameter from metal to composite material, and the manufacturing process parameter from casting to rolling. The fibre sheet is impregnated with polymeric material and rolled around a mandrel to form the stator vane, eliminating the need for expensive casting tooling while achieving the required manufacturing precision through the inherent properties of the composite material and rolling process
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive permanent casting moulds with a reusable mandrel that can be used repeatedly for rolling fibre sheets. The mandrel serves as a temporary form that is removed after fabrication, eliminating the need for costly permanent tooling while maintaining manufacturing precision
2Strength
If metal spindles are used in variable stator vanes, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces metal spindle material with composite material (fibre sheet impregnated with polymeric material). The composite material provides sufficient structural strength while reducing weight by 40-50% compared to conventional metallic stator vanes, achieving both strength and weight reduction goals simultaneously
3Weight of moving object
If composite material is used for stator vanes, then weight is reduced, but manufacturing cost increases due to complex tooling and processes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the expensive tooling and machining processes from the manufacturing system. By using a simple mandrel-based rolling process with fibre sheets and polymeric material, the method removes the need for costly casting moulds and subsequent machining operations, significantly reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining weight reduction benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The fibre sheet with impregnated polymeric material is rolled around the mandrel to form the stator vane in a self-contained process. The excess material is used to form the aerofoil section, eliminating waste and reducing the need for additional tooling or machining steps, thereby reducing manufacturing cost
4Weight of moving object
If fibre sheets are rolled around mandrels to form spindle sections, then weight and tooling cost are reduced, but manufacturing precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The fibre sheet is impregnated with polymeric material before rolling around the mandrel. This preliminary impregnation ensures proper material distribution and bonding, allowing the rolling process to achieve the required manufacturing precision without compromising dimensional accuracy, while still providing weight and tooling cost benefits
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 method results in a cost-effective, time-efficient fabrication process that reduces the weight of variable stator vanes by 40-50% compared to conventional methods and eliminates the need for machining, while using composite materials to further reduce weight by approximately 10%.
Implementation Method 1
wherein the fibre sheet is impregnated with a polymeric material
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a variable stator vane (206) and a method (700) of fabricating the variable stator vane (206) of a gas turbine engine (10). The method (700) includes providing (702) at least one fibre sheet (200). The method (700) further includes rolling (704) the at least one fibre sheet (200) around a mandrel (216) to form a spindle section (210) of the variable stator vane (206). An excess of material (214) of the at least one fibre sheet (200) remains after forming the spindle section (210). The method (700) further includes using (706) the excess of material (214) of the at least one fibre sheet (200) to form the at least one aerofoil section (212) of the variable stator vane (206).