The present invention is directed to a bushing for use in a stator vane for a gas turbine engine. The bushing has one or more wear resistant materials and/or profiled surfaces thereon.
Gas turbine engines employ bushings in stator vane assemblies in variable compressor stages in the turbine engine to allow a shaft (e.g., trunnion) to articulate (e.g., rotate) inside the turbine engine without wearing into the engine case. The turbine engines are subject to increased temperatures to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. However, traditional materials such as steel cannot withstand such high temperatures.
It has been found that some bushings tend to buckle when being installed in apertures in the turbine engine. This buckling can occur when the slenderness ratio (length/diameter) is too great.
Nickel based alloys such as Inconel have higher strength and temperature resistance than steel. Such nickel based alloys are heavier than steel and are therefore discouraged for use in aircraft applications wherein weight reduction is an important design feature.
There is disclosed herein a bushing for a stator vane assembly of a gas turbine engine. The bushing includes a tubular member that is coaxial about a longitudinal axis and that extends a length between a first axial end and a second axial end. The tubular member has an outside circumferential surface thereon and an inside circumferential surface therein. The tubular member is manufactured from a cobalt based alloy, a nickel based alloy, a graphite material, a cermet material or an alloy matrix including titanium, aluminum, niobium, manganese, boron, and carbon and a solid lubricant being dispersed in the alloy matrix. Portions of the inside circumferential surface and/or portions of the outside circumferential surface have a wear resistant material thereon. In some embodiments, there is no wear resistant material on the outside circumferential surface.
In some embodiments, the tubular member includes a flange extending radially outward from the first axial end and a portion of the flange has the wear resistant material thereon. In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is a tungsten based material and/or a ceramic material. In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is applied via a High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) coating process.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is a tungsten based material and/or a ceramic material.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is applied via a High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) coating process.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant material defines a wear resistant surface that has a profiled contour. In some embodiments, the profiled contour includes a radiused segment and/or a logarithmic segment. In some embodiments, the profiled contour includes a cylindrical segment.
In some embodiments, a portion of the inside circumferential surface, a portion of the outside circumferential surface and/or a portion of the flange have a profiled contour. In some embodiments, the profiled contour includes a radiused segment and/or a logarithmic segment. In some embodiments, the profiled contour includes a cylindrical segment.
In some embodiments, the outside circumferential surface has an undercut formed therein that extends a depth radially inward from the outside circumferential surface.
In some embodiments, the outside circumferential surface has a pattern formed therein and an undercut formed on the remaining portions of the outside circumferential surface.
In some embodiments, a dry film lubricant is disposed on the outside circumferential surface, the inside circumferential surface and/or the wear resistant material.
In some embodiments, the tubular member has at least two portions of the inside circumferential surface with the wear resistant material segments thereon and the inside circumferential surface has an exposed inner area located between the at least two segments of the wear resistant material.
In some embodiments, the exposed inner area is recessed a depth radially outward of the inside circumferential surface.
In some embodiments, the bushing is installed in an aperture in a casing of a gas turbine engine.
There is further disclosed herein a stator vane assembly of a gas turbine engine. The stator vane assembly includes an engine casing having a plurality of apertures therein. A bushing as disclosed herein is disposed in each of the plurality of apertures and a shaft (e.g., trunnion) extends into the bushing.
In some embodiments, the shaft is manufactured from a titanium based alloy or a nickel based alloy.
In some embodiments, the shaft has a shaft-flange extending radially outward from an axial end thereof.
In some embodiments, the shaft and/or the shaft-flange has a wear resistant material thereon.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is a tungsten based material and/or a ceramic material.
In some embodiments, the shaft has a profiled contour exterior surface extending axially therealong.
In some embodiments, one or more portions of the profiled contour exterior surface has a uniform thickness of a wear resistant material thereon.
There is further disclosed herein a stator vane assembly of a gas turbine engine. The state vane assembly includes an engine casing having a plurality of apertures defined by a housing interior surface thereof. A bushing is disposed in each of the plurality of apertures and a shaft extends into the bushing. The shaft includes a cylindrical shaft portion and a shaft-flange extending radially outward from an axial end thereof. The shaft is manufactured from a titanium based alloy or a nickel based alloy. The bushing includes a tubular member that is coaxial about a longitudinal axis and that extends a length between a first axial end and a second axial end. The tubular member has an outside circumferential surface thereon and an inside circumferential surface therein. The tubular member includes a flange extending radially outward from the first axial end. The tubular member is manufactured from a cobalt based alloy, a graphite material, a cermet material, or an alloy matrix including titanium, aluminum, niobium, manganese, boron, and carbon and a solid lubricant being dispersed in the alloy matrix. A portion of the inside circumferential surface has a first wear resistant material thereon. A portion of the outside circumferential surface has a second wear resistant material thereon. A portion of the flange has a third wear resistant material thereon. A portion of the cylindrical shaft-portion has a fourth wear resistant coating thereon. A portion of the shaft-flange has a fifth wear resistant material thereon. The first wear resistant material engages the fourth wear resistant material in oscillatory rotational sliding. The third wear resistant material engages the fifth wear resistant material in oscillatory rotational sliding. The second wear resistant material engages the housing interior surface in oscillatory rotational sliding.
As shown in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
As shown in
The bushing 10 of
Referring to
By incorporating the undercut surface 14U to the outside circumferential surfaces 14 of the bushing 10, the force required to press fit the bushing 10 into the housing 50 (see
The bushing 10 of
The pattern 14C illustrated in
The undercut 14U and the pattern 14C have further utility as the resultant reduction in force required to press fit the bushing 10 into the housing 50 (see
In one embodiment, a dry film lubricant that is less than 1 micron thick is applied to the outside circumferential surface 14 of the bushing 10 of
In one embodiment, the outside circumferential surfaces 14 of the bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
The bushing 10 illustrated in
As shown in
As shown in
Via analysis and testing the inventors have demonstrated unacceptable levels of stress proximate the axial ends 128A and 128B of the wear resistant material 20, 120 and/or 320 and radial ends 228A and 228B of the wear resistant material 220 and/or 420 when the second length LL2 is greater than 90% of the first length LL1 and demonstrated inadequate bearing contact support when the second length LL2 is less than 75% of the first length LL1.
Still referring to
As shown in
In the formula above, drop is the radial drop on the axis R (away from the surface 26, 126, 226, 326), A is a constant based on the application and roller parameters, Z is the total length of the profiled contour area of the roller along axis Z′, Cyl_len is the cylindrical length of the roller and x is the axial position along the roller from the center along the axis Z′. In some embodiments the cylindrical length Cyl_len is about zero percent to 50 percent of the effective length LL. In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical length Cyl_len is zero.
As shown in
The shaft 60 illustrated in
As shown in
As shown in
The shaft 60 shown in
In some embodiments, the wear resistant material is applied via a High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) coating process. The HVOF coating process is a thermal spray coating process used to improve wear resistant of the bushing 10, thus extending the life of the bushing 10.
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured a cobalt based alloy such as STELLITE 6™ (STELLITE is a federally registered trademark owned by Deloro Stellite Holdings corporation of St. Louis, Mo.), L605 (i.e., cobalt-chromium-tungsten-nickel alloy) and MP35 (i.e., nickel-cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy).
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured from a nickel based alloy such as Waspaloy, Inconel 625 and Inconel 718.
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured from a porous sintered material, such as, sintered bronze copper or sintered a high temperature nickel alloy such as Waspaloy, Inconel 625 and Inconel 718.
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured from an electrolytic graphite material.
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured from a TriboLux™ (TriboLux™ is a common law trademark of Roller Bearing Company of America, Inc. of Oxford, Conn.) material or other Ti—Al ceramic metallic materials. For example, the TriboLux™ material is as disclosed in commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/282,727, filed Feb. 22, 2019, and published Aug. 29, 2019, as U.S. Pub. No. 2019/0264746, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. As shown in
In some embodiments, the bushing 10 is manufactured from a cermet composite material composed of ceramic and metal.
The use of the cobalt based alloy, nickel based, graphite material, the porous sintered material, the TriboLux™ material and/or the Cermet composite material for the bushing 10 reduces fretting between the housing 50 (e.g., engine case) and the bushing 10, compared to prior art bushings such as those manufactured from steel or titanium based alloys.
While the bushing 10 is described as being manufactured from the cobalt based alloy, the nickel based, the graphite material, the porous sintered material, the TriboLux′ material or the cermet composite material, the bushing 10 may be manufactured as a composite of two or more of the cobalt based alloy, the nickel based, the graphite material, the porous sintered material, the TriboLux™ material or the cermet composite material.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 are manufactured from a ceramic material.
In some embodiments, the wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 are manufactured from a tungsten based material such as tungsten carbide.
The use of the ceramic material and/or a tungsten based material for the wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 creates a surface hardness that is greater than the hardness of the substrate material (e.g., the bushing 10 or shaft 60) resulting in a better wear couple between the mating wear components (e.g., the bushing 10 and the shaft 60). In some embodiments, one or more of the wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 is eliminated from use on one or more portions of the bushing 10 or shaft 60. For example, in one embodiment the wear resistant coating 120 is eliminated from use on portions of or all of the outside surface 14 of the bushing 10.
In some embodiments, the shaft 60 is manufactured from a titanium alloy such as Ti6Al4V (also known as Ti-6Al-4V or Ti 6-4).
In some embodiments, the shaft 60 is manufactured from a high temperature nickel alloy such as Waspaloy, Inconel 625 and Inconel 718.
Through analysis and testing, the inventors have surprisingly discovered unique combinations of materials for the bushing 10, the shaft 60 and the wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 that when used in the combustor section of the turbine engine (e.g., in stator vane bushings), the turbine engines can to operate at high temperatures (e.g., 600 degrees Fahrenheit and greater) at improved efficiency and reduced emissions. Examples of such combinations of wear resistant materials 20, 120, 220, 320, 420 and materials for the bushing 10 and the shaft 60 are listed in Tables 1-6. In some embodiments, portions of the bushing 10 and/or shaft 60 have no wear resistant material thereon. Each of the combination illustrated in Tables 1-6 may be used with or without the dry lubricant film applied thereto.
Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed description, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to commonly owned and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/006,504, filed Apr. 7, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63006504 | Apr 2020 | US |