Patent Grant
10294957
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a fan rotor blade and, more particularly, to a fan rotor blade having an optimized blade root.
Fan rotors for air cycle machines generally include a plurality of fan rotor blades disposed equidistant from one another around a central hub. Air cycle machine fan rotors often experience extreme temperatures, rotational forces and bearing loads. Over time, the fan rotor blades wear out due to cracking and/or weakening at the blade root, where the blades are in connection with a central hub. It may be advantageous to configure a fan rotor blade to have an optimized blade root that reduces peak blade stresses and improves fatigue life while maintaining aerodynamic performance.
In one embodiment, a fan rotor blade extending radially from a hub is described. The fan rotor blade may include first surface and a second surface, where the first surface and second surfaces are respectively defined by a set of X-coordinates, Y-coordinates and Z-coordinates. The X, Y and Z coordinates can be set out in any of Tables T-1, T-2, E-1, and E-2. The X, Y, and Z-coordinates can also be scaled by a predetermined factor, where the X-coordinates are oriented in a tangential direction, the Z-coordinates are oriented in an axial direction, and the Y-coordinates are oriented in a radial direction.
The subject matter described herein is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the claimed embodiments are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains the embodiments claimed herein, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
Fan rotor 100 may be manufactured from many metal alloys including (but not limited to) steel, aluminum, nickel, copper, etc. It may be advantageous, according to some embodiments, to construct fan rotor 100 from an alloy of titanium, which may provide an optimal combination of weight to strength ratio, heat resistance, durability, etc. According to some embodiments, rotor 100 and/or fan rotor blade 104 may be machined from AMS4928 titanium, or an alloy having substantially similar properties. According to other embodiments, rotor 100 and/or fan rotor blade(s) 104 may be heat treated to a particular hardness, such as, for example 30-39 HRC. It is contemplated that other materials and heat treatments may accomplish substantially similar structural and operational properties. Embodiments described herein are not intended to be limiting.
With reference to
The shape of fan rotor blade 104 may be defined by a set of points in, for example, Cartesian coordinates which define a boundary thereof. Referring now to
Referring now to
Because of the difficulty involved in giving an adequate word description of the three-dimensional surface shape of each fan rotor blade 104 described herein, coordinates for one non-limiting dimensional embodiment therefore are set forth in surface Tables T-1 and T-2 for an embodiment of fan rotor blade 104, and surface Tables E-1 and E-2, respectively describing a leading edge and a trailing edge of fan rotor blade 104. Characteristics of the shape may change from one to another and each may be directly scaled up or scaled down by a desired factor to meet different requirements.
Tables T-1, T-2, E-1, and E-2 are shown in a Cartesian coordinate system for X, Y and Z of the blade surface of fan rotor blade 104. Tables T-1, T-2, E-1, and E-2 include coordinates that may have a manufacturing tolerance approximately equal to ±0.03 inches (0.76 mm) in direction normal to any turbine coordinate location. The Cartesian coordinate system has orthogonally related X, Y and Z axes with the Y-axis extending generally in a radial direction relative to Center A (and Axis A, as depicted in
The existing art provides for blade roots having continuous surfaces at the root (without thickening), and having ordinary fillets at the blade root between the hub and rotor blades (prior art not shown). According to some embodiments, a thickened blade root 506 optimized for aerodynamic performance may increase the strength and durability of high-cycling fan rotors, such as, for example, fan rotor 100, over that of the existing art.
Referring now to
Tables T-1, T-2, E-1, and E-2, to maximize strength of the base of rotor blade 104 by thickening the root in a way that provides particular aerodynamic properties. According to some embodiments, thickened blade root 506 may reduce peak rotor blade stresses and improve fatigue life of rotor 100 while maintaining aerodynamic performance. The aerodynamic performance of rotor blade 104 is enhanced with the configuration for a thickened blade root 506 as depicted in
The tip contour of rotor fan blade 104 is defined dimensionally herein by a paired axial dimension H and radial dimension G. The paired dimensions H and G describing leading edge 310 and trailing edge 312 are provided in Table E-1 and E-2, respectively.
By defining X and Z coordinate values at selected locations in the radial direction, e.g., in a Y direction with respect to Datum B, the left and right surfaces of the blade are ascertained. By connecting the X and Z values with smooth continuing arcs, each profile surface at the associated radial distance Y is defined. The surface profiles at the various radial locations between the radial distances Y are thereby ascertained by connecting adjacent surface profiles. Although the X, Y, and Z axes are oriented in the above fashion, it should be appreciated that the X, Y, and Z axes may have any orientation provided that the axes are orthogonally oriented with respect to each other and one axis extends along a height of the blade.
The Table values are provided in inches, and represent actual blade profiles at ambient, non-operating or non-hot conditions for an uncoated blade, the coatings for which are described below. While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7497663 | McRae, Jr. et al. | Mar 2009 | B2 |
| 8105043 | Tsifourdaris | Jan 2012 | B2 |
| 8523530 | Merritt et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
| 8529210 | Merritt et al. | Sep 2013 | B2 |
| 9631496 | Vignali | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170108001 A1 | Apr 2017 | US |
