Patent Grant
7287955
The present invention relates to the general field of controlling clearance between the tips of rotor blades and a stationary bushing in a gas turbine.
By way of example, a gas turbine typically includes a plurality of stator blades disposed in alternation with a plurality of rotor blades in a passage for hot gases coming from a combustion chamber of the turbomachine. Over the entire circumference of the turbine, the rotor blades of the turbine are surrounded by a stationary bushing. Said stationary bushing defines a wall for the stream of hot gases passing through the turbine blades.
In order to increase the efficiency of the turbine, it is known to reduce the clearance that exists between the tips of the rotor blades of the turbine and the portions of the stationary bushing that face said blades to as little as possible.
To do this, means have been devised for varying the diameter of the stationary bushing. Generally, said means come in the form of annular pipes which surround the stationary bushing, and through which air is passed that is drawn from other portions of the turbomachine. The air is injected over the outer surface of the stationary bushing, causing the stationary bushing to expand or contract thermally, thereby changing its diameter. Depending on the operating speed of the turbine, the thermal expansions and contractions are controlled by a valve which serves to control both the flow rate and the temperature of the air fed to the pipes. Thus, the assembly consisting of the pipes together with the valve constitutes a tuning unit for tuning clearance at the blade tips.
Existing tuning units do not always make it possible to obtain highly uniform temperature over the entire circumference of the stationary bushing. A lack of temperature uniformity leads to distortions in the stationary bushing, which are particularly detrimental to the efficiency and the lifetime of the gas turbine.
Moreover, in existing tuning units, injection of air over the outer surface of the stationary bushing is generally not optimized, so that it is often necessary to draw a considerable amount of air in order to cool the stationary bushing. If too much air is drawn, this impairs the efficiency of the turbomachine.
Therefore, the present invention aims at mitigating such drawbacks by providing a clearance control device which makes it possible to optimize air injection in order to cool the stationary bushing more effectively and more uniformly.
To this end, the invention provides a clearance control device for controlling clearance between rotary blade tips and a stationary bushing of a gas turbine, said stationary bushing including an annular casing that has a longitudinal axis and that is provided with at least two annular ridges axially spaced apart from each other and extending radially outwards of said casing, the clearance control device including a circular tuning unit that surrounds the casing of the stationary bushing, said tuning unit including: air circulation means for circulating air, said means being made up of at least three annular ducts axially spaced apart one from another and being disposed on either side of side faces of each of the ridges; air supply means for supplying air to the air flow ducts; and air discharge means for discharging air on the ridges in order to modify the temperature of the stationary bushing, wherein, for each air flow duct, the air discharge means are made up of at least one top row having a number N of perforations disposed facing one of the side faces of the ridges and of at least one bottom row having a number 2N of perforations disposed facing a connection radius that connects the ridges to the casing of the stationary bushing.
The distribution and the positioning of the air discharge perforations make it possible to optimize the heat exchange coefficient between the ridges and the air flowing through said ridges. Thereby, greater effectiveness is obtained, and the ridges are cooled more uniformly, so that the casing has a wider range of movement for tuning clearance at the turbine blade tips.
When the ridges consist of an upstream ridge and of a downstream ridge and the ducts consist of an upstream duct disposed upstream from the upstream ridge, of a downstream duct disposed downstream from the downstream ridge, and of a central duct disposed between the upstream ridge and the downstream ridge, preferably the central duct has at least two top rows each having N perforations disposed facing the side faces of the upstream ridge and of the downstream ridge, and at least two bottom rows each having 2N perforations disposed facing connection radii that connect the upstream wing and the downstream wing to the casing of the stationary bushing.
According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the upstream duct and the downstream duct each have substantially identical air outflow sections, and the central duct has an air outflow section that is substantially twice as large as the air outflow section of said upstream duct and of said downstream duct.
According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the N perforations in each top row and the 2N perforations in each bottom row have substantially identical air outflow sections.
According to a further advantageous characteristic of the invention, the N perforations in each top row and the 2N perforations in each bottom row are disposed in a zigzag configuration.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear in the description below, given with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a non-limiting embodiment of the invention. In the figures:
The high-pressure turbine 2 consists, in particular, of a plurality of rotor blades 4 disposed in a stream 6 of hot gases that come from a combustion chamber (not shown) of the turbomachine. Said rotor blades 4 are disposed downstream from the stator blades 8 relative to the direction 10 in which the hot gases flow in the stream 6.
The rotor blades 4 of the high pressure turbine 2 are surrounded by a plurality of bushing segments 12 that are disposed circumferentially about the axis X-X of the turbine so as to form a circular and continuous surface. The bushing segments 12 are assembled via a plurality of spacers 16 on an annular casing 14, likewise of longitudinal axis X-X.
Throughout the description below, the assembly consisting of the bushing segments 12, of the casing 14, and of the spacers 16 is referred to as a “stationary bushing”.
The casing 14 of the stationary bushing is provided with at least two annular ridges or annular projections 18, 20 that are axially spaced apart from each other and that extend radially outwards from the casing 14. Said ridges are distinguished relative to the direction 10 in which the hot gases flow in the stream 6, being referred to as the “upstream” ridge 18 and the “downstream” ridge 20. The main function of the upstream and the downstream ridges 18, 20 is to serve as heat exchangers.
Each of the bushing segments 12 has an inner surface 12a that is in direct contact with the hot gas, said inner surface defining a portion of the gas stream 6 that passes through the high-pressure turbine 2.
Radial clearance 22 is left between the inner surfaces 12a of the bushing segments 12 and the tips of the rotor blades 4 of the high-pressure turbine 2 so as to allow the rotor blades to rotate. In order to increase turbine efficiency, said clearance 22 must be as small as possible.
In order to reduce the clearance 22 at the tips 4a of the rotor blades 4, a clearance control device 24 is provided. The clearance control device 24 comprises, in particular, a circular tuning unit 26 that surrounds the stationary bushing, and more specifically the casing 14.
Depending on the operating speed of the turbomachine, the tuning unit 26 is designed to cool or to heat the upstream ridge 18 of the casing 14 and the downstream ridge 20 of the casing 14 by discharging (or striking) air onto said ridges. Under the effect of this discharge of air, the casing 14 contracts or expands, which reduces or increases the diameter of the stationary bushing segments 12 of the turbine, thereby adjusting the clearance 22 at the blade tips.
In particular, the tuning unit 26 includes at least three annular air flow ducts 28, 30 and 32 that surround the casing 14 of the stationary bushing. Said ducts are axially spaced apart from one another, and they are also substantially parallel to one another. They are disposed on either side of side faces of each of the ridges 18, 20, and fit their shape approximately.
The air flow ducts 28, 30 and 32 consist of an upstream duct 28 that is disposed upstream from the upstream ridge 18 (relative to the direction 10 in which the hot gases flow in the stream 6), of a downstream duct 30 that is disposed downstream from the downstream ridge 20, and of a central duct that is disposed between the upstream ridge 18 and between the downstream ridge 20.
The tuning unit 26 also includes a tubular air manifold (not shown in the figures) for supplying the air flow ducts 28, 30 and 32 with air. Said air manifold surrounds the ducts 28, 30 and 32 and supplies them with air via air pipes (not shown in the figures).
According to the invention, each air flow duct 28, 30 and 32 of the tuning unit has at least one top row having N perforations disposed facing one of the side faces of the ridges 18, 20 and at least one bottom row having 2N perforations 36 disposed facing a connection radius that connects the ridges 18, 20 to the casing 14 of the stationary bushing
The perforations 34, 36 are obtained by laser, for example, and they enable the air flowing in the ducts 28, 30 and 32 to be discharged onto the ridges 18, 20 so as to modify their temperature.
As shown in
Likewise, the downstream duct 30 includes at least one top row of N perforations 34 on the side of its upstream wall 30a, said top row of perforations being disposed facing the downstream side face 20b of the downstream ridge 20, and at least one bottom row of 2N perforations 36 being disposed facing a connection radius 20d that connects the downstream ridge 20 to the casing 14 of the stationary bushing. There are no perforations in the downstream wall 30b of the downstream duct 30.
Preferably, the central duct 32 includes at least two top rows, each having N perforations 34 disposed facing the side faces 18b, 20a of the upstream ridge 18 and of the downstream ridge 20, and at least two bottom rows each having 2N perforations 36 disposed facing the connection radii 18d, 20c that connect the upstream ridge 18 and the downstream ridge 20 to the carter 14 of the stationary bushing.
In fact, in its upstream wall 32a the central duct 32 has at least one top row of N perforations 34 disposed facing the downstream side face 18b of the upstream ridge 18 and at least one bottom row of 2N perforations disposed facing a connection radius 18d that connects the upstream ridge 18 to the casing 14 of the stationary bushing.
In its downstream wall 32b, the central duct 32 has at least one top row of N perforations 34 disposed facing the upstream side face 18b of the downstream ridge 20 and at least one bottom row of 2N perforations 36 disposed facing a connection radius 20c that connects the downstream ridge 20 to the casing 14 of the stationary bushing.
In other words, the air discharge perforations 34, 36 in each air flow duct 28, 30 and 32 of the tuning unit 26 are disposed in two rows, with two thirds of the perforations in the bottom row and with the remaining third in the top row. The air coming through the 2N perforations 36 in each bottom row “strikes” a bottom zone of the ridges 18, 20 whereas the air discharged by the N perforations 34 in each top row strikes a middle zone of the ridges.
Thus, the heat exchange on the ridges is uniform, thereby giving the casing a wider range of movement so that said casing tunes clearance at the turbine blade tips. Calculations carried out on thermal influences show that with a two-row configuration, there is an improvement of up to 50° C. in the average temperature of a ridge, compared with a single row configuration of perforations.
According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the upstream duct 28 and the downstream duct 30 each has a substantially identical air outflow section, and the central duct 32 has an air outflow section that is twice as large as the air outflow section of said upstream duct 28 and of said downstream duct 30 together. In fact, since the central duct 32 is advantageously perforated on both sides, there must be twice the amount of air flowing in the central duct as there is flowing in each of the upstream duct 28 and the downstream duct 30.
According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the N perforations 34 in each top row and the 2N perforations 36 in each bottom row have substantially identical air outflow sections for each of the air flow ducts 28, 30 and 32.
In this manner, one third of the air flow flowing in the central duct 32 is discharged via each of the two bottom rows of perforations 36 and one sixth of the same air is evacuated via each of the two top rows of perforations 34. Likewise, two thirds of the air flowing in the upstream duct 28 or in the downstream duct 30 is discharged via the bottom rows of perforations 36 of said ducts and one third of the same air flow is evacuated via the top rows of perforations 34 of said ducts.
According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention shown in
Moreover, for each air flow duct 28, 30 and 32, the perforations 34 in each top row and the perforations 36 in each bottom row are preferably regularly spaced apart around the longitudinal axis X-X of the casing 14 of the stationary bushing.
When each of the perforations 34 in the top row and each of the perforations 36 in the bottom row presents a substantially circular right section, the angular space between two adjacent perforations 34 of a same top row advantageously corresponds to at least three times the diameter of said perforations.
The number and the diameter selected for the air discharge perforations 34, 36 may be optimized by computer simulation based on making a compromise between effective ventilation of the ridges and constraints relating to manufacturing the tuning unit. By way of example, for ridges with a radial height of 18 millimeters (mm), 288 perforations could be made in each top row, and 576 perforations in each bottom row (which gives N a value of 288). In such a configuration, the diameter of each perforation may be fixed at 1 mm and the space between two adjacent perforations in a top row may be 3.8 mm (which corresponds to 3.8 times the diameter of the perforations).
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04 00393 | Jan 2004 | FR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5205115 | Plemmons et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
| 6035929 | Friedel et al. | Mar 2000 | A |
| 20020053837 | Arilla et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 0 541 325 | May 2003 | EP |
| 2 629 517 | Oct 1989 | FR |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050158169 A1 | Jul 2005 | US |
