The invention relates to the technical field of the turbomachines, in particular for aircrafts. More particularly, the invention relates to a turbine ring assembly for a turbomachine which comprises a plurality of ring sectors of ceramic matrix composite material as well as an annular metallic support of a turbine ring.
The prior art comprises, in particular, the documents EP-A1-3865682; FR-A1-3056632, EP-A1-3173583, US-A1-2018/051591, EP-A1-3115559 and US-A1-2018/073391.
Generally speaking, a turbomachine, particularly for an aircraft, comprises, from upstream to downstream, a fan, a low-pressure compressor, a high-pressure compressor, a combustion chamber, a high-pressure turbine and a low-pressure turbine.
A high-pressure turbine of the turbomachine comprises at least one stage comprising a turbine stator formed by an annular row of stationary straightening vanes and an impeller rotatably mounted downstream of the turbine stator in a cylindrical or frustoconical assembly of ring sectors arranged circumferentially end to end and forming a turbine ring. In the case of all-metal turbine ring assemblies, it is necessary to cool all the elements of the ring assembly and in particular the turbine ring, which is subjected to the hottest flows. This cooling has a significant impact on engine performance, since the cooling flow used is collected from the main flow of the engine. In addition, the use of metal for the turbine ring limits the possibility of increasing the temperature at the level of the turbine, which would allow to improve the performance of the aero-engines.
In an attempt to solve these problems, it was decided to make the turbine ring sectors from a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material and to do away with the need to use a metallic material.
The CMC materials have good mechanical properties, making them suitable for use as structural elements, and they retain these properties at elevated temperatures. The use of CMC materials has allowed to reduce the cooling flow required during operation, thereby increasing the performance of the turbomachines. In addition, the use of CMC materials has the advantage of reducing the weight of the turbomachines and reducing the effect of hot expansion encountered with the metal parts. Each sector of the turbine ring, made of CMC material, is assembled with attachment elements made of metallic material of an annular support of the turbine ring and of the ring assembly, and these metal attachment elements are also subjected to the hot flow. As a result, by reducing the operating cooling flow of the turbine ring, the metal attachment elements in contact with the turbine ring are more exposed to the hot flow. In this case, it is the metal attachment elements that are subjected to significant mechanical stresses.
Thus, there is a need to improve the existing turbine ring assemblies using ring sectors made of CMC material, in particular by reducing the mechanical stresses to which the metal parts in contact with the CMC ring sectors are subjected during the turbine operation.
To this end, the invention proposes a turbine ring assembly for a turbomachine of an aircraft, the ring assembly extending about an axis A and comprising:
According to the invention, the ring assembly further comprises air passage orifices formed in the inner periphery of the first shroud and/or in the second flange, these air passage orifices being configured to provide an air outlet from said cavity.
Such a configuration effectively allows to cool the metal elements of the ring assembly that are exposed to the hot flow. The cooling system according to the invention integrates orifices in the inner periphery of the first shroud and/or in the second flange. More specifically, the cooling air circulation cavity of each ring sector is supplied with a flow of air, referred to as ventilation and cooling air, which comes from a compressor of the turbomachine upstream of the ring assembly. This flow of air is evacuated from the cavity of each of the ring sectors preferably through the orifices of the first shroud and/or of the second flange, absorbing the heat and thus cooling these metal elements of the ring assembly. This allows to increase the performance of the turbomachine, since the air flow collected upstream of the ring assembly allows both the CMC turbine ring and the first metal shroud and/or the second metal flange to be cooled with a minimum flow rate.
The invention therefore has the advantage of proposing a simple, highly reliable design with low cost and overall dimensions for the ring assembly in a turbomachine.
The turbine ring assembly according to the invention may comprise one or more of the following characteristics, taken in isolation from each other or in combination with each other:
The present invention also relates to a turbine for a turbomachine of an aircraft, comprising at least one turbine stator formed by an annular row of stationary straightening vanes and an impeller mounted so as to rotate downstream of the turbine stator and inside the turbine ring of a ring assembly according to one of the particularities of the invention.
Each series of orifices formed on the first shroud can be located between two trailing edges of two consecutive stationary vanes upstream of the turbine ring, and/or each series of orifices formed on the second flange of the annular support can be located between two leading edges of two consecutive stationary vanes downstream of the turbine ring.
The present invention also relates to a turbomachine, in particular for an aircraft, comprising at least one turbine ring sector assembly according to one of the particularities of the invention, or a turbine according to the invention.
Further characteristics and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a non-limiting embodiment of the invention with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Generally speaking, in this application, the terms “longitudinal” and “axial” refer to the orientation of structural elements extending in the direction of a longitudinal axis. This longitudinal axis can be coincident with the axis of rotation of an engine of a turbomachine. The term “radial” refers to an orientation of structural elements extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The terms “inner” and “outer”, and “internal” and “external” are used in reference to a positioning with respect to the longitudinal axis. Thus, a structural element extending along the longitudinal axis comprises an inner face facing the longitudinal axis and an outer surface opposite its inner surface. By convention, in this application, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are defined in relation to the orientation of circulation of a gas flow in the turbomachine.
A turbomachine typically comprises, from upstream to downstream, a fan, a low-pressure compressor, a high-pressure compressor, a combustion chamber, a high-pressure turbine and a low-pressure turbine.
More specifically,
The annular row of stationary vanes 20 of the HP turbine 1b forms a turbine stator 2. The impeller 3 (or rotor) is rotatably mounted downstream of the turbine stator 2 in a cylindrical or frustoconical assembly 1 in accordance with a prior art configuration.
The assembly 1 comprises a plurality of ring sectors 40 arranged circumferentially end to end and forming a turbine ring 4 enveloping the impeller 3. The turbine ring 4 is suspended from a turbine casing 6 by means of an annular support 5. This annular support 5 of the assembly 1 comprises at its inner periphery a first and a second annular radial flange 52, 53, upstream and downstream respectively, which are connected to each other by a cylindrical portion 51.
The annular support 5 also comprises a frustoconical (
At their upstream and downstream ends, the ring sectors 4 comprise first and second attachment tabs 42, 43 for attaching onto, respectively, the first and second flanges 52, 53 of the annular support 5.
The turbine assembly 1 is described in more detail with reference to
The ring assembly 1 therefore extends around a longitudinal axis A. This axis A is substantially parallel to the axis X of the turbomachine 10. The arrow DA indicates the axial direction of the turbine ring 4 while the arrow DR indicates the radial direction of the turbine ring 4. To simplify presentation,
Each ring sector 40 has, in a plane defined by the axial direction DA and the radial direction DR, a cross-section substantially in the shape of the inverted Greek letter “Pi” (π). The cross-section comprises an annular base 41 and first and second radial attachment tabs 42, 43. The section of the ring sector may have a shape other than “π”, such as a “K” or “O” shape. The annular base 41 comprises, in the direction DR of the ring 4, an inner face 41a and an outer face 41b opposite each other. The inner face 41a of the annular base 41 can be coated with a layer of abradable material 44 to define a flow duct for the gaseous flow in the turbine.
The first and second attachment tabs 42, 43 extend radially outwards from upstream 421a and downstream 421b ends respectively of each ring sector. In the example shown in
As described above, the annular support 5 secured to the turbine casing 6 comprises:
The first flange 52 comprises a first free end 524 and a second opposite end 525 which is connected to the inner face 51a of the portion 51.
The second flange 53 comprises a first portion 531, a second portion 532, and a third portion 533 comprised between the first and second portions 531, 532. The first and third portions 531, 533 may form an inner periphery (relative to the direction DR) of the second flange 53, and the second portion 532 may form an outer periphery (relative to the direction DR) of the second flange 53. The first portion 534 comprises a first free end 534 and the second portion 532 comprises a second end 535 connected to the inner face 51a of the portion 51. The first portion 531 extends between the first end 534 and the third portion 533, and the second portion 532 extends between the third portion 533 and the second end 535. The first and the third portions 531, 533 are separated by a shoulder 537. In the example shown in
With reference to
The first shroud 56 has a first free end 564 and a second end 565 removably attached to the annular support 5, and more particularly to the first flange 52. In addition, the first flange 52 has a first portion forming an inner periphery 561 (relative to the direction DR) and a second portion forming an outer periphery 562 (relative to the direction DR). The inner periphery 561 extends between the first end 564 and the outer periphery 562, and the outer periphery 562 extends between the inner periphery 561 and the second end 565. When the ring assembly 1 is mounted, the inner periphery 561 of the first shroud 56 (and in particular a radial annular face 566 of the first shroud 56) bears against the first attachment tab 42 of each of the ring sectors 40, and the outer periphery 562 bears against at least part of the first flange 52.
The second shroud 57 has a first free end 574 and a second end 575 opposite the first end 574 and in contact with the cylindrical portion 51. The second end 575 of the second shroud 57 is also removably attached to the annular support 5, and more particularly to the first flange 52. The second shroud 57 also comprises a first portion forming an inner periphery 571 and a second portion forming an outer periphery 572. The inner periphery 571 extends between the first end 574 and the outer periphery 572, and the outer periphery 572 extends between the inner periphery 571 and the second end 575.
The first and second shrouds 56, 57 are shaped so as to have the inner peripheries 561, 571 spaced apart from each other and the outer peripheries 562, 572 in contact, the two shrouds 56, 57 being removably attached to the first flange 52 by means of attachment screws 82 and nuts 83, the screws 82 passing through orifices 570, 560 and 520 provided respectively in the outer peripheries 572 and 562 of the two shrouds 56, 57 and in the first flange 52.
In order to hold the ring sectors 40, and therefore the turbine ring 4, in position with the annular support 5, the ring assembly 1 comprises, for each ring sector 40, two first axial pins 84 (with respect to the direction DA) cooperating with the first attachment tab 42 and the first shroud 56, and two second axial pins 86 (with respect to the direction DA) cooperating with the second attachment tab 57 and the second flange 53. For each corresponding ring sector 40, the inner periphery 561 of the first shroud 56 comprises orifices for receiving the two first pins 84, and the third portion 533 of the second flange 53 comprises orifices configured to receive the two second pins 86. For each ring sector 40, each of the first and second attachment tabs 42, 43 comprises orifices configured to receive the first pins 84 and the second pins 56.
The annular support 5 also comprises radial pins 88 (in relation to the direction DR) which allow the ring 4 to be pressed in a deterministic manner in the lower radial position, i.e. towards the duct. There is clearance between the axial pins 84, 86 and the bores on the ring to compensate for the differential expansion between the metal and the CMC elements that occurs when hot. The radial pins 88 cooperate with orifices made in the cylindrical portion 51 of the annular support 5 in the direction DR.
As previously described with reference to
Each ring sector 40 of the turbine ring 4 is made of a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material, while the first and second flanges 52, 53 of the annular support 5 and the first and second shrouds 56 are made of a metallic material. This arrangement of the turbine ring assembly 1 in
The turbine ring assembly 1 of the present invention may also be suitable for installation in the turbomachine 10 shown in
The turbine assembly 1 according to the invention comprises the ring sectors 40 made of CMC material, the metal annular support 5 and the first and second metal shrouds 56, 57 as described above with reference to
More specifically,
In
In particular, the orifices 9a are formed in the inner periphery 561 of the first shroud 56. The orifices 9a can be oriented in a circumferential direction of the ring assembly (relative to the axis A). In the example shown in
The orifices 9b in the second flange 53 are preferably formed in the third portion 533 of the second flange 53. The orifices 9b can be oriented in a circumferential direction of the ring assembly (relative to the axis A). In the example shown in
According to this first embodiment, the orifices 9a formed in the first shroud 56 are evenly spaced around the axis A, as illustrated in
The orifices 9a, 9b may be circular and/or oblong.
The orifices 9a, 9b can be three to ten for each ring sector 40. In the examples shown in
The turbine ring assembly 1 of the second embodiment is distinguished from the turbine ring assembly 1 of the first embodiment by the arrangement of the air passage orifices in the first shroud 56 and/or the second flange 53 of the annular support 5.
According to the second embodiment, the air passage orifices 9a, 9b are grouped together in series of orifices per ring sector 40. Each series of orifices 9a can be formed on the first shroud 56, as shown in
In the example shown in
Each series of orifices 9a, 9b may comprise between three and ten orifices. In the examples shown, each series of orifices 9a, 9b comprises five orifices 9b.
The present invention also relates to a turbine, in particular an HP turbine 1b, comprising at least one turbine stator 2, 2′ formed by an annular row of stationary vanes 20, 20′ and an impeller 3. The impeller 3 is rotatably mounted downstream of the turbine stator 2 and inside the turbine ring 4 of the ring assembly 1 according to the invention.
When the turbomachine 10 comprises a single annular row of stationary vanes (
The present invention also relates to a turbomachine 10, in particular for an aircraft, comprising at least one turbine ring assembly 1 according to the invention. The turbomachine may be a turbojet or a turboprop.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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FR2103253 | Mar 2021 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/FR2022/050563 | 3/25/2022 | WO |