The present specification generally relates to gas turbine engines and, more specifically, to rotor disks that include an internal bore cavity.
Many gas turbine engines include a rotor assembly that includes a rotor disk and an array of rotor blades that extend radially outward from a perimeter of the rotor disk. The rotor blades may be formed separately from the rotor disk and then attached thereto, or the rotor blades may be formed as a monolithic part of the rotor disk.
The rotor disks are often located within a heated environment and rotate at high speeds. The rotor disks may be formed with an inner bore body that is thicker than an adjacent web section in order to better withstand the hoop stresses placed on the rotor disks as they rotate during operation. Temperature gradients along a radial direction of the rotor disks can also place additional thermal stresses on the rotor disks, particularly at the inner bore body.
In one embodiment, a rotor disk for a gas turbine engine includes a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough. The disk body includes a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web. The peripheral rim includes blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades. The bore body has a bore cavity that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore. The bore cavity has a central axis that forms a circle about the central bore.
In another embodiment, a rotor disk for a gas turbine engine includes a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough. The disk body includes a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web. The peripheral rim includes blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades. The bore body has a bore cavity that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore. The bore cavity is at least about 25 percent of a cross-sectional area of the bore body. The cross-sectional area is taken in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a central axis of the bore cavity and extends radially.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a rotor disk for a gas turbine engine is provided. The method includes selecting a three-dimensional computer model of the rotor disk. The rotor disk is printed using the three-dimensional model. The rotor disk, once printed, includes a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough. The disk body includes a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web. The peripheral rim includes blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades. The bore body having a bore cavity that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore. The bore cavity is at least about 25 percent of a cross-sectional area of the bore body. The cross-sectional area is taken in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the central axis of the bore cavity and extends radially.
Additional features and advantages of the generator systems described herein, and the components thereof, will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the embodiments described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description describe various embodiments and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the claimed subject matter. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the various embodiments, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate the various embodiments described herein, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the claimed subject matter.
Embodiments described herein are generally directed to rotor disk assemblies that are used in turbofan gas turbine engines. The rotor disk assemblies include a rotor disk and an array of rotor blades that extend radially outward from a perimeter of the rotor disk. The rotor disk includes a disk body that includes a bore, a bore body that extends around the bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web. The rim may have blade mounting structures (e.g., dovetail slots) for axially receiving and retaining therein complementary dovetails of rotor blades.
The bore body is of increased thickness compared to the web. In operation, the bore body extends about a rotating shaft of the gas turbine engine. The increased thickness of the bore body can increase the hoop strength of the rotor disk and help control deflection of the rotor material during operation. As will be described in greater detail below, the bore body has a circumferentially extending bore cavity that extends through the bore body and around the bore. The bore cavity may extend continuously through the bore body and about the entire circumference of the bore. The bore cavity may be enclosed by material of the bore body except for bleed passages that intersect both the bore cavity and an outer surface of the bore body. The bleed passages may be of reduced width compared to the bore cavity. The bleed passages can allow for the ingress and egress of air during operation in order to further reduce a thermal gradient that can form in the absence of the bleed passages.
In some embodiments, the rotor disks described herein may be additively manufactured, such as through a three-dimensional printing process. These additive manufacturing processes can allow the rotor disks to be formed integrally as a single, monolithic component with relatively complex shapes and features, such as the bore cavity. Additional details of additive manufacturing processes are described in greater detail below.
Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.
Directional terms as used herein—for example up, down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom, upper, lower,—are made only with reference to the figures as drawn and are not intended to imply absolute orientation unless otherwise expressly stated.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order, nor that with any apparatus specific orientations be required. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps, or that any apparatus claim does not actually recite an order or orientation to individual components, or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or description that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, or that a specific order or orientation to components of an apparatus is not recited, it is in no way intended that an order or orientation be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including: matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps, operational flow, order of components, or orientation of components; plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation, and; the number or type of embodiments described in the specification.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a” component includes aspects having two or more such components, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Referring to
Referring to
The bore body 26 is of increased thickness T compared to the web thickness t. In some embodiments, the transition between the bore body 26 and the web 28 may be relatively sharp. In other embodiments, such as the illustrated example, there may not be a relatively sharp outward curve that defines an outer terminus 40 of the bore body 26. Referring also to
The bore body 26 has a circumferentially extending bore cavity 42 that extends through the bore body 26 and circumferentially around the bore 24. The bore cavity 42 may be annular in that the bore cavity extends continuously through the bore body 26 and about the entire circumference of the bore 24. A cross-sectional shape of the bore cavity 42 may be irregular, circular, triangular, oval, etc. In some embodiments, the shape of the bore cavity 42 may be symmetric about a radially extending plane containing a central axis C of the bore cavity 42.
The cross-sectional area of the bore cavity 42 may be selected to reduce a thermal gradient in the bore body 26 along the radial direction during engine 10 operation compared to a bore body without the bore cavity. The cross-sectional area of the bore body 26 and the bore cavity 42 is measured in a cross-sectional plane that is perpendicular to the central axis C of the bore cavity 42 and extends in a radial direction, as illustrated. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the bore cavity 42 may be at least about 25 percent of a cross-sectional area of the bore body 26, such as at least about 30 percent, such as at least about 35 percent, such as at least about 40 percent, such as at least about 45 percent, such as at least about 50 percent. The presence of the bore cavity 42 can improve disk fatigue and also reduce weight of the rotor disk 20 by omitting material of the bore body 26.
In some embodiments, a maximum width W of the bore cavity 42 that is measured between outermost points of the bore cavity 42 parallel to axis R may be a preselected percentage of the maximum thickness T of the bore body 26 measured between outermost points of the bore body 26 parallel to axis R. In some embodiments, the maximum width W of the bore cavity 42 may be at least about 25 percent of the maximum thickness T of the bore body 26, such as at least about 30 percent, such as at least about 35 percent, such as at least about 40 percent, such as at least about 45 percent, such as at least about 50 percent, such as at least about 60 percent, such as at least about 70 percent, such as at least about 80 percent.
One or more bleed passages 46 and 48 may be provided, which can allow for the ingress and egress of air from outside the bore body 26 into and out of the bore cavity 42. While only two bleed passages 46 and 48 are shown in the cross-section of
Referring to
Referring now to
Various embodiments of the rotor disks relate to methods for producing three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional structures one on the other by powder additive manufacturing, such as using electron beam melting (EBM), selective laser sintering (SLS) and/or selective laser melting (SLM). The use of additive manufacturing processes can allow the rotor disk 20 or parts thereof to be formed as a single, monolithic piece of a same material.
As used herein, the term “three-dimensional structures” and the like refer generally to intended or actually fabricated three-dimensional configurations (e.g., of structural material or materials) that are intended to be used for a particular purpose. Such structures may be, for example, designed with the aid of a computer aided design (CAD) program.
As used herein, the term “two-dimensional structures” and the like refer generally to layers of the three-dimensional structure that when built, one over the other, form the three-dimensional structures. While referred to as “two-dimensional structures,” it should be understood that each layer includes an accompanying thickness in a third dimension, albeit the structures have a relatively planar configuration compared to a fused stack of the two-dimensional structures that form the three-dimensional structures.
As used herein, the term “electron beam” refers to any charged particle beam. The sources of a charged particle beam can include an electron gun, a linear actuator, etc.
Referring to
The above-described rotor disks include a bore body that includes a bore cavity that extends around the bore in an annular fashion. The bore cavity is sized to comprise a selected cross-sectional area of the bore body to remove material from the bore body that would otherwise be under increased thermal stress during operating conditions. With the bore cavity present, the bore body has a sufficient cross-sectional area to withstand mechanically-induced operational stresses.
The above-described rotor disks are made thicker at the bore circumference to reduce hoop stress induced by rotation and temperature gradient in the radial direction. The bore cavity is provided in the bore body to carry air of different temperatures, at different phases of engine operation. Bleed passages are provided that intersect the bore cavity in order to let the bore cavity communicate with the environment and allow for ingress and egress of air to and from the bore cavity. The bore cavity reduces the thermal gradient in the bore body in the radial direction. The bore cavity also removes material that would be present if the bore cavity was absent, which reduces weight of the rotor disk. The bore cavity can be any suitable cross-section shape enabled by a 3D printing process. Rotor disks with bore body cavities may be used in high pressure compressors (HPC), high pressure turbines (HPT) and low pressure turbines (LPT).
Further aspects of the invention are provided by the subject matter of the following clauses:
Clause 1: A rotor disk for a gas turbine engine, comprising a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough, the disk body comprising a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web, the peripheral rim comprising blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades; and the bore body having a bore cavity that is enclosed by the bore body and that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore, the bore cavity having a central axis that forms a circle about the central bore.
Clause 2: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the bore cavity is at least about 40 percent of the cross-sectional area of the bore body, wherein the cross-sectional area is taken in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the central axis and extends radially.
Clause 3: The rotor disk of any preceding clause comprising at least one bleed passage that intersects the bore cavity, the at least one bleed passage including an inner end that intersects the bore cavity and an outer end that intersects an outer surface of the bore body.
Clause 4: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage has a width that is less than a width of the bore cavity.
Clause 5: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage has a width that is less than about 50 percent of a width of the bore cavity.
Clause 6: The rotor disk of any preceding clause comprising multiple bleed passages that intersect the bore cavity, each bleed passage including an inner end that intersects the bore cavity and an outer end that intersects an outer surface of the bore body.
Clause 7: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein each bleed passage extends at an angle of between about 30 degrees and about 70 degrees to a radial axis of the disk body.
Clause 8: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein at least one pair of the bleed passages are aligned along a same line on opposite sides of the bore cavity.
Clause 9: A rotor disk for a gas turbine engine, comprising a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough, the disk body comprising a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web, the peripheral rim comprising blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades; and the bore body having a bore cavity that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore, the bore cavity is at least about 25 percent of a cross-sectional area of the bore body, wherein the cross-sectional area is taken in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a central axis of the bore cavity and extends radially.
Clause 10: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the bore cavity is at least about 40 percent of the cross-sectional area of the bore body.
Clause 11: The rotor disk of any preceding clause comprising at least one bleed passage that intersects the bore cavity, the at least one bleed passage including an inner end that intersects the bore cavity and an outer end that intersects an outer surface of the bore body.
Clause 12: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage has a width that is less than a width of the bore cavity.
Clause 13: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage has a width that is less than about 50 percent of a width of the bore cavity.
Clause 14: The rotor disk of any preceding clause comprising multiple bleed passages that intersect the bore cavity, each bleed passage including an inner end that intersects the bore cavity and an outer end that intersects an outer surface of the bore body.
Clause 15: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein each bleed passages extends at an angle of between about 30 degrees and about 70 degrees to a radial axis of the disk body.
Clause 16: The rotor disk of any preceding clause, wherein at least one pair of the bleed passages are aligned along a same line on opposite sides of the bore cavity.
Clause 17: A method of forming a rotor disk for a gas turbine engine, the method comprising selecting a three-dimensional computer model of the rotor disk; printing the rotor disk using the three-dimensional model, the rotor disk, once printed, comprising a disk body having a central bore extending therethrough, the disk body comprising a bore body that extends around the central bore, a web that extends radially outward from the bore body having decreased thickness relative to the bore body and a peripheral rim that is located at an outer end of the web, the peripheral rim comprising blade mounting structures for engaging complementary mounting structures of rotor blades; and the bore body having a bore cavity that extends continuously through the bore body and about an entire periphery of the central bore, the bore cavity is at least about 25 percent of a cross-sectional area of the bore body, wherein the cross-sectional area is taken in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a central axis of the bore cavity and extends radially.
Clause 18: The method of any preceding clause comprising printing at least one bleed passage that intersects the bore cavity, the at least one bleed passage including an inner end that intersects the bore cavity and an outer end that intersects an outer surface of the bore body.
Clause 19: The method of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage has a width that is less than about 50 percent of a width of the bore cavity.
Clause 20: The method of any preceding clause, wherein the at least one bleed passage extends at an angle of between about 30 degrees and about 70 degrees to a radial axis of the disk body.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Thus, it is intended that the specification cover the modifications and variations of the various embodiments described herein provided such modification and variations come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220082022 A1 | Mar 2022 | US |