Rotor wheel and impeller inserts
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsKiran Sreeram, John Herbert Dimmick, III, Gary Charles Liotta, John Robert Sech, Eric Richard Bonini, Patrick Shawn Reilly
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Abstract
A rotor wheel for an engine includes a plurality of impeller vanes and a plurality of fluid passages defined by adjacent impeller vanes. The fluid passages are radially disposed across at least a portion of the rotor wheel. One or more impeller inserts may be disposed within one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, respectively. The impeller inserts define an impeller passage with a passage shape that controls a flow of fluid through the one or more of the plurality of fluid passages.
Claims18
A rotor wheel for an engine, the rotor wheel comprising:
- a plurality of impeller vanes;
- a plurality of fluid passages defined by adjacent ones of the impeller vanes such that the plurality of fluid passages are radially disposed across at least a portion of the rotor wheel;
- one or more correspondingly shaped impeller inserts disposed within one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, respectively, the one or more impeller inserts defining an impeller passage with a passage shape that controls a flow of fluid through the one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, and wherein the impeller inserts comprise a pocket or hole.
An impeller insert for a rotor wheel in an engine, wherein the rotor wheel includes a plurality of impeller vanes, adjacent ones of which defining a plurality of fluid passages such that the plurality of fluid passages are radially disposed across at least a portion of the rotor wheel, the impeller insert being correspondingly shaped to fit within one or more of the fluid passages and comprising an impeller passage having a passage shape that controls a flow of fluid through the one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, and wherein the impeller insert comprises a pocket or hole.
A method of tuning fluid flow across a rotor wheel in an engine, the rotor wheel including a plurality of impeller vanes and a plurality of fluid passages defined by adjacent ones of the impeller vanes such that the plurality of fluid passages are radially disposed across at least a portion of the rotor wheel, the method comprising:
- positioning one or more correspondingly shaped impeller inserts within one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, respectively;
- and defining an impeller passage in the impeller inserts with a passage shape that controls a flow of fluid through the one or more of the plurality of fluid passages, and wherein the impeller inserts comprise a pocket or hole.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.