Compound fillet varying chordwise and method to manufacture
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorPatrick E. Bailey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved structure and method of manufacturing a structure such as a guide vane for a gas turbine engine includes an improved guide vane having a stress transition section called a fillet that is positioned between an airfoil and a hub. The fillet includes a constant radius section and a compound radius portion that is collectively configured to handle the stress loads of the guide vane as well as to provide aerodynamic efficiencies. An improved method of manufacturing an airfoil is provided that employs a single pass manufacturing process whereby a single tool is used to generate a resulting fillet having a constant radius and compound radius portion.
Claims20
An extension member for an engine comprising:
- an airfoil having a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion, the airfoil further including an aerodynamic surface extending between the leading and trailing edge portions;
- a hub positioned radially inward from the airfoil, the hub includes a first portion, a second portion, and an axially extending portion extending between the first and second portions;
- and
- a fillet extending axially from the leading edge portion of the airfoil to the trailing edge portion of the airfoil, the fillet including a first radius R1 and a second radius R2, the first radius R1 is a constant radius and begins at the leading edge portion of the airfoil and extends towards a transition point, the second radius R2 when combined with the first radius R1 is a compound radius and begins near the transition point and continues towards the trailing edge portion of the airfoil, wherein the first radius R1 and the second radius R2 extend around a perimeter of the airfoil.
A vane assembly for an engine comprising:
- an airfoil having a leading surface and a trailing surface;
- a hub that has an outer surface, the hub is circular shaped and the airfoil extends from the outer surface;
- a constant radius fillet extends axially and between the airfoil and the hub;
- and
- a compound radius fillet extends axially and between the airfoil and the hub;
- wherein the constant radius fillet and compound radius fillet circumscribe the airfoil, and wherein the constant radius fillet begins at the leading surface of the airfoil and extends on both a pressure side and a suction side of the airfoil.
A method of manufacturing a guide vane for an engine, comprising the following steps:
- providing a tool having a radius R1 and a radius R2;
- establishing pressure and suction side surfaces of a vane;
- establishing a tangency path for radius R2 of the tool with respect to the pressure and suction side surfaces of the vane;
- programming a machine to follow the tangency path so the tool advances to maintain the tangency of radius R2 of the tool with the surface of the vane while maintaining the tangency of radius R1 relative to a hub;
- and
- machining a fillet along the tangency path that has been created in order to produce a fillet structure m a single manufacturing pass;
- whereby R1 is a constant radius fillet, and R2 is a compound fillet, and the fillets vary chordwise.
An extension member for an engine comprising:
- an airfoil having a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion, the airfoil further including an aerodynamic surface extending between the leading and trailing edge portions;
- a hub positioned radially inward from the airfoil, the hub includes a first portion, a second portion, and an axially extending portion extending between the first and second portions;
- and
- a fillet extending axially from the leading edge portion of the airfoil to the trailing edge portion of the airfoil, the fillet including a first radius R1 and a second radius R2, the first radius R1 begins at the leading edge portion of the airfoil and extends towards a transition zone, the second radius R2 begins near the transition zone and continues towards the trailing edge portion of the airfoil, wherein the first radius R1 and the second radius R2 have a value where R2>R1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.