Turbine wheels, turbine engines including the same, and methods of forming turbine wheels with improved seal plate sealing

A turbine engine comprising:

• a turbine wheel, wherein the turbine wheel comprises:
• a rotor disk;
• a plurality of turbine blades, wherein each turbine blade is operatively connected to the rotor disk through a blade mount, wherein the blade mount is bonded to the rotor disk in the absence of a mechanical connection, wherein the blade mount and the rotor disk have a fore surface on a higher pressure side thereof, an aft surface on a lower pressure side thereof, wherein the blade mount comprises a blade attachment surface extending between and connecting the fore surface and the aft surface thereof, and wherein the turbine blade extends from the blade attachment surface;
• a gap defined between adjacent blade mounts separating the blade mounts and extending into the rotor disk, wherein the gap comprises a pocket defined by and within adjacent blade mounts and having a fore opening in the fore surface and the gap further comprises a rotor relief hole defined by and within the rotor disk and having a rotor relief opening in the fore surface;
• and
• a pocket seal disposed in the pocket;
• and
• a fore seal plate having a fore plate edge abutting the blade mounts about a circumference of the turbine wheel.

A method of forming a turbine wheel, wherein the method comprises:

• providing a turbine blade operatively connected to a blade mount and a blade ring comprising a plurality of blade mounts having fore and aft surfaces;
• bonding the blade ring to a rotor disk defining a rotor relief hole in the absence of a mechanical connection, where the blade mounts and the rotor disk are formed from dissimilar materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion;
• slotting the blade ring and the rotor disk along a radius thereof to thereby form a gap between adjacent blade mounts, wherein the gap separates the blade mounts and extends into the rotor disk, and wherein the gap comprises a pre-formed pocket defined in and between adjacent blade mounts and having a fore opening in a fore surface of the blade mounts and, optionally, an aft opening in an aft surface of the blade mounts, and the gap further comprising the rotor relief hole having a rotor relief opening in the fore surface;
• and
• forming a pocket seal in the pocket through at least one of the fore opening or the aft opening.