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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsWilliam Scott Zemitis, Melbourne James Myers, Richard Ryan Pilson, Jacob Charles Perry, II
Estimating the term…
A turbine rotor blade including an airfoil, tip shroud, and fillet formed therebetween. The fillet defines a fillet profile variable about the intersection for connecting the tip shroud and airfoil and facilitating aerodynamic airflow. The fillet includes a pressure side fillet. The pressure side fillet comprises a pressure side fillet profile per points within a first set of points of X, Y and Z coordinate values in a Cartesian coordinate system, as set forth in Table I, where X, Y and Z are distances in inches from an origin and, when the points are connected by smooth, continuing arcs, the points define the pressure side fillet profile of the pressure side fillet. The first set of points includes points between and including point 1 and point 50 of each reference plane between and including a reference plane H and a reference plane W, as set forth in Table I.
A rotor blade for a turbine of a gas turbine, the rotor blade comprising:
A rotor blade for a turbine of a gas turbine, the rotor blade comprising:
A rotor blade for a turbine of a gas turbine, the rotor blade comprising:
A rotor blade for a turbine of a gas turbine, the rotor blade comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Of the blades of successive rotor or stator blade-rows: contour of the outer or inner working fluid flow path wall, i.e. shroud or hub contour
Form or construction: construction, i.e. structural features, e.g. of weight-saving hollow blades
Blade-to-blade connections, e.g. for damping vibrations: by shrouding
Characteristics of rotor blades, i.e. of any element transforming dynamic fluid energy to or from rotational energy and being attached to a rotor:…
About 11 years 11 months of term left · ends 12 Sep 2038 (estimated)
The present invention relates generally to fillets used with a turbine rotor blade, and more specifically, to a fillet used between an airfoil and tip shroud of a turbine rotor blade.
At least some known turbine rotor blades include an airfoil, a platform, a shank, a dovetail extending along a radial inner end portion of the shank, and a tip shroud formed at a tip of the airfoil. On at least some known airfoils, integral tip shrouds are included on a radially outer end of the airfoil to define a portion of a passage through which hot combustion gasses must flow. Known tip shrouds and airfoils typically include a fillet having a predetermined size and shape at the intersection of the tip shroud and airfoil.
During operation, the connection formed between such a tip shroud and airfoil of a rotor blade become highly stressed due to rotationally induced centrifugal and mechanical forces. The fillets formed between the tip shroud and the airfoil are shaped to reduce the stress concentrations that occur in this region. However, known fillet shapes still allow the buildup of stress concentrations that reduce the effective life of the component. Further, known fillets may reduce engine efficiency due to drag forces and obstruction produced by the fillets. Consequently, there is a need for improved fillet shapes that further reduce stress concentrations, while also aerodynamically performing so to promote engine efficiency.
These and other features of this invention will be more completely understood and appreciated by careful study of the following more detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an exemplary gas turbine engine;
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of an exemplary hot gas path a may be defined through a gas turbine engine;
A tip shroud, including a fillet, may be formed integrally with the turbine rotor blade at the radially outer end of an airfoil. The tip shroud generally provides a surface area that covers a tip of the airfoil. During operation, the tip shroud engages, at opposite ends, the tip shrouds of the circumferentially-adjacent rotor blades such that a generally annular ring or shroud is formed that substantially circumscribes a hot gas path. This annular ring contains the expanding combustion to improve engine efficiency. The fillet joins the tip shroud to the airfoil and, thereby, provides support to the tip shroud to prevent it from dislodging from the airfoil during operation.
Generally, in terms of engine performance, it is desirable to have relatively large tip shrouds that overhang both the pressure side and suction side of the outer radial tip of the airfoil. With regard to aerodynamic performance, however, it is advantageous for tip shroud fillets to remain as small and streamlined as possible. Given these competing interests—i.e., that tip shrouds be large enough to divert the greatest possible amount of working fluid over the airfoils, while the fillets remain small and streamlined to promote aerodynamic efficiency—it should be appreciated that the design of tip shrouds and the fillets that support them is a rigorous and highly specialized undertaking. Successful designs effectively balance the high stresses caused on each side of the airfoil by the overhanging tip shroud mass and, in so doing, may materially extend the life of the component, enable larger tip shrouds, and/or reduce fillet size for improved aerodynamic performance. As will be seen, the present application discloses fillet designs that are specifically adapted for achieving these objectives. That is, the presently disclosed fillets—which also may be referred to herein as the “present invention” or “present fillets”—may be employed to reduce and redistribute mass in the fillet region so that the fillet remains streamlined for aerodynamic performance, while still providing a structural configuration that further reduces stress concentrations and supports larger tip shrouds without sacrificing lifespan.
For background purposes, FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary gas turbine engine 12 that includes a compressor 15, a combustor 16, and a turbine 22 extending therethrough from an intake side to an exhaust side, all coupled in a serial flow arrangement. Engine 12 includes a centerline axis 23 and a hot gas path is defined from intake side to exhaust side. In operation, air flows into the intake side and is routed to compressor 15. Compressed air is channeled from compressor 15 to combustor 16, wherein it is mixed with a fuel and ignited to generate combustion gases. The combustion gases are channeled via the hot gas path from combustor 16 towards turbine 22, where turbine 22 converts the heat energy into mechanical energy to power compressor 15 and/or another load, such as a generator (not shown).