Turbo-machinery rotors with rounded tip edge

A gas turbine engine comprising:

• a compressor section, a combustor and a turbine section, in serial flow communication;
• and
• at least one of the compressor section and the turbine section defining an annular gas flow passage therethrough and including at least one rotor, the rotor including:
• a hub defining a central axis of rotation about which the hub rotates to define a direction of rotation of the rotor, and a plurality of blades each radially extending from the hub along a radial blade axis to project into the annular gas flow passage, each of said blades having a remote blade tip defining an outer end surface substantially aligned with the radial blade axis and a leading edge defined between opposed pressure and suction side airfoil surfaces of the blades, the outer end surface being a radially outermost surface of the blade tip;
• a shroud circumferentially surrounding the rotor and having a radially inner surface adjacent to the blade tips, a radial distance between the inner surface of the shroud and the outer end surface of the tips of the blades defining a radial tip clearance gap therebetween;
• and
• the tip of each of the blades having a pressure side tip edge formed at a first intersection between the outer end surface and the pressure side airfoil surface, and a suction side tip edge formed at a second intersection between the outer end surface and the suction side airfoil surface, the pressure side edge and the suction side edge being external edges of the blade tip, the pressure side tip edge having a first radius and the suction side tip edge having a second radius, the second radius being greater than the first radius and both the first radius and the second radius having a center of curvature that is located radially inwardly from the outer end surface of the blade tip, the suction side tip edge thereby being more rounded that the pressure side tip edge and reducing the amount of tip leakage flow through the radial tip clearance gap, the suction side tip edge forms a greater tip clearance gap at the suction side airfoil surface of the blade than at the pressure side airfoil surface, the greater tip clearance qap at the suction side of the blade drawing shroud boundary layer secondary flow through the radial tip clearance gap in a direction opposite to said tip leakage flow.

A method of improving gas turbine engine rotor efficiency by reducing tip leakage flow thereof comprising:

• providing a rotor rotating in a direction of rotation about an axis of rotation within an outer shroud surrounding said rotor, the rotor having a plurality of radially projecting blades extending into an annular gas flow passage along respective radial blade axes, the annular gas flow passage being radially enclosed by an inner surface of the outer shroud, each of said blades having a remote blade tip defining an outer end surface substantially aligned with each of the radial blade axes and a leading edge defined between opposed pressure and suction side airfoil surfaces, the outer end surface being a radially outermost surface of the blade tip, the inner surface of the shroud being adjacent to the blade tips and a radial distance between the inner surface of the shroud and the outer end surface of the blades defining a radial tip clearance gap therebetween;
• rotating said rotor through the annular gas flow passage in a first rotational direction corresponding to a direction of rotation of the rotor, a tip leakage flow being formed in the radial tip clearance gap, the tip leakage flow being in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor;
• and
• reducing tip leakage flow through the radial tip clearance gap by providing the blades with a suction side tip edge that has a greater radius of curvature than a pressure side tip edge, including forming the pressure side tip edge at a first intersection between the outer end surface and the pressure side airfoil surface and forming the suction side tip edge to be rounded at a second intersection between the outer end surface and the suction side airfoil surface, the pressure side edge and the suction side edge being external edges of the blade tip, the radius of curvature of both the suction side tip edge and the pressure side tip edge having a center of curvature that is located radially inwardly from the outer end surface of the blade tip, and forming a greater tip clearance gap at the suction side airfoil surface of the blade than at the pressure side airfoil surface, the greater tip clearance gap at the suction side of the blade drawing shroud boundary layer secondary flow through the radial tip clearance gap in a direction opposite to said tip leakage flow.