Turbine engine with reduced cross flow airfoils
AssigneesGeneral Electric Company, GE Avivo S.r.l.
InventorsSaurya Ranjan Ray, Francesco Bertini, Lyle Douglas Dailey, Jeffrey D. Clements, Jaikumar Loganathan, Simone Rosa Taddei
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine comprising an outer band, an inner band radially spaced inwardly from the outer band to define an annular region, and multiple airfoils circumferentially spaced within the annular region. Each corresponding airfoil of the multiple airfoils can project from a surface at a root and can further include an outer wall defining a pressure side and a suction side. A projection can extend upwardly from the surface on the pressure side and a valley can extend into the surface on the suction side to define a contour in the surface.
Claims20
An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine, the airfoil assembly rotatable about a rotational axis and comprising:
- an outer band;
- an inner band radially spaced inwardly from the outer band to define an annular region therebetween, the inner band having an upstream edge, a downstream edge and a surface extending therebetween, with at least a portion of the surface extending circumferentially along a surface baseline defined by a constant radial distance from the rotational axis;
- a pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils, with each airfoil of the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils having an outer wall extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge and between a root and a tip in a span-wise direction a total length between the root and the tip, the outer wall defining a pressure side and a suction side and the root provided along the surface at the surface baseline;
- a projection extending radially outward from a portion of the surface at the surface baseline and being provided on the pressure side of the outer wall of a corresponding airfoil of the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils;
- and
- a valley separate and spaced from the projection, the valley provided along the surface and extending radially inward from the surface baseline to a maximum depth;
- wherein the surface extends along a total surface area, with the surface being at the surface baseline a greater amount of the total surface area than the valley and the projection.
An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine, the airfoil assembly rotatable about a rotational axis and comprising:
- a platform having an upstream edge and a downstream edge, with a platform surface extending therebetween, with at least a portion of the platform surface extending along a platform surface baseline defined by a constant radial height from the rotational axis;
- a pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils, with each airfoil of the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils having an outer wall extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge and between a root and a tip in a span-wise direction a total length between the root and the tip, the outer wall defining a pressure side and a suction side and the root provided along the platform surface at the platform surface baseline;
- a projection provided along a portion of the platform surface and against the outer wall of a corresponding airfoil of the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils, the projection extending radially outward from the platform surface baseline;
- a splitter provided along a portion of the platform circumferentially between the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils, the splitter extending radially outward from the platform surface baseline;
- and
- a valley provided along the platform surface and extending radially inward from the platform surface baseline to a maximum depth, the valley being located entirely between the splitter and the suction side of the corresponding airfoil.
An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine, the airfoil assembly being rotatable about a rotational axis, the airfoil assembly comprising:
- a platform having a surface terminating at an end wall provided along an axially forward portion of the surface;
- a pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils spaced a circumferential distance from one another, with each airfoil of the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils having an outer wall extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge to define a chord-wise direction and between a root and a tip in a span-wise direction, the outer wall defining a pressure side and a suction side;
- a splitter circumferentially spaced from the airfoil to define a channel therebetween, with respect to the rotational axis;
- and
- a trench at least partially formed within the channel and including a trench inlet provided along the end wall, the trench inlet extending circumferentially a distance that is less than the circumferential distance between the pair of circumferentially adjacent airfoils.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.