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US 12,168,939 B1Granted
Radial turbine assembly with intermediate blade bonding ring
AssigneeRolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
InventorsMichael D. Wood, Matthew T. Kush, Timothy P. Fuesting, Douglas D. Dierksmeier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multi-piece radial turbine rotor includes a hub, turbine blades, and an intermediate ring that couples the turbine blades to the hub. Joints between the components of the rotor are adapted for inspection during manufacture to identify potential defects in the joints.
Claims18
A radial turbine rotor, the rotor comprising:
- a hub arranged around a central axis that defines a radially-innermost surface of the rotor,
- a plurality of turbine blades located circumferentially outward of the hub, each of the plurality of turbine blades formed to include a platform portion and an airfoil portion radially outward of the platform portion, and
- an intermediate ring extending around the central axis and coupled with the hub and each of the plurality of turbine blades to locate the intermediate ring radially between the hub and each of the plurality of turbine blades, wherein the hub is fixed to the intermediate ring by a diffusion bond joint formed between a radially-outwardly facing surface of the hub and a radially-inwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring,
- wherein each of the plurality of turbine blades is fixed to the intermediate ring by a blade joint formed between each of the plurality of turbine blades and a radially-outwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring opposite the radially-inwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring, an entirety of the radially-outwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring being smooth and unblemished.
1 more element
A method of assembling a radial turbine rotor, the method comprising:
- manufacturing a plurality of turbine blades, each of the plurality of turbine blades formed to include a platform portion and an airfoil portion extending radially outward from the platform portion,
- manufacturing an intermediate ring that extends circumferentially about a central axis,
- machining a radially-outwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring so that the radially-outwardly facing surface is smooth and unblemished,
- manufacturing a hub that extends circumferentially about the central axis,
- fixing a radially-inwardly facing surface of the platform portion of each of the plurality of turbine blades to the intermediate ring by a blade joint to locate the plurality of turbine blades radially outward of the intermediate ring, and
- fixing a radially-inwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring to a radially-outwardly facing surface of the hub by a hub joint to locate the hub radially inward of the intermediate ring.
3 more elements
A radial turbine rotor, the rotor comprising:
- a hub arranged around a central axis that defines a radially-innermost surface of the rotor,
- a plurality of turbine blades located circumferentially outward of the hub, each of the plurality of turbine blades formed to include a platform portion and an airfoil portion radially outward of the platform portion, and
- an intermediate ring extending around the central axis and coupled with the hub and each of the plurality of turbine blades to locate the intermediate ring radially between the hub and each of the plurality of turbine blades, wherein the hub is fixed to the intermediate ring by a diffusion bond joint formed between a radially-outwardly facing surface of the hub and a radially-inwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring,
- wherein the intermediate ring is formed to include a plurality of protrusions extending radially outward from a radially-outwardly facing surface of the intermediate ring and axially along the radially-outwardly facing surface between a forward end of the intermediate ring and an aft end of the intermediate ring,
- wherein a radially-inwardly facing surface of the platform portion of each of the plurality of turbine blades is flat and a radially-outwardly facing surface of each of the plurality of protrusions is flat.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.