Impeller containment system
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsHamid Khorrami, Michael Fryer, Amir Masoud Tahvilian
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compressor impeller containment system includes a catcher ring surrounding an impeller hub at an axial location spaced from the impeller blades. The catcher ring has a radially inner diameter surface and a radially outer diameter surface defining therebetween a radial thickness R1. The catcher ring has a hollow body portion extending along at most one third of the radial thickness R1 of the catcher ring as measured from the radially inner diameter surface, and a solid body portion extending radially outwardly from the hollow body portion to the radially outer diameter surface.
Claims19
A compressor impeller containment system comprising:
- an impeller mounted for rotation about an axis, the impeller having an impeller hub and impeller blades projecting radially outwardly from the impeller hub;
- and
- a catcher ring surrounding the impeller hub at an axial location spaced from the impeller blades, the catcher ring having a radial thickness R1 defined between a radially inner diameter surface and a radially outer diameter surface, the catcher ring further having a radially inner hollow portion extending from the radially inner diameter surface to an intermediate radial location between the radially inner diameter surface and the radially outer diameter surface, the radially inner hollow portion defining an internal cavity extending circumferentially around the axis, and a radially outer solid portion extending radially outwardly along a radial thickness R2 from the intermediate radial location to the radially outer diameter surface, wherein ¾ R1≥R2≥½ R1.
An auxiliary power unit comprising:
- a compressor including an impeller mounted for rotation about an axis, the impeller having an impeller hub and impeller blades projecting radially outwardly from the impeller hub;
- and
- a catcher ring disposed on a backside of the impeller blades directly around the impeller hub, the catcher ring having a radially outer diameter surface and a radially inner diameter surface, the radially inner diameter surface disposed radially adjacent to a radially outer surface of the impeller hub, the radially inner diameter surface and the radially outer diameter surface defining therebetween a radial thickness R1 of the catcher ring, and wherein the catcher ring has a hollow body portion extending along at most one third of the radial thickness R1 of the catcher ring as measured from the radially inner diameter surface, and a solid body portion extending radially outwardly from the hollow body portion to the radially outer diameter surface.
A compressor impeller hub containment ring comprising:
- a sheet metal inner ring component concentrically mounted inside a forged outer ring component, the sheet metal inner ring component having an open cross-section, the forged outer ring component having a solid cross-section, the forged outer ring component closing the open cross-section of the sheet metal inner ring and cooperating therewith to form an internal cavity around an inner circumference of the compressor impeller hub containment ring, wherein the forged outer ring component extends radially along more than half and less than three quarters of a total radial thickness of the compressor impeller hub containment ring.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.