US 5,630,703 AGranted

Rotor disk post cooling system

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorsDavid G. Hendley, Steve R. Fledderjohn, Randall C. Bauer, Jonathon P. Clarke, Alan L. Webb

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Abstract

A cooling system for use in a rotor assembly of a gas turbine engine, the rotor assembly including an annular disk rotatable about a centerline axis of the engine and a plurality of blades mounted on the disk. The disk includes alternating posts and slots, with each slot receiving a blade dovetail. The cooling system comprises an axially extending plenum disposed inward of each blade dovetail and a thermal isolation chamber, formed by a seal body, disposed over the outer surface of each disk post. An annular forward blade retainer is attached to the disk and sealed with adjacent structures via inner and outer seals. Alternative structures are disclosed for diverting the cooling air from the plenums, past the inner and outer seals, and into the isolation chambers during operation of the engine so as to cool each disk point, without compromising the structural integrity of the forward blade retainer. The cooling system further includes an aft retention member forming in part an annular plenum in fluid flow communication with each of the axially extending plenums. The annular plenum is further in fluid flow communication with a plurality of passages formed between disk post and blade dovetail relief surfaces, with air flowing through these passages effective for further cooling the disk posts. The air flowing through at least a portion of these passages is subsequently directed to the thermal is isolation chambers.

A cooling system for use in a rotor assembly of a gas turbine engine, the rotor assembly including an annular disk rotatable about a centerline axis of the engine and a plurality of radially extending blades mounted on the disk, the disk including a plurality of circumferentially alternating posts and slots disposed about a periphery of the disk, each of the slots receiving a dovetail portion of one of the blades, said cooling system being effective for cooling each of the disk posts during operation of the engine, said cooling system comprising:

a plurality of seal bodies, each of said seal bodies forming a thermal isolation chamber positioned over a radially outer surface of one of the disk posts, wherein each of said seal bodies includes a cover plate;
a plurality of axially extending plenums, each of said plenums positioned inward of the dovetail portion of one of the blades, wherein said axially extending plenums receive cooling air during operation of the engine;
a first, annular retention member attached to the disk at a radially inner end thereof, said first retention member being effective for preventing egress of the blades from the disk slots in one axial direction, wherein a radially outer end of said first retention member is proximate a first axially facing surface of said cover plate;
a radially inner seal disposed in sealing engagement with said first retention member, the dovetail portion of each of the blades, and the disk posts;
a radially outer seal disposed in sealing engagement with at least said first retention member and said cover plate of said seal bodies;
a recess formed in a second, opposite axially facing surface of said cover plate of each of said seal bodies, wherein each of said recesses receives cooling air from at least one of said plenums during operation of the engine, with the cooling air being diverted past said inner and outer seals into said recesses, wherein each of said recesses is also in fluid flow communication with one of said thermal isolation chambers.

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Abstract

Claims28