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US 6,883,700 B2Granted
Turbine blade closure system
AssigneeSiemens Westinghouse Power Corporation
InventorsSrikanth Chandrudu Kottilingam, Peter J. Ditzel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A turbine blade closure system composed of a closure member capable of being friction welded in an aperture in a hollow-cast turbine blade to prevent the escape of cooling fluids from an internal cavity in the turbine blade. In one embodiment, the aperture is formed in the turbine blade during the manufacturing process as a result of one or more support projections used to position a core block in a turbine blade mold.
Claims19
A hollow-cast turbine blade, comprising:
- a turbine blade body formed by an outer wall comprising an outer surface and an inner surface, said body including an internal cavity defined by the inner surface of the outer wall;
- the outer wall of the body defining at least one aperture extending from the outer surface to the inner surface;
- at least one closure element positioned in the at least one aperture and joined to the body using friction welding;
- wherein the body and a portion of the closure element in contact with the body form a weld at the interface between the at least one closure element and the inner surface forming the outer wall of the body;
- and
- wherein the at least one closure element has a cross-sectional area greater than a cross-sectional area of the at least one aperture.
3 more elements
A method of sealing an aperture in a hollow-cast turbine blade, comprising:
- rotating a closure element;
- contacting the rotating closure element with the aperture in a tip shelf of the hollow-cast turbine blade;
- applying a force to the rotating closure element in a direction generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the rotating closure clement to generate heat from friction developed between the rotating closure element and the hollow-cast turbine blade;
- and
- advancing the closure element into the aperture.
2 more elements
A hollow-cast turbine blade, comprising:
- a turbine blade body formed by an outer wall comprising an outer surface, an inner surface and a tip shelf, said body including in internal cavity defined by the inner surface of the outer wall;
- the outer wall of the body defining at least one aperture extending from the tip shelf to the inner surface;
- and
- at least one closure clement having a generally circular cross-section positioned in the at least one aperture and coupled to the body using friction welding, whereby the internal cavity is sealed to prevent a cooling fluid located in the internal cavity from escaping through the at least one aperture;
- wherein the body and a portion of the closure element in contact with the body form a weld at the interface between the at least one closure element and the inner surface forming the outer wall of the body;
- and
- wherein the at least one closure element has a cross-sectional area greater than a cross-sectional area of the at least one aperture.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.