Hollow fan blade for aircraft engines and method for its manufacture
AssigneeRolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG
InventorKarl Schreiber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hollow fan blade for the fan of an aircraft engine includes a blade base section (2) and a blade tip section (5) which are assembled at opposing faying surfaces (6, 6′) by a joining process. Starting from the respective faying surface, cavities (7, 9) are produced in the two blade portions (2, 5) which are dimensioned in accordance with the loads occurring in the respective blade areas. The joining weld (4) is in a low-loaded area. The blade base section and the blade tip section can be constructed of solid material with formed-in cavities. The blade tip section can also be a sheet-metal structure.
Claims22
A method for the manufacture of a hollow fan blade for the fan of an aircraft engine, comprising:
- forming at least two fan blade sections, including a blade base section having an upper faying surface and a blade tip section having a lower faying surface, the blade base section being formed of a solid material;
- forming at least one internal cavity in each blade section originating from the respective faying surface, the number and dimensioning of each cavity depending on an expected load on the blade in the respective area;
- joining the blade sections together at their respective faying surfaces by a welding process,
- wherein the two fan blade sections are formed by cutting a single fan blade transversely to a longitudinal axis of the fan blade.
A method for the manufacture of a hollow fan blade for the fan of an aircraft engine, comprising;
- forming at least two fan blade sections, including a blade base section having an upper faying surface and a blade tip section having a lower faying surface, the blade base section being formed of a solid material;
- forming at least one internal cavity in each blade section originating from the respective faying surface, the number and dimensioning of each cavity depending on an expected load on the blade in the respective area;
- joining the blade sections together at their respective faying surfaces by a welding process,
- wherein the respective cavities are formed by a metal removal process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.