Systems and apparatus relating to compressor stator blades and diffusers in turbine engines
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorKevin R. Kirtley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A row of stator blades in a compressor of a combustion turbine engine, the combustion turbine engine including a diffuser located downstream of the compressor, and the row of stator blades disposed in close proximity to the diffuser; the row of stator blades comprising: a plurality of stator blades that include at least one of an inboard forward notch and an outboard forward notch.
Claims19
A row of stator blades in an axial compressor of a combustion turbine engine, the combustion turbine engine including a diffuser located axially downstream of the compressor, and the row of stator blades disposed in close proximity to the diffuser;
- the row of stator blades comprising:
- a plurality of stator blades that include at least one of an inboard forward notch and an outboard forward notch;
- wherein:
- each stator blade within the row of stator blades connects, at an outer radial edge, to an outer wall and, at an inner radial edge, to an inner wall;
- the outer wall defining an outer flowpath boundary of a main flowpath of the compressor and the inner wall defining an inner flowpath boundary of the main flowpath of the compressor;
- the inboard forward notch comprises a cut-out section that extends rearward a first predetermined distance from a leading edge of the stator blade along the inner wall, the first predetermined distance comprising a distance less than a length of the stator blade;
- and
- the outboard forward notch comprises a cut-out section that extends rearward a second predetermined distance from a leading edge of the stator blade along the outer wall, the second predetermined distance comprising a distance less than the length of the stator blade.
A row of stator blades in an axial compressor of a combustion turbine engine, the combustion turbine engine including a diffuser located axially downstream of the compressor, and the row of stator blades disposed in close proximity to the diffuser;
- wherein:
- each of the stator blades within the row comprises an inboard forward notch and an outboard forward notch;
- the row of stator blades comprises a first row of stator blades disposed in the upstream direction from the diffuser;
- each stator blade within the row of stator blades connects, at an outer radial edge, to an outer wall and, at an inner radial edge, to an inner wall;
- the outer wall defining an outer flowpath boundary of a main flowpath of the compressor and the inner wall defining an inner flowpath boundary of the main flowpath of the compressor;
- the inboard forward notch comprises a cut-out section that extends rearward a first predetermined distance from a leading edge of the stator blade along the inner wall, the first predetermined distance comprising a distance less than a length of the stator blade;
- and
- the outboard forward notch comprises a cut-out section that extends rearward a second predetermined distance from a leading edge of the stator blade along the outer wall, the second predetermined distance comprising a distance less than the length of the stator blade;
- the first predetermined distance of the inboard forward notch comprises a distance that allows a significant portion of a forward curvature of an airfoil of the stator blade to be bypassed by a flow through the inboard forward notch;
- and
- the second predetermined distance of the outboard forward notch comprises a distance that allows a significant portion of the forward curvature of the airfoil of the stator blade to be bypassed by a flow through the outboard forward notch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.