Turbine wheels, turbine engines including the same, and methods of forming turbine wheels with improved seal plate sealing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10851660-B2
Application number	US-201916580951-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2019
Priority date	Dec 2, 2016
Publication date	Dec 1, 2020
Grant date	Dec 1, 2020

Abstract

Turbine wheels, turbine engines, and methods of forming the turbine wheels are provided herein. In an embodiment, a turbine wheel includes a rotor disk and a plurality of turbine blades. Each turbine blade is operatively connected to the rotor disk through a blade mount, which is bonded to the rotor disk. The blade mount and the rotor disk have a fore surface on a higher pressure side thereof and an aft surface on a lower pressure side thereof. The blade mount includes a blade attachment surface that extends between and connects the fore surface and the aft surface. The turbine blade extends from the blade attachment surface. A gap is defined between adjacent blade mounts. The gap separates the blade mounts and extends into the rotor disk. The gap includes a pocket that has a fore opening in the fore surface. A pocket seal is disposed in the pocket.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A turbine wheel comprising:
a rotor disk;
a plurality of turbine blades each operatively connected to the rotor disk through a blade mount with the blade mount bonded to the rotor disk and the blade mount and the rotor disk having a fore surface on a higher pressure side thereof and an aft surface on a lower pressure side thereof, wherein the blade mount comprises a blade attachment surface extending between and connecting the fore surface and the aft surface thereof with turbine blade extending from the blade attachment surface;
a gap defined between adjacent blade mounts separating the blade mounts and extending into the rotor disk, wherein the gap comprises a pocket defined by the adjacent blade mounts with the pocket having a fore opening in the fore surface of the adjacent blade mounts and the gap being free from an opening in the aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts such that the pocket remains entirely closed at the aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts; and
a pocket seal disposed in the pocket.

2. The turbine wheel of claim 1 , wherein the pocket has a radially inward surface proximal the rotor disk and a radially outward surface distal to the rotor disk with the pocket seal disposed along the radially outward surface.

3. The turbine wheel of claim 1 , wherein the pocket seal extends to the fore opening.

4. The turbine wheel of claim 1 , wherein each pocket is defined in and between adjacent blade mounts.

5. The turbine wheel of claim 1 , wherein the gap further comprises a rotor relief hole in the rotor disk with the rotor relief hole having a rotor relief opening in the fore surface.

6. The turbine wheel of claim 5 , wherein the rotor relief hole is separate and spaced apart from the pocket in the blade mount.

7. The turbine wheel of claim 5 , wherein a plate seal covers the rotor relief opening and the fore opening of the pocket.

8. The turbine wheel of claim 7 , wherein the plate seal comprises a ring having projections with each projection covering a respective rotor relief opening and fore opening of one gap about a circumference of the turbine wheel.

9. The turbine wheel of claim 5 , wherein the rotor relief hole is connected to the pocket internally between the blade mount and the rotor disk, and wherein the pocket seal further extends to the rotor relief hole.

10. The turbine wheel of claim 9 further comprising a plug disposed in the rotor relief opening.

11. The turbine wheel of claim 9 further comprising a radial seal seated between the fore seal plate and the blade mounts adjacent the fore seal plate and abutting the pocket seal.

12. The turbine wheel of claim 1 , wherein the pocket is free from an opening in the blade attachment surface of the blade mount.

13. A turbine engine comprising:
a turbine wheel including:
a plurality of turbine blades each operatively connected to the rotor disk through a blade mount with the blade mount bonded to the rotor disk and the blade mount and the rotor disk having a fore surface on a higher pressure side thereof and an aft surface on a lower pressure side thereof, wherein the blade mount comprises a blade attachment surface extending between and connecting the fore surface and the aft surface thereof with the turbine blade extending from the blade attachment surface;
a gap defined between adjacent blade mounts separating the blade mounts and extending into the rotor disk with the gap comprising a pocket defined by and within adjacent blade mounts and having a fore opening in the fore surface of the adjacent blade mounts and the gap being free from an opening in the aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts such that the pocket remains entirely closed at the aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts; and
a pocket seal disposed in the pocket; and

a fore seal plate having a fore plate edge abutting the blade mounts about a circumference of the turbine wheel.

14. The turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein the pocket seal extends to the fore opening.

15. The turbine engine of claim 14 , wherein the fore opening is aligned with the fore plate edge of the fore seal plate, and wherein the pocket seal contacts the fore plate edge.

16. The turbine engine of claim 15 , wherein the fore seal plate and the turbine wheel define a cooling cavity therebetween, wherein the cooling cavity is in fluid communication with a cooling fluid source isolated from a gaseous environment surrounding the plurality of turbine blades.

17. The turbine engine of claim 16 , wherein the cooling cavity is sealed from gaseous communication between the cooling cavity and the gaseous environment surrounding the plurality of turbine blades.

18. The turbine engine of claim 16 , wherein the fore seal plate and the turbine wheel define a cavity therebetween, and wherein the cavity is uncooled.

19. A method of forming a turbine wheel comprising the steps of:
providing a turbine blade operatively connected to a blade mount and a blade ring comprising a plurality of blade mounts;
bonding the blade ring to a rotor disk with the blade mounts and the rotor disk formed from dissimilar materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion;
slotting the blade ring and the rotor disk along a radius thereof to form a gap between adjacent blade mounts with the gap separating the blade mounts and extending into the rotor disk, wherein the gap comprises a pre-formed pocket defined by adjacent blade mounts and having a fore opening in a fore surface of the adjacent blade mounts and free from an opening in an aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts such that the pre-formed pocket remains entirely closed at the aft surface of the adjacent blade mounts; and
forming a pocket seal in the pocket through the fore opening.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Halfmann Steve
• Crites Daniel C
• Kahrs Michael
• Riahi Ardeshir
• Miller Jude

Classifications

• F01D5/3015

  with side plates · CPC title

• F01D5/081

  Cooling fluid being directed on the side of the rotor disc or at the roots of the blades (F01D5/087 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2230/23

  by permanently joining parts together · CPC title

• F01D5/22

  Blade-to-blade connections, {e.g. for damping vibrations} · CPC title

• F05D2300/50212

  dissimilar · CPC title