Airfoil with ribs having connector arms and apertures defining a cooling circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11286793-B2
Application number	US-201916545451-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 20, 2019
Priority date	Aug 20, 2019
Publication date	Mar 29, 2022
Grant date	Mar 29, 2022

Abstract

An airfoil includes an airfoil wall that defines a leading end, a trailing end, and first and second sides joining the leading end and the trailing end. First and second ribs each connect the first and second sides of the airfoil wall. Each of the first and second ribs define a tube portion that circumscribes a rib passage and includes cooling apertures, and first and second connector arms that solely join the tube portion to, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall. The airfoil wall and the first and second ribs bound a cooling channel there between. The cooling apertures of the first and second ribs open at the cooling channel such that there is a cooling circuit in which the rib passages of the first and second ribs are fluidly connected through the cooling apertures and the cooling channel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An airfoil comprising:
an airfoil wall defining a leading end, a trailing end, and first and second sides joining the leading end and the trailing end;
first and second ribs each connecting the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, each of the first and second ribs defining
a tube portion circumscribing a rib passage and including cooling apertures, and
first and second connector arms solely joining the tube portion to, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall,

the airfoil wall and the first and second ribs bounding a cooling channel there between, the cooling apertures of the first and second ribs opening at the cooling channel such that there is a cooling circuit in which the rib passage of the first rib is fluidly connected to the rib passage of the second rib through the cooling apertures of the first rib, then from the cooling apertures of the first rib to the cooling channel, and then from the cooling channel to the cooling apertures of the second rib.

2. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tube portion includes forward and aft walls and first and second side walls joining the forward and aft walls, the first connector arm projects from the first side wall and the second connector arm projects from the second side wall, and one or more of the cooling apertures are located in the first and second side walls.

3. The airfoil as recited in claim 2 , wherein one or more of the cooling apertures are located in the forward and aft walls.

4. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the airfoil wall includes a plurality of cooling holes, at least a portion of the cooling holes opening at the cooling channel.

5. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the trailing end of the airfoil wall includes cooling holes that are in the cooling circuit downstream of the first and second ribs.

6. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tube portion has a chevron shape.

7. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the cooling channel has two side lobe portions which extend along, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, and a middle portion that connects the two side lobe portions.

8. The airfoil as recited in claim 7 , wherein the middle portion includes two retrograde segments that extend, respectively, from the two side lobe portions.

9. The airfoil as recited in claim 1 , wherein the cooling channel has an I-shaped cross-section.

10. An airfoil comprising:
an airfoil wall defining a leading end, a trailing end, and first and second sides joining the leading end and the trailing end;
a feed rib and a dependent rib each connecting the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, the feed rib and the dependent rib each defining
a tube portion circumscribing a rib passage and including cooling apertures, and
first and second connector arms solely joining the tube portion to, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall,

the airfoil wall, the feed rib, and the dependent rib bounding a cooling channel there between, wherein the rib passage of the feed rib is configured to receive source cooling air and feed the source cooling air via the cooling apertures and the cooling channel to the rib passage of the dependent rib.

11. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the rib passage of the dependent rib is fully dependent on the feed rib to receive cooling air.

12. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the rib passage of the dependent rib is partially dependent on the feed rib to receive cooling air.

13. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the feed rib is forward of the dependent rib.

14. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the feed rib is aft of the dependent rib.

15. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the cooling channel has two side lobe portions which extend along, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, a middle portion that connects the two side lobe portions, and the middle portion includes two retrograde segments that extend, respectively, from the two side lobe portions.

16. The airfoil as recited in claim 10 , wherein the cooling apertures include impingement cooling apertures in the feed rib and the dependent rib which are configured to provide impingement cooling on the airfoil wall and inflow cooling apertures in the dependent rib which are configured to reduce pressure loss of the cooling air entering the rib passage of the dependent rib.

17. An airfoil comprising:
an airfoil wall defining a leading end, a trailing end, and first and second sides joining the leading end and the trailing end;
a feed rib, a primary dependent rib, and a secondary dependent rib each connecting the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, the feed rib, the primary dependent rib, and the secondary dependent rib each defining
a tube portion circumscribing a rib passage and including cooling apertures, and
first and second connector arms solely joining the tube portion to, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall,

the airfoil wall, the feed rib and the primary dependent rib bounding a first cooling channel there between and the airfoil wall, the primary dependent rib, and the secondary dependent rib bounding a second cooling channel there between,
wherein the rib passage of the feed rib is configured to receive source cooling air and feed the source cooling air via the cooling apertures and the first cooling channel to the rib passage of the primary dependent rib and the primary dependent rib is configured to feed the cooling air via the cooling apertures and the second cooling channel to the rib passage of the secondary dependent rib.

18. The airfoil as recited in claim 17 , wherein the rib passage of the primary dependent rib is fully dependent on the feed rib to receive cooling air, and the rib passage of the secondary dependent rib is fully dependent on the primary dependent rib to receive cooling air.

19. The airfoil as recited in claim 17 , wherein the feed rib is forward of the primary dependent rib and the secondary dependent rib.

20. The airfoil as recited in claim 17 , wherein the feed rib is aft of the primary dependent rib and the secondary dependent rib.

21. The airfoil as recited in claim 17 , wherein the first cooling channel and the second cooling channel each have two side lobe portions which extend along, respectively, the first and second sides of the airfoil wall, a middle portion that connects the two side lobe portions, and the middle portion includes two retrograde segments that extend, respectively, from the two side lobe portions.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp
• Raytheon Tech Corp

Inventors

• Spangler Brandon W
• Pack David R

Classifications

• F05D2260/20

  Heat transfer, e.g. cooling · CPC title

• F05D2260/22141

  using fins or ribs · CPC title

• F01D5/148

  Blades with variable camber, e.g. by ejection of fluid · CPC title

• Y02T50/60

  Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft · CPC title

• F01D5/18

  Hollow blades, {i.e. blades with cooling or heating channels or cavities (structure of hollow blades in general F01D5/147)}; Heating, heat-insulating or cooling means on blades · CPC title