Composite blade for a turbine engine rotor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12030616-B2
Application number	US-202117904076-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2021
Priority date	Feb 18, 2020
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

The invention relates to a composite blade ( 5 ) for a turbine engine rotor, for example, an unducted propeller, comprising a skin ( 6 ) made of woven fibres forming the outer profile of the blade and an attachment ( 11 ) with cylindrical geometry in the direction of the span emerging from the blade root ( 9 ), which attachment is intended to retain the blade ( 5 ) on a hub of the rotor, characterised in that it further comprises a spar ( 16 ) having a hollow tube structure made of braided carbon fibres, fixed to the attachment ( 11 ) and extending inside the skin ( 6 ) over at least part of the span of the blade ( 5 ). The invention also relates to a propeller comprising said blade and to a method for manufacturing said blade.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A composite blade for a turbine engine rotor, the composite blade comprising a skin made of woven fibres forming the external profile of the composite blade and an attachment with cylindrical geometry in the direction of a span emerging from a root of the composite blade, the composite blade extends radially between a head and the root, wherein the attachment is intended to hold the composite blade on a hub of said turbine engine rotor,
wherein said composite blade further comprises a spar having a hollow tube structure made of braided carbon fibres, the hollow tube structure is fixed to the attachment and extending inside the skin over at least one portion of the span of the composite blade,
wherein the skin comprises a lower portion and an upper portion, the lower portion starting from the root at the level of which there is an unbinding of the skin, the lower portion surrounding the spar, and the upper portion comprising the head of the composite blade which is a monolithic portion of woven skin without the spar, and
wherein the head of the composite blade is distant from a tip of the spar.

2. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the attachment comprises a bell-shaped portion inserted at one end of the spar.

3. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the attachment is made of metallic material.

4. The composite blade according to claim 3 , wherein the attachment is made of martensitic steel.

5. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein a foam shape ensures the interface between the spar and the skin.

6. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the interior of the spar is filled with a foam shape.

7. The composite blade according to claim 6 , wherein the foam shape is stopped before the tip of the spar.

8. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the attachment comprises at least one reinforcement intended to form a ring for a ball rolling.

9. A turbine engine propeller comprising composite blades according to claim 1 .

10. A method for manufacturing a blade according to claim 1 , comprising the weaving of a preform for the skin, wherein it comprises a step of manufacturing an assembly comprising a braided preform of hollow spar and a cylindrical attachment fixed together, a step of inserting said assembly into the skin preform and a step of forming the blade with its final shape by a resin transfer moulding method, referred to as RTM.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the weaving of the preform of the skin is done with a method of interweaving warp strands with weft strands with the creation of an unbinding on a portion of the skin, arranged to insert the assembly comprising the braided spar preform and the attachment.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein said unbinding takes place at a trailing edge of the skin preform.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein a foam shape is inserted into the braided preform of the spar, when assembled with the attachment, in order to make it conform to the final shape of the profile of the blade.

14. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the composite blade is an un-ducted propeller.

15. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the spar extends inside the skin over a distance between 30% and 70% of the span of the composite blade from the root.

16. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the hollow tube structure has a circular shape in cross-section at the level of the root and a gradually flattened shape in cross-section to a top of the spar.

17. The composite blade according to claim 1 , wherein the unbinding is at only a trailing edge of the composite blade.

18. A composite blade for a turbine engine rotor, the composite blade comprising a skin made of woven fibres forming the external profile of the composite blade and an attachment with cylindrical geometry in the direction of a span emerging from a root of the composite blade, wherein the attachment is intended to hold the composite blade on a hub of said turbine engine rotor,
wherein said composite blade further comprises a spar having a hollow tube structure made of braided carbon fibres, the hollow tube structure is fixed to the attachment and extending inside the skin over at least one portion of the span of the composite blade,
wherein the spar extends inside the skin over a distance between 30% and 70% of the span of the composite blade from the root,
wherein the attachment comprises a bell-shaped portion inserted at one end of the spar,
wherein the composite blade comprises at a head opposite to the root, said head having only a monolithic portion of woven skin and free of spar,
wherein the skin comprises a lower portion and an upper portion, the lower portion starting from the root at the level of which there is an unbinding of the skin, the lower portion surrounding the spar, and the upper portion comprising the head of the composite blade which is the monolithic portion of woven skin without the spar, and
wherein the head of the composite blade is distant from a tip of the spar.

Assignees

• Safran Aircraft Engines

Inventors

• Courtier Vivien Mickael
• Binder Anthony

Classifications

• F05D2300/6034

  Orientation of fibres, weaving, ply angle · CPC title

• F05D2240/30

  Characteristics of rotor blades, i.e. of any element transforming dynamic fluid energy to or from rotational energy and being attached to a rotor · CPC title

• F05D2230/20

  essentially without removing material · CPC title

• F05D2220/323

  for aircraft propulsion, e.g. jet engines · CPC title

• F01D5/30

  Fixing blades to rotors; Blade roots {; Blade spacers} · CPC title