Apparatus and a method of inspecting a turbomachine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9300926-B2
Application number	US-201213675689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2012
Priority date	Nov 28, 2011
Publication date	Mar 29, 2016
Grant date	Mar 29, 2016

Abstract

An apparatus for inspecting a turbomachine includes a plurality of horoscopes, a device to rotate the rotor of the turbomachine and a processor having reference measurements of the rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades and the horoscopes. A boroscope is inserted in a casing aperture upstream of the blades to view the leading edge and a portion of one of the surfaces of each blade as the rotor is rotated. A boroscope is inserted in a casing aperture downstream of the blades to view the trailing edge and a portion of one of the surfaces of each blade as the rotor is rotated. The boroscopes supply the images of each of the blades to the processor. The processor analyzes the images of the blades and uses the reference measurements to determine the position and size of any defect on any of the rotor blades.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of inspecting a turbomachine, the turbomachine comprising a rotor having at least one stage of rotor blades and a casing surrounding the rotor and at least one stage of rotor blades, each rotor blade comprising a platform portion and an aerofoil portion, the aerofoil portion having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a concave surface, a convex surface and a tip, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a plurality of boroscopes,
b) inserting each boroscope through a respective one of a plurality of apertures in a casing of the turbomachine, at least one of the apertures in the casing being upstream of the rotor blades, at least one of the apertures in the casing being downstream of the rotor blades,
c) rotating the rotor of the turbomachine,
d) providing reference measurements of the rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades and the boroscopes,
e) viewing the leading edge and at least a portion of the concave surface or viewing the leading edge and at least a portion of the convex surface of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine as the rotor is rotated using the boroscope in the at least one of the apertures in the casing upstream of the rotor blades and supplying the image of each of the rotor blades to the processor,
f) viewing the trailing edge and at least a portion of the convex surface or viewing the trailing edge and at least a portion of the concave surface of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine as the rotor is rotated using the boroscope in the at least one of the apertures in the casing downstream of the rotor blades and supplying the image of each of the rotor blades to the processor, and
g) analysing the images of the rotor blades and using the reference measurements of the rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades and the boroscopes to determine the position and size of any defect on any of the rotor blades.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
the reference measurements of the rotor blades are the measurement from the platform portion to the tip of the aerofoil portion of the rotor blade and/or the measurement from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the aerofoil portion of the rotor blade.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising providing a model of the rotor and the at least one stage of rotor blades.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 comprising placing the image of the leading edge and at least a portion of the concave surface or placing the image of the leading edge and at least a portion of the convex surface of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine onto corresponding positions of the model of the rotor and rotor blades and placing the image of the trailing edge and at least a portion of the convex surface or placing the image of the trailing edge and at least a portion of the concave surface of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine onto corresponding positions of the model of the rotor and rotor blades.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
each boroscope comprises a rigid structure and at least one camera arranged at a predetermined longitudinal position, the at least one camera is arranged with a line of sight transverse to the longitudinal direction of the boroscope.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein
at least one of the boroscopes comprises a plurality of cameras.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least one of the boroscopes comprises a plurality of cameras at the predetermined longitudinal position and the cameras are arranged with lines of sight arranged at different angles.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein
at least one of the boroscopes comprises a plurality of cameras at different longitudinal positions.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 comprising supplying the image of each of the rotor blades from each of the cameras at the different longitudinal positions of the boroscope to the processor, the processor producing a composite image of each of the rotor blades from the images supplied by the plurality of cameras.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 comprising placing the composite image of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine onto corresponding positions of the model of the rotor and rotor blades.

11. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein
at least one of the boroscopes comprises at least one camera arranged with a line of sight directed in a downstream direction towards a stage of rotor blades and at least one camera arranged with a line of sight directed in an upstream direction towards a stage of rotor blades.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
the turbomachine comprises a stage of stator vanes upstream of the at least one stage of rotor blades and a stage of stator vanes downstream of the at least one stage of rotor blades, step b) comprising inserting a boroscope between two adjacent stator vanes of the stage of stator vanes upstream of the at least one stage of rotor blade and inserting a boroscope between two adjacent stator vanes of the stage of stator vanes downstream of the at least one stage of rotor blades.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
step (b) comprises placing a boroscope upstream of each one of a plurality of stages of rotor blades and placing a boroscope downstream of each one of the plurality of stages of rotor blades, step d) comprises providing reference measurements of the rotor blades of each of the stages of rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades of each of the stages of rotor blades and the corresponding horoscopes, and step g) comprises analysing the images of the rotor blades of each of the stages of rotor blades and using the reference measurements of the rotor blades for each stage of rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades of each stage of rotor blades and the corresponding boroscopes to determine the position and size of any defect on any of the rotor blades.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
the rotor is a compressor rotor and the rotor blades are compressor blades.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein
the rotor is a turbine rotor and the rotor blades are turbine blades.

16. An apparatus for inspecting a turbomachine, the turbomachine comprising a rotor having at least one stage of rotor blades and a casing surrounding the rotor and at least one stage of rotor blades, each rotor blade comprising a platform portion and an aerofoil portion, the aerofoil portion having a leading edge, a trailing edge, a concave surface, a convex surface and a tip, the casing of the turbomachine having a plurality of apertures, at least one of the apertures in the casing being upstream of the rotor blades and at least one of the apertures in the casing being downstream of the rotor blades,
the apparatus comprising a plurality of boroscopes, each boroscope being insertable through a respective one of the plurality of apertures in the casing of the turbomachine,
a device to rotate the rotor of the turbomachine,
a processor having reference measurements of the rotor blades and/or reference measurements between the rotor blades and the boroscopes,
at least one of the boroscopes inserted in at least one of the apertures in the casing upstream of the rotor blades being arranged to view the leading edge and at least a portion of the concave surface or being arranged to view the leading edge and at least a portion of the convex surface of each of the rotor blades of the turbomachine as the rotor is rotated,
the at least one of the boroscopes being arranged to suppl

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Kell James
• Pulisciano Adriano
• Danvers Thomas Frederick
• Rigg Graeme Eric

Classifications

• H04N23/555

  for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes · CPC title

• H04N23/90

  Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums · CPC title

• F05D2260/80

  Diagnostics · CPC title

• F01D25/285

  Temporary support structures, e.g. for testing, assembling, installing, repairing; Assembly methods using such structures · CPC title

• G06T2207/30164

  Workpiece; Machine component · CPC title