Vaned structure and a method of manufacturing a vaned structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9739161-B2
Application number	US-201414158081-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 17, 2014
Priority date	Feb 27, 2013
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A fuel injector comprises a swirler and the swirler comprises a plurality of vanes, a first member and a second member. The second member is arranged coaxially around the first member and the vanes extend radially between the first and second members. The vanes have leading edges and the second member has an upstream end. The leading edges of the vanes extend with radial and axial components from the first member to the upstream end of the second member and the radially outer ends of the leading edges of the vanes form arches with the upstream end of the second member. The arrangement of the swirler enables the fuel injector to be built by direct laser deposition.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vaned structure comprising a plurality of vanes, a first member and a second member,
the second member being arranged coaxially with the first member,
the plurality of vanes extending radially between the first and second members, the plurality of vanes having first edges and second edges,
the first member having a first axial end and a second axial end,
the second member having a first axial end and a second axial end,
the first axial end of the second member being located at an axial position between the first axial end and the second axial end of the first member,
the first edges of the plurality of vanes extending radially and axially from the first member to the first end of the second member and
radially outer ends of the first edges of the plurality of vanes forming arches with the first end of the second member.

2. A vaned structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second member is arranged coaxially around the first member, the first edges of the plurality of vanes are leading edges, the first axial end of the second member is an upstream end, the leading edges of the plurality of vanes extend with radial and axial components from the first member to the upstream end of the second member and the radially outer ends of the leading edges of the plurality of vanes form arches with the upstream end of the second member.

3. A vaned structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the vaned structure is selected from the group consisting of a compressor vaned structure, a turbine vaned structure, a combustor nozzle guide vaned structure and a fan outlet guide vaned structure.

4. A vaned structure as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the leading edges of the plurality of vanes are arranged at a maximum angle of 60° to an axis of the vaned structure.

5. A method of manufacturing a vaned structure, the vaned structure comprising a plurality of vanes, a first member and a second member,
the second member being arranged coaxially with the first member,
the plurality of vanes extending radially between the first and second members, the plurality of vanes having first edges and second edges,
the first member having a first axial end and a second axial end,
the second member having a first axial end and a second axial end,
the first axial end of the second member being located at an axial position between the first axial end and the second axial end of the first member,
the first edges of the plurality of vanes extending radially and axially from the first member to the first end of the second member and radially outer ends of the first edges of the plurality of vanes forming arches with the first end of the second member,
the method comprising a) depositing a layer of powder metal in a plane perpendicular to an axis of the vaned structure, b) moving an energy beam in a predetermined pattern over the layer of powder metal to fuse the powder metal in the predetermined pattern in the layer of powder metal, c) repeating steps a) and b) to produce the vaned structure.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the second member is arranged coaxially around the first member, the first edges of the plurality of vanes are leading edges, the first axial end of the second member is an upstream end, the leading edges of the plurality of vanes extend with radial and axial components from the first member to the upstream end of the second member and the radially outer ends of the leading edges of the plurality of vanes form arches with the upstream end of the second member.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein step b) comprises moving a laser beam or an electron beam over the layer of powder metal to fuse the powder metal.

8. A fuel injector comprising a swirler,
the swirler comprising a plurality of vanes, a first member and a second member, the swirler having an axis,
the second member being arranged coaxially around the first member,
the plurality of vanes extending radially between the first and second members, the plurality of vanes having leading edges and trailing edges,
the first member having a first axial end and a second axial end, the first axial end of the first member being an upstream end and the second axial end of the first member being a downstream end,
the second member having a first axial end and a second axial end, the first axial end of the second member being an upstream end and the second axial end of the second member being a downstream end,
the first axial end of the second member being located at an axial position between the first axial end and the second axial end of the first member,
the leading edges of the plurality of vanes extending radially and axially from the first member to the upstream end of the second member and
radially outer ends of the leading edges of the plurality of vanes forming arches with the upstream end of the second member.

9. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the leading edges of the plurality of vanes of the swirler are arranged at a maximum angle of 60° to the axis.

10. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the first member has a cylindrical outer surface portion, the second member has a cylindrical inner surface portion and the plurality of vanes extend from the cylindrical outer surface portion of the first member to the cylindrical inner surface portion of the second member.

11. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the trailing edges of the plurality of vanes extend perpendicularly to the axis of the swirler.

12. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the first member has a cylindrical outer surface portion, the second member has a cylindrical inner surface portion, the plurality of vanes extend from the cylindrical outer surface portion of the first member to the cylindrical inner surface portion of the second member and the trailing edges of the plurality of vanes extend perpendicularly to the axis of the swirler.

13. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the radially outer ends of the leading edges of the plurality of vanes increase in circumferential thickness in a radially outward direction to form the arches with the first axial end of the second member.

14. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the arches form an apex at a junction with the second member, the apex being selected from the group consisting of a pointed apex and a curved apex.

15. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising a second swirler, the second swirler comprising a plurality of vanes and a third member,
the third member being arranged coaxially around the second member,
the plurality of vanes of the second swirler extending radially between the second and third members,
the plurality of vanes of the second swirler having leading edges,
the third member having an upstream end,
the leading edges of the plurality of vanes of the second swirler extending with radial and axial components from the upstream end of the second member to the upstream end of the third member and
radially outer ends of the leading edges of the plurality of vanes of the second swirler forming arches with the upstream end of the third member.

16. A fuel injector as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising a third swirler, the third swirler comprising a plurality of vanes and a fourth member,
the fourth member being arranged coaxially around the third member,
the plurality of vanes of the third swirler extending radially between the third and fourth members,
the plurality of vanes of the third swirler having leading edges,
the leading edges of the plurality of vanes

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Plc

Inventors

• Gregory Jonathan Mark
• Francis Oliver James

Classifications

• F23C7/004 Primary

  using vanes · CPC title

• B22F12/70

  Gas flow means · CPC title

• B22F10/68

  Cleaning or washing · CPC title

• B22F10/32

  of the atmosphere, e.g. composition or pressure in a building chamber · CPC title

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title