Axial compressor rotor incorporating non-axisymmetric hub flowpath and splittered blades

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9938984-B2
Application number	US-201414585154-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 29, 2014
Priority date	Dec 29, 2014
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

A compressor apparatus includes: a rotor including: a disk mounted for rotation about a centerline axis, an outer periphery of the disk defining a flowpath surface having an non-axisymmetric surface profile; an array of airfoil-shaped axial-flow compressor blades extending radially outward from the flowpath surface, wherein the compressor blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge; and an array of airfoil-shaped splitter blades alternating with the compressor blades, wherein the splitter blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge; and wherein at least one of a chord dimension of the splitter blades at the roots thereof and a span dimension of the splitter blades is less than the corresponding dimension of the compressor blades.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A compressor apparatus comprising:
an axial flow rotor comprising:
a disk mounted for rotation about a centerline axis, an outer periphery of the disk defining a flowpath surface having a non-axisymmetric surface profile;
an array of airfoil-shaped axial flow compressor blades extending radially outward from the flowpath surface, wherein the array of compressor blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge; and
an array of airfoil-shaped splitter blades alternating with the compressor blades, wherein the array of splitter blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge;
wherein both a chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof and a span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades are less than the corresponding dimension of the compressor blades;
wherein the splitter blade chord is parallel to the compressor blade chord, at the roots thereof,
wherein each of the blades of the array of splitter blades are positioned such that their trailing edges are at approximately the same axial position as the trailing edges of the compressor blades, relative to the disk,
wherein the flowpath surface includes a concave scallop between adjacent compressor blades,
wherein each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is circumferentially aligned with a deepest portion of the concave scallop,
wherein the selected stage is the aft-most stage of the compressor, and

wherein a forward-most stage of the compressor is un-splittered.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flowpath surface includes a concave scallop between adjacent compressor blades.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the concave scallop has a minimum radial depth adjacent the roots of the compressor blades, and has a maximum radial depth at a position approximately midway between adjacent compressor blades.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is located approximately midway between two adjacent compressor blades.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is 50% or less of the span dimension of the compressor blades.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is 30% or less of the span dimension of the compressor blades.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof is 50% or less of the chord dimension of the compressor blades at the roots thereof.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof is 50% or less of the chord dimension of the compressor blades at the roots thereof.

9. A compressor apparatus including a plurality of axial-flow stages, at least a selected one of the stages comprising:
a disk mounted for rotation about a centerline axis, an outer periphery of the disk defining a flowpath surface having a non-axisymmetric surface profile;
an array of airfoil-shaped axial flow compressor blades extending radially outward from the flowpath surface, wherein the array of compressor blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge; and
an array of airfoil-shaped splitter blades alternating with the compressor blades, wherein the array of splitter blades each have a root, a tip, a leading edge, and a trailing edge;
wherein both a chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof and a span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades are less than the corresponding dimension of the compressor blades;
wherein the splitter blade chord is parallel to the compressor blade chord, at the roots thereof,
wherein the array of splitter blades are positioned such that their trailing edges are at approximately the same axial position as the trailing edges of the compressor blades, relative to the disk,
wherein the flowpath surface includes a concave scallop between adjacent compressor blades,
wherein each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is circumferentially aligned with a deepest portion of the concave scallop,
wherein the selected stage is the aft-most stage of the compressor, and
wherein a forward-most stage of the compressor is un-splittered.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the concave scallop has a minimum radial depth adjacent the roots of the compressor blades, and has a maximum radial depth at a position approximately midway between adjacent compressor blades.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is located approximately midway between two adjacent compressor blades.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is 50% or less of the span dimension of the array of compressor blades; and
wherein the length of the chord of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blade decreases in the radial direction along the splitter blade span.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the span dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades is 30% or less of the span dimension of the compressor blades.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof is 50% or less of the chord dimension of the compressor blades at the roots thereof.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the chord dimension of each splitter blade of the array of splitter blades at the roots thereof is 50% or less of the chord dimension of the compressor blades at the roots thereof.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Dipietro Jr Anthony Louis
• Kajfasz Gregory John

Classifications

• F05D2260/961

  by mistuning rotor blades or stator vanes with irregular interblade spacing, airfoil shape · CPC title

• F01D5/146

  of blades with tandem configuration, split blades or slotted blades · CPC title

• F05D2220/3219

  for the last stage of a compressor or a high pressure compressor · CPC title

• F04D29/681

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D29/329

  Details of the hub · CPC title