Rotary kinetic fluid motors or pumps – Working fluid passage or distributing means associated with... – Plural distributing means immediately upstream of runner
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-06
2001-03-06
Look, Edward K. (Department: 3745)
Rotary kinetic fluid motors or pumps
Working fluid passage or distributing means associated with...
Plural distributing means immediately upstream of runner
C415S200000, C415S208200, C415S209400, C415S210100, C416S235000, C416S230000, C416S24100B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196794
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a unit integrally formed of a fiber-reinforced resin, and a gas turbine stator vane structure constituted by a plurality of such units, particularly to a unit of I-shape, C-shape, etc., constituted by a fiber-reinforced core and a resin skin layer integrally molded therewith, and a gas turbine stator vane structure produced by connecting such units in a circle.
Gas turbine engines have been widely utilized for airplanes, generators of electricity, etc., because they have not only large output capacity, but also superior efficiency. Stator vanes are generally installed in a gas turbine airplane-engine to lead inhaled air into moving vanes and to rectify by-pass flow as guide vanes. The stator vanes have been generally made of metal materials such as titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, stainless steel, etc. The metal stator vane structure has been produced by forming the vanes by casting, forging, pressing, etc., and connecting the vanes to circular cases called platforms, by welding, brazing, etc.
However, the conventional metal stator vanes need machining, finishing, coating, etc., after formation, suffering disadvantages that they are completed through many working processes, some of which are extremely difficult in conducting in complicated structures, and that they are heavy and expensive because of using metal materials.
In such circumstance, the production of stator vanes composed of resins or resin composite materials has recently attracted much attention, and some proposals have been made. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-278063 discloses a method for producing a stator vane made of resins comprising the steps of forming a laminate of prepregs into a vane body, which is slightly smaller than the desired size of the vane; placing the vane body in a molding die having a cavity of the final vane shape; filling a gap between the vane body and the molding die cavity with a thermoplastic resin under pressure; and carrying out compression molding. Because this method utilizes resins as materials for stator vanes, it contributes not only to reduction in production time and the weight of stator vanes and thus their cost, but also to facilitation of production steps and improvement in dimensional accuracy, etc. However, the above method is disadvantageous in that the resin-made vanes have to be fixed to platforms using adhesives, bolts, etc., to form an integral stator vane structure, requiring many components and production steps.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a unit for constituting a gas turbine stator vane structure without adhesives, bolts, etc.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas turbine stator vane structure constituted by such units.
As a result of intense research in view of the above objects, the inventor has found that a gas turbine stator vane structure having high mechanical strength can be produced without difficulty by forming each unit of I-shape, C-shape, etc., by molding of a resin skin layer integrally with a core composed of a laminate of fiber-reinforced prepregs; assembling a plurality of units in a circle; and winding a fiber-reinforced prepreg tape around the resultant stator vane structure and fusing the fiber-reinforced prepreg tape thereto. The present invention has been completed based upon this finding.
The unit for constituting a gas turbine stator vane structure comprising a plurality of vanes, an outer platform and an inner platform according to the present invention comprises a vane and outer and inner platform pieces integral with the vane, the unit being constituted by (a) a core formed by a laminate of a plurality of fiber-reinforced prepregs and integrally having a web for constituting the vane, and flanges integrally connected to both ends of the web for constituting the outer and inner platform pieces; and (b) a skin layer integrally molded around the core.
The core is preferably composed of carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone. The unit preferably has steps for connecting with those of the adjacent units, at both circumferential ends of the outer and inner platform pieces, and the steps of the adjacent units have complementary shapes. The flanges of the core are formed by bending both ends of a laminate of fiber-reinforced prepregs.
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the flanges of the core are formed by splitting both ends of a laminate of fiber-reinforced prepregs into two parts and bending the split ends in opposite directions in a T-shape manner, thereby providing the core with a substantially I-shape. In the second embodiment, the flanges of the core are formed by bending both ends of a laminate of fiber-reinforced prepregs in one direction, thereby providing the core with a substantially C-shape.
The skin layer preferably has one or more windows on the outside of the outer platform piece and the inside of the inner platform piece for at least partially exposing the core.
A plurality of the units of the present invention are connected end to end in a circle. The fiber-reinforced prepreg tape is preferably wound around the outside surface of the outer platform and the inside surface of the inner platform, respectively, and fused thereto. The outside surface of the outer platform and the inside surface of the inner platform may be fixed by a support ring, if necessary.
The gas turbine stator vane structure formed by integrally connecting a plurality of the above units in a circle according to the present invention comprises a plurality of vanes, an outer platform and an inner platform, with fiber-reinforced prepreg tapes each being wound around and fused to an outside surface of the outer platform and an inside surface of the inner platform.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3572971 (1971-03-01), Seiwert
patent: 4786347 (1988-11-01), Angus
patent: 5292231 (1994-03-01), Lauzeille
patent: 5494404 (1996-02-01), Furseth et al.
patent: 5547342 (1996-08-01), Furseth et al.
patent: 5961288 (1999-10-01), Lagendre et al.
patent: 5-278063 (1993-10-01), None
Abridged Translation, Ishikawajima Harima Technical Report, vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 382-389 (Nov. 1993).
Copy of Abridged Translation, Ishikawajima Harima Technical Report, vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 382-389 (Nov. 1993).
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Look Edward K.
Nguyen Ninh
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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