GB2201732A - Fan casing and fan blade loading/unloading - Google Patents
Fan casing and fan blade loading/unloading Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2201732A GB2201732A GB08804116A GB8804116A GB2201732A GB 2201732 A GB2201732 A GB 2201732A GB 08804116 A GB08804116 A GB 08804116A GB 8804116 A GB8804116 A GB 8804116A GB 2201732 A GB2201732 A GB 2201732A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- fan
- casing
- aperture
- bearing
- assembly
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01D—NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES
- F01D5/00—Blades; Blade-carrying members; Heating, heat-insulating, cooling or antivibration means on the blades or the members
- F01D5/30—Fixing blades to rotors; Blade roots ; Blade spacers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01D—NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES
- F01D25/00—Component parts, details, or accessories, not provided for in, or of interest apart from, other groups
- F01D25/24—Casings; Casing parts, e.g. diaphragms, casing fastenings
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/26—Rotors specially for elastic fluids
- F04D29/32—Rotors specially for elastic fluids for axial flow pumps
- F04D29/34—Blade mountings
- F04D29/36—Blade mountings adjustable
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D29/00—Details, component parts, or accessories
- F04D29/60—Mounting; Assembling; Disassembling
- F04D29/64—Mounting; Assembling; Disassembling of axial pumps
- F04D29/644—Mounting; Assembling; Disassembling of axial pumps especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
- Y02T50/00—Aeronautics or air transport
- Y02T50/60—Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)
Abstract
A fan casing 26 of a turbofan gas turbine engine (10, Fig. 1) has an aperture 38 which extends completely through the fan casing. A variable pitch fan blade 40 may be removed from the turbofan by rotating the fan rotor 48 so as to align the tip of the fan blade with the aperture 38. The fan blade is detached from the fan rotor and is moved radially through the aperture 38 to remove the fan blade. The aperture 38 in the casing allows the fan blade to be loaded by the reverse procedure. Thus loading/unloading of one or more fan blades is made possible without removing the fan casing. A plug 52 is removably secured in the aperture 38 to form a continuation of the interior and exterior surfaces of the fan casing. <IMAGE>
Description
FAN CASING AND FAN BLADE LOADING/UNLOADING
The present invention relates to fan casings and fan blades of turbofan gas turbine engines and is particularly concerned with an arrangement for loading or unloading of the fan blades from the fan rotor.
The fan blades of turbofan gas turbine engines are loaded onto or unloaded from the fan rotor only when the fan casing has been removed, or removed at least partially, so as to allow access to the fan blades and fan rotor.
This necessitates the removal of the complete turbofan engine from an associated aircraft should it be necessary to replace a damaged fan blade.
The present invention seeks to provide a fan casing and fan blade loading/unloading arrangement in which the fan blades can be removed from the turbofan gas turbine engine.without moving or removing the fan casing of the turbofan gas turbine engine.
Accordingly the present invention provides a fan assembly for a turbofan gas turbine engine comprising a fan rotor, a plurality of fan blades and an annular fan casing,
the fan blades being removably secured to the fan rotor, the fan blades having tips at their radially outer extremity and root portions at their radially inner extremity,
the fan casing being arranged coaxially with the fan rotor and surrounding the fan blades, the fan casing having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the fan casing having an aperture which extends radially therethrough, the fan casing having a plug, the plug being removably secured in the aperture to form a continuation of the interior surface of the fan casing and a continuation of the exterior surface of the fan casing,
the aperture in the fan casing being positioned in substantially the same plane as the fan blades, the aperture in the fan casing being dimensioned so as to allow loading or unloading of a fan blade,
the roots or tips of the fan blades being alignable with the aperture in the fan casing, and the fan blades being moveable radially through the aperture in the fan casing during said loading or unloading procedure.
The aperture in the fan casing may be circular.
The plug may have a radially outer portion, the radially outer portion of the plug having a flange, the flange being removably secured to the fan casing.
The fan blades may be variable pitch fan blades, the root portion of each fan blade being rotatably mounted on the fan rotor.
The fan assembly may comprise a plurality of bearing assemblies and a plurality of bearing casings,
the root portion of each fan blade being rotatably mounted on the fan rotor by one of the bearing assemblies and one of the bearing casings, the root portion, the said bearing assembly and the said bearing casing forming an integral assembly.
Each of the bearing casings may have an outer surface and a flange, the outer surface of each of the bearing casings being screw threaded,
the fan rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced housings, each housing having an inner surface and a flange, the inner surface of each of the housings being screw threaded,
each bearing casing being removably secured in a respective one of the housings, the screw thread on the outer surface of said bearing casing being engagable with the screw thread on the inner surface of said housing.
The flange on said bearing casing may be releasably secured to the flange on said housing.
The present invention will be more fully described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a partially cut away view of a turbofan gas turbine engine having a fan casing and blade loading/unloading arrangement according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the fan casing and fan blade of Figure 1 showing the fan blade when loaded.
Figure 3 is a view in the direction of arrow A showing the fan casing.
A turbofan gas turbine engine 10 is shown in Figure 1 and comprises an inlet 12, a fan 14, a compressor 16, a combustion chamber 18, a turbine 20 and an exhaust nozzle 22 arranged in axial flow series. The gas turbine engine works conventionally in that air is compressed initially by the fan, and a portion of the air flows into the compressor to be further compressed, and the remainder of the air flows through a fan duct 24 defined partially, at its radially outer extremity, by a fan casing 26. The compressed air is supplied from the compressor into the combustion chamber, where fuel is burnt, in the compressed air, to produce hot qases. The hot gases flow through and drive the turbine, which is arranged to drive the fan and compressor via shafts (not shown).
The fan casing 26 is secured to the core engine casing 28 by a plurality of radially extending struts 30.
The fan casing 26, as shown more clearly in Figure 2, comprises for example an inner metal sheet 32, an outer metal sheet 34 with a honeycomb structure 36 positioned therebetween.
Thg fan casing may also provided with containment rings 37 around the fan blades 40 to contain the fan blades within the fan casing should a fan blade become detached from the hub of the fan rotor during operation of the gas turbine engine.
The containment rings of the fan casing are of any suitable construction as known in the art, and for example may comprise continuous wound layers of a woven fibrous material, the fibrous material may comprise glass fibres, carbon fibres metallic fibres, or aromatic polyamide fibres. The fibre which is most suitable is that made by Du Pont Limited and sold under the
Registered Trademark KEVLAR. The containment ring could also be steel or other metallic ring.
The fan casing 26 is provided with an aperture 38 which extends radially through the full thickness of the fan casing. The aperture 38 is circular and is arranged to be positioned substantially in the same plane as the axes of the fan blades. The aperture 38 is dimensioned, has a sufficiently large diameter, to allow the whole of a fan blade to pass through.
The fan blades 40 are of the variable pitch type and each has a root portion 42 which is rotatably mounted in a corresponding housing 50 of the fan rotor 48 by a bearing assembly 44 and a bearing casing 46. The fanblades 40 are removably secured to the housing 50 of the fan rotor 48 by suitable means as is well known in the art.
The root portion 42, the bearing assembly 44 and the bearing casing 46 in this example form an integral assembly, and the bearing casing is secured to the housing of the fan rotor by a screw thread arrangement 47 formed on the outer surface of the bearing casing and on the inner surface of the housing, and by nuts 43 and bolts 45 or other suitable means, which extend through apertures in flanges 49 and 51 -formed on the housing and bearing casing respectively.
A fan blade is removed from the hub 50 of the fan rotor 48 by rotating the fan 14 about its axis of rotation so that the tip of the fan blade lines up with the aperture 38 in the fan casing 26. The fan blade 40 is then detached from the housing 50 of the fan rotor 48, in this example by removing the bolts and unthreading the bearing casing from the housing.
The fan blade is then moved radially outwards so that the whole of the fan blade passes radially through the aperture in the fan casing.
To load a fan blade, the root portion of the fan blade is aligned with the aperture in the fan casing.
The fan blade is then moved radially inwards so that the whole of the fan blade passes radially through the aperture in the fan casing. The root portion of the fan blade is -then aligned with and then secured to the housing o the fan rotor.
The aperture therefore allows the loading or unloading, of all the fan blades onto or from the fan rotor one at a time. This allows the fan blades to be removed for replacement or repair, while the turbofan gas turbine engine is mounted on an associated aircraft.
Thus it is not necessary to remove the turbofan gas turbine engine from the aircraft to carry out repairs to, or to replace, fan blades.
The aperture in the fan casing is filled with a removable circular plug 52, which is secured to the fan casing 26. The plug 52 ensures a smooth aerodynamic continuation of the interior surface of the fan casing, and a smooth aerodynamic continuation of the exterior surface of the fan casing during operation of the turbofan gas turbine engine, and is removed to allow one or more fan blades to be loaded or unloaded.
The plug 52 is removably secured to the fan casing by a plurality of attachments, which may be bolts or screws 58, which extend through circumferentially spaced apertures 56 in a flange 54 formed on the radially outer portion of the plug 52, and which cooperate with corresponding nuts or threaded apertures 60 in the fan casing.
The use of the aperture in the fan casing for removal of the fan blades, also permits the use of a fan casing which comprises a single piece only, it is not necessary to have a number of hoop pieces arranged axially and secured to each other, and which may be removed to allow access to the fan blades for loading or unloading.
Claims (7)
1. A fan assembly for a turbofan gas turbine engine comprising a fan rotor, a plurality of fan blades and an annular fan casing,
the fan blades being removably secured to the fan rotor, the fan blades having tips at their radially outer extremity and coot portions at their radially inner extremity,
the fan casing being arranged coaxially with the fan rotor and.. surrounding the fan blades, the fan casing having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the fan casing having an aperture which extends radially therethrough, the fan casing having a plug, the plug being removably secured in the aperture to form a continuation of the interior surface of the fan casing and a continuation of the exterior surface of the fan casing,
the aperture in the fan casing being positioned in substantially the same plane as the fan blades, the aperture in the fan casing being dimensioned so as to allow loading or unloading of a fan blade,
t-he roots or tips of the fan blades being alignable with the aperture in the fan casing, and the fan blades being moveable radially through the aperture in the fan casing during said loading or unloading procedure.
2. A fan assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the aperture in the fan casing is circular.
3. A fan assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which t-he plug has a radially outer .portion, the radially outer portion of the plug having a flange, the flange being removably secured to the fan casing.
4. A fan assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the fan glades are variable pitch fan blades, the root portion of each fan blade being rotatably mounted on the fan rotor.
5. A Lan assembly as claimed in claim 4 comprising a plurality of bearing assemblies and a plurality of bearing casings,
the root portion of each fan blade being rotatably mounted on the fan rotor by one of the bearing assemblies and one of the bearing casings, the root portion, the said bearing assembly and the said bearing casing forming an integral assembly.
6. A fan assembly as claimed in claim 5 in which each of the bearing casings has an outer surface and a flange, -the outer surface of each of the bearing casings being screw threaded,
the s fan rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced housings, each housing having an inner surface and a flange, the inner surface of each of the housings being screw threaded,
each bearing casing being removably secured in a respective one of the housings, the screw thread on the outer surface of said bearing casing being engagable with the screw thread on the inner surface of said housing.
7. A fan assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the flange on said bearing casing is releasably secured to the flange on said housing.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US2133287A | 1987-03-03 | 1987-03-03 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB8804116D0 GB8804116D0 (en) | 1988-03-23 |
| GB2201732A true GB2201732A (en) | 1988-09-07 |
Family
ID=21803610
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08804116A Withdrawn GB2201732A (en) | 1987-03-03 | 1988-02-23 | Fan casing and fan blade loading/unloading |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2201732A (en) |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2229499A (en) * | 1988-12-29 | 1990-09-26 | Mtu Muenchen Gmbh | Blade-base fastening for a fibre rotor blade |
| EP0514677A2 (en) * | 1991-05-24 | 1992-11-25 | HALBERG MASCHINENBAU GmbH | Prewhirl adjuster for centrifugal pumps |
| US5226789A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1993-07-13 | General Electric Company | Composite fan stator assembly |
| US5421703A (en) * | 1994-05-25 | 1995-06-06 | General Electric Company | Positively retained vane bushing for an axial flow compressor |
| US20140294581A1 (en) * | 2013-03-07 | 2014-10-02 | Rolls-Royce Corporation | Gas turbine engine access panel |
| CN106690482A (en) * | 2017-01-19 | 2017-05-24 | 深圳市联奕实业有限公司 | Miniature cooling assembly and air conditioning clothes |
-
1988
- 1988-02-23 GB GB08804116A patent/GB2201732A/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2229499A (en) * | 1988-12-29 | 1990-09-26 | Mtu Muenchen Gmbh | Blade-base fastening for a fibre rotor blade |
| GB2229499B (en) * | 1988-12-29 | 1993-06-16 | Mtu Muenchen Gmbh | Blade-base assembly of a fibre rotor blade. |
| US5226789A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1993-07-13 | General Electric Company | Composite fan stator assembly |
| EP0514677A2 (en) * | 1991-05-24 | 1992-11-25 | HALBERG MASCHINENBAU GmbH | Prewhirl adjuster for centrifugal pumps |
| EP0514677A3 (en) * | 1991-05-24 | 1992-12-16 | Halberg Maschinenbau Gmbh | Prewhirl adjuster for centrifugal pumps |
| US5269649A (en) * | 1991-05-24 | 1993-12-14 | Halberg Maschinenbau Gmbh | Pre-rotational swirl controller for rotary pumps |
| US5421703A (en) * | 1994-05-25 | 1995-06-06 | General Electric Company | Positively retained vane bushing for an axial flow compressor |
| US20140294581A1 (en) * | 2013-03-07 | 2014-10-02 | Rolls-Royce Corporation | Gas turbine engine access panel |
| US9759095B2 (en) * | 2013-03-07 | 2017-09-12 | Rolls-Royce Corporation | Gas turbine engine access panel |
| CN106690482A (en) * | 2017-01-19 | 2017-05-24 | 深圳市联奕实业有限公司 | Miniature cooling assembly and air conditioning clothes |
| CN106690482B (en) * | 2017-01-19 | 2019-01-25 | 深圳市联奕实业有限公司 | Miniature radiating subassembly and air-ventilating garments |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB8804116D0 (en) | 1988-03-23 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |