JP2013524099A - Method for adapting the air flow of a turbine engine with a centrifugal compressor and a diffuser for its implementation - Google Patents

Abstract

  The present invention relates to a method for maintaining the efficiency and load of a turbine engine compressor to greatly reduce the fuel consumption rate Cs while ensuring a sufficiently high pumping margin at partial load. To this end, the present invention proposes an optimized method for adapting the air flow to the variable demand for flow or mechanical or electrical power in a centrifugal compressor of a turbine engine. The method includes a first having a fixed number of variable pitch blades (24) radially fixed by a second annular blade ring (G2) having a fixed pitch blade (28) with an equivalent extension. Diffusing the air flow (F) within one annular blade ring (G1) and inducing radial extension diffusion by combining the blades (24, 28) of the two blade rings. According to the method, each blade (24) of the first blade ring (G1) is pivoted off its axis.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for adapting the flow rate or the air flow rate to the variable demand of mechanical or electrical power, particularly in a turbine engine with a helicopter turbine engine or a centrifugal compressor of an auxiliary power device (abbreviated APU). The invention also relates to a diffuser equipped with a variable pitch blade for carrying out such a method.

  The scope of the present invention is gas compression in turbine engines, specifically taking into account engine performance, particularly its fuel consumption rate (Cs for short) under partial load, whether it is a turbine engine or APU. To adapt the compressed air flow.

  In view of this objective, the overall challenge is to meet the need for pumping margins and to obviate the reduction in compression rate at intermediate speeds of turbine engines and fluctuations in demand for compressed air flow and electrical power in the case of APU. It is.

  It is known that a sufficient pumping margin can be obtained by lowering the turbine engine operating line. However, a reduction in power cycle speed results in a worsening of the generated power, so such a solution requires that the compressor be operated under maximum generated power, including high speeds.

  It is also known to introduce a pre-rotation ring formed using an inlet guide vane (IGV for short) to the inlet of a compressor. In this case, however, the compression ratio is greatly reduced for a given rotational speed.

  Under such conditions, it is advisable to test and operate the compressor at a quasi-constant compression ratio while remaining at a substantially maximum output regardless of any load fluctuations.

  In the field of single stage compressors, there are radial diffusers with variable pitch blade assemblies. Such diffusers are described, for example, in the patent document US Pat. No. 5,207,559 or European Patent No. 0589745 filed in the name of the applicant. These diffusers can turn the flow rate / pressure ratio characteristics of the compressor to a lower flow rate at intermediate ratings without significantly degrading the compression rate or its generated output.

US Pat. No. 5,207,559 European Patent No. 0589745

  The variable pitch is obtained by appropriate control associated with the control unit, depending on the physical parameters of interest (rotation speed, pressure, temperature). However, the range of pitch angles that the control system must include requires a high power control jack, leading to large changes in the diffuser inlet and outlet diameters, thereby rotating (sieving) and static ( There is a possibility of generating a high mechanical bias between the radial variable pitch diffuser) and the generated output under a partial load (intermediate rating) is reduced.

  In particular, the present invention maintains its compressor output so as to greatly reduce Cs while providing sufficient pumping margin with better generation output of the power cycle under partial load. The aim is to prevent such defects. To do so, the present invention proposes an optimized method for variable diffusion of airflow in a turbine engine centrifugal compressor.

  More precisely, the present invention is directed to a method for variable diffusion of air flow in a centrifugal compressor of a turbine engine, the second annular blade ring having a fixed pitch blade with an equivalent extension. Air diffusion into the first annular blade ring with the same number of fixed pitch variable pitch blades that are radially adjacent to each other as a result of combining the blades of the two blade rings in the radial direction Guiding, each blade of the first blade ring having a method wherein the blades are rotationally driven at a distance of the blade. The expression “turbine engine” means in particular a helicopter turbine engine equipped with a centrifugal single stage compressor or a centrifugal two stage compressor and an APU equipped with a centrifugal single stage compressor or a centrifugal two stage compressor.

  In these conditions, on the one hand, the radial extension of the variable pitch blades is greatly reduced by the presence of fixed blade rings with real blades, so that these pitches as well as between the fixed blade ring and the support flange are It is possible to suppress the stress that changes the gap and thus the upstream / downstream recirculation, thereby having the effect of reducing pumping line degradation and load loss. On the other hand, off-axis mounting of the variable pitch blade rotation axis greatly reduces the radial extension variation for such same diffusion blade, resulting in a smaller increase in closing and thereby under partial load. The generated power is improved and the reduction in opening is also reduced, thereby suppressing mechanical bias due to unsteady aerodynamic fluctuations due to sheave / diffuser interaction.

  With sufficient pumping margin at this time, the turbine engine will operate in any pumping situation, i.e. providing a large acceleration capability, and the APU will maintain the turbine engine speed and its rate of pressure change at a level close to its nominal value, It is possible to cope with large load fluctuations without depending on the discharge valve while providing a sufficient generated output level.

  According to a particular embodiment, a method applied to a turbine engine equipped with a power turbine, i.e. a variable pitch radial diffusion on a centrifugal compressor, such as that defined above, is applied to a variable pitch power turbine distributor. Combined. Power generation may be implemented by several configurations: axial or centripetal type free power turbine or combined power turbine with or without downstream heat exchange.

  The coupling between the diffuser and the variable pitch distributor makes it possible to adapt the operating line to a reduced flow rate, thereby (with a better rate of pressure change) the output power of the power cycle and thus the helicopter turbine engine and APU Cs is improved.

  The present invention also aims to provide a variable pitch turbine engine diffuser capable of implementing the method described above, as well as a turbine engine equipped with such a diffuser. The diffuser includes a first annular blade ring with a variable pitch blade that is radially adjacent by a second annular blade ring with a fixed pitch blade of equivalent extension. Furthermore, each blade of the first blade ring is driven by control means adapted to exert a proper rotation of each blade off-center with respect to the axis of rotation.

According to certain embodiments,
Each variable pitch blade extends between two opposing cups off-axis parallel to the common axis of the cup coinciding with the axis of rotation,
Each blade is coupled to a drive rod having at least one orifice into which a locking pin for an adjustment washer for axial positioning of the cup is inserted;
The rod includes a ball joint bracket received in a cylindrical housing (38) of a control crown adapted to rotationally drive a lever adapted to slide within the cylindrical housing about a power shaft. Integrated with the lever
The cylindrical housing has a depth that is a function of the lever stroke, which is itself a function of the predetermined rotation interval of the blade;
The leading edge of each variable pitch blade is near the periphery of the cup, and the distance from the blade to the axis of rotation is greater than or equal to the middle of the radius,
The upstream diffuser is a smooth diffuser, i.e. without wings,
The diffuser inlet air stream located between the sheave and the variable pitch blade ring converges, thereby improving performance,
The stationary blade of the second blade ring has a leading edge profile that is thicker than that of the first blade ring to absorb incident fluctuations;
The fixed pitch blade has sufficient thickness to pass a screw that allows the passage of structural stresses;
Fixed blades have a skeletal angle expansion law between the leading and trailing edges, which allows to control diffusion in the fixed blade ring and optimize aerodynamic efficiency,
The fixed blade is key-adjusted with respect to the blade of the first movable blade ring in such a direction as to obtain a wake again on the suction side of the blade in the first blade ring in order to suppress the load loss of the diffuser And
The pitch angle of the variable blade is included between + 12 ° and -5 ° with respect to a nominal key adjustment that can be that of a fixed diffuser.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 2 is a partial axial sectional view of a half of a diffuser according to the invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a variable pitch blade that is rotationally coupled to a control rod. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a variable pitch blade that is rotationally coupled to a control rod. 1 is an overall front view of an upstream annular flange of a diffuser equipped with a blade ring according to the present invention. It is the partial schematic diagram in the diffuser of the ultimate pitch of a movable blade. FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view of a diffuser with a nominal pitch of a movable blade. It is the partial schematic diagram in the diffuser of the ultimate pitch of a movable blade. It is a figure which shows the clearance gap between a movable blade and the annular flange of a diffuser.

  The terms “upstream” and “downstream” relate to the direction of airflow within the turbine engine.

  Referring to the partial sectional axial view of FIG. 1, a centrifugal compressor 10 of a turbine engine such as a turbomachine, turbine reactor jet, turbine propeller or APU rotates on a power shaft 18 according to an axis Y′Y. The casing 12 is fitted with a cover 14, which is mounted in a radial fashion and covers a cover 14, which covers the last centrifugal stage of the compressor in the radial direction. The air flow F circulates in the inlet stream converging from the sheave 16 towards the annular diffuser 19 by a radial constriction. The diffuser 19 is defined between two upstream flanges 20 and a downstream flange 22. The cover 14 is maintained by a fixture 23 fastened to the casing and the upstream flange 20.

  A blade 24 forming a first annular blade ring is mounted in the diffuser 19. Centering portions 25 and 26 face flanges 20 and 22 that receive cups 17 and 27 on which blade 24 is mounted off-axis. The cup is centered in the flanges 20 and 22 on the washer 9 inserted in the centering part 25, with a fitted clearance of 0.03 to 0.05 mm in the example shown (see FIG. (See 5 below).

  A blade 28 that is integral with the flange 22 and forms a second annular blade ring that surrounds the outside of the first blade ring is mounted on the annular flange 20 by screws 29 housed in the through holes 29t. These screws also allow the passage of structural stresses.

  The variable blade 24 is controlled by a rod 30 that integrally extends the upstream cup 17. These rods 30 having the axis X'X are mounted in the cylindrical boring 32 of the upstream flange 20, and are centered without a gap in appearance by a joint 30j mounted in the groove 30g. At the end, each rod 30 has a flat part 31 joined on a drive lever 33, which is sandwiched on such a flat part 31 by two screws 35. The position of the end 31 of the rod 30 is adjusted with an adapted clearance tolerance. The rod 30 also has an orifice 30t into which a pin 36 is inserted for locking a washer 30u for adjusting the axial position of the cups 17 and 27 into a locking ring 12a formed in the casing 12. Also have. For this purpose, the pin 36 makes the rod 30 and the locking ring 12a integral.

  In operation, the lever 33 is driven by the control crown 34, which is a cylinder for receiving the ball joint bracket 37 of the lever 33 in contact with the bus joint busbar with a fitted axial position tolerance. A hole 38 is formed. To do so, the control crown 34 is centered on a sector having a needle roller bearing 39. A control crown 34 arranged to rotate about a power axis Y′Y by a rocker bar (not shown) drives a lever 33 that slides in a cylindrical housing 38 by a ball joint 37. The depth of the housing 38 is determined by the stroke of the lever 33, which is itself a function of the blade 24 rotation interval. Such a construction is particularly adapted so that the blade rotation can proceed up to + 12 ° for a section where 50% of the sections are closed and -5 ° for a section where 20% is open. The position angle of the rod, and hence the blade 24, is a function of the power factor that provides proper air compression for these ratings.

  Referring to FIGS. 2a and 2b, the movable blade 24 is represented between parallel cups 17, 27 and is integrated with these cups by welds 21, so that the blades face the axis X of the opposite cup. 'Extends parallel to X. The leading edge 24c of the blade 24 is flush with the outer circumferences 17c and 27c of the cup, and the thickness of the blade 24 is very thin, in the example shown, about 2 mm. Further, the distance between the blade 24 and the axis X'X of the rod 30 is equal to about 80% of the cup radius in the illustrated example. As a result, the center of the blade 24 is greatly deviated from the axis X′X of the rod that coincides with the rotational axis of the assembly. The rod 30 also has a cylindrical centering groove 30g and a locking orifice 30t for an adjustment washer for axial positioning of the cups 17 and 27. The flat portion 31 of the rod 30 is provided with a receiving hole 30a for a screw 35 used for mounting the control lever.

  The overall view of FIG. 3 shows an upstream annular flange 20 equipped with annular blade rings G1 and G2, which are mounted movable and fixed, respectively, with blades 24 and 28. Is done.

  The blade 28 has a profile at the leading edge BA that is significantly thicker than that of the blade 24, which are 0.5 and 2.5 mm, respectively, so that incident fluctuations during rotation of the movable blade 24 are affected. Keep good behavior. In addition, the skeletal angle law of the blade 28 between the leading edge BA and the trailing edge BF is expansive, allowing the aerodynamic efficiency of the stationary blade ring to be optimized by maximum recovery of static pressure. Become.

  Furthermore, the blade 28 of the fixed blade ring has a maximum thickness of 7 mm in the illustrated example, and allows the flange 20 of the diffuser to be tightened with screws housed in the holes 29t while allowing the passage of structural stresses. Enable.

  The air flow F circulates along the stationary blade 28 within the radial extension of the movable blade 24 and between two adjacent blades of the same nature, movable or stationary. Since the movable blade 24 is off-center with respect to the rotational axis X′X of its cup 17, the radial extension variation formed by such a movable blade 24 is performed by the centered blade. It is suppressed compared to the extended fluctuation that should be. This suppression can improve the performance of the centrifugal compressor, which makes the operating line of the pumping line farther by shifting it towards a lower flow rate, making this line of operation a higher rated and maximum output power. It becomes possible to increase to near.

  A radial extension of the movable blade 24 facing the fixed blade 28 is shown in the schematic views of FIGS. 4a to 4c, where the blade cups 17, 27 are also represented by dotted lines. ing. Referring to FIG. 4b, a nominal key adjustment of 0 ° corresponds to a reference airflow stream F for adjustment of the movable blade 24 to the fixed blade 28 to be adapted to a stable intermediate rating.

  At low load demands, the key adjustment of the movable blade 24 can be raised to 12 °, which is 50% closed against the nominal key adjustment corresponding to the section in the collar Sb. Corresponds to the passage section at the entrance of the collar Sa between. FIG. 4a shows the 25% closure case associated with a 6 ° key adjustment, where the color section is now 75% of section b. At high load demand, the key adjustment can also drop to -5 °. FIG. 4c shows the case of an opening of 2.5 °, where the color section Se has a relative value of 110%.

  The fixed blade 28 is key-adjusted with respect to the blade 24 of the first movable blade ring G1 in such an orientation that a wake is again obtained on the suction side Ex of the blade of the first blade ring G1.

  The radial extension of the blade 24 limited by the presence of the fixed blade 28 keeps control over the gap between the cups 17 and 27 and the flanges 20 and 22 of the blade 24 as shown in FIG. Is possible. Thus, in this example, the gap value is kept below or equal to 0.02 mm (for J1 or J2), 0.10 (for J3), and 0.25 mm (for J4), respectively. The gap (J1 and J2 assembly) of the blade 24 on the washer 9 is thus maintained at a slightly larger approximately 0.03 mm.

  The invention is not limited to the examples described and displayed. For example, it is possible to perform key adjustments of movable blades by mechanical, individual or centered adjustment only, or only by electrical or electronic control with or without digital adjustment.

Claims (10)

  In a manner adapted to the air flow in the centrifugal compressor (10) of the turbine engine, it is radially adjacent by a second annular blade ring (G2) having a fixed pitch blade (28) with an equivalent extension. Provide air diffusion in the first annular blade ring (G1) with the same number of variable pitch blades (24) as fixed, and by combining the blades (24, 28) of the two blade rings A method of guiding in the radial direction, wherein each blade (24) of the first blade ring (G1) is rotationally driven (X'X) at a distance of the blade (24). And conforming method.   A variable pitch radial spread on the centrifugal compressor is coupled to a variable pitch power turbine distribution, the power distribution being free type with downstream exchange, or with or without axial or centripetal downstream exchange. The fitting method according to claim 1, wherein the fitting method is not coupled.   A first annular blade ring (G1) comprising a variable pitch blade (24) as a diffuser for a variable pitch turbine engine capable of carrying out the method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a variable pitch blade. A first annular blade ring (G1), which is radially adjacent by a fixed pitch blade (28) of equivalent extension and a second annular blade ring (G2) with the same number of blades A diffuser, which forms a continuous diffusion channel by joining blades (24, 28) of two blade rings (G1, G2) in a radial extension, the first blade ring G1) Each blade (24) is adapted to exert the proper rotation of the off-centered blade (24) with respect to the axis of rotation (X'X) Characterized in that it is driven by the drive means (30,33,34), a diffuser.   Each variable pitch blade (24) extends between two opposing cups (17, 27) parallel and off-center to a common axis of the cup coincident with the axis of rotation (X'X). 3. A diffuser according to 3.   Each blade (24) has at least one orifice (30t) into which a locking pin (36) for an adjustment washer (30u) for axial positioning of the cup (17, 27) is inserted. The diffuser according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the diffuser is coupled to a drive rod (30).   A control crown (34) adapted for rotationally driving a lever (33) about a power axis (Y'Y) with a rod (30) adapted to slide within a cylindrical housing (38) The diffuser according to claim 5, wherein the diffuser is integrated with a lever (33) having a ball joint bracket received in the cylindrical housing (38).   A diffuser according to claim 6, wherein the cylindrical housing (38) has a depth that is a function of the stroke of the lever (33), which is itself a function of a predetermined rotation interval of the blade.   The leading edge (24c) of each variable pitch blade (24) is near the circumference (17c, 27c) of the cup (17, 27) and the distance from the blade (24) to the axis of rotation (X'X) is the radius The diffuser according to claim 4, wherein the diffuser is greater than or equal to the middle of.   The stationary blade (28) of the second blade ring (G2) has a thicker leading edge profile (Ba) than that of the blade (24) of the second blade ring (G1) (24c). The diffuser as described in any one of 1 to 8.   The pitch angle of the movable blade (24) is comprised between + 12 ° and -5 ° corresponding to 50% and 120% color sections (Sa, Se) respectively for the section corresponding to the nominal key adjustment. A diffuser according to any one of claims 3 to 9.

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