AIRFOIL FOR TURBINE SYSTEM
An airfoil for a turbine system is disclosed. The airfoil includes a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material. The airfoil further includes a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
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The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to turbine systems, and more particularly to airfoils for turbine systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTurbine systems are widely utilized in fields such as power generation. For example, a conventional gas turbine system includes a compressor section, a combustor section, and at least one turbine section. The compressor section is configured to compress air as the air flows through the compressor section. The air is then flowed from the compressor section to the combustor section, where it is mixed with fuel and combusted, generating a hot gas flow. The hot gas flow is provided to the turbine section, which utilizes the hot gas flow by extracting energy from it to power the compressor, an electrical generator, and other various loads.
Various components, such as buckets and nozzles, are typically included in the various sections of the turbine system for interacting with flows through these sections. For example, various stages of buckets and nozzles may extend into the hot gas path of the turbine section of a turbine system. During operation of the turbine system, the portions of such components that are exposed to a hot gas path may be at risk of damage due to the high temperatures in the hot gas path. Thus, such components generally require cooling.
Previous attempts to cool components such as buckets and nozzles have involved the use of cooling passages internal to the buckets and nozzles. Cooling fluids are flowed through these internal cooling passages to cool portions of the external surfaces of the buckets and nozzles. However, these cooling attempts have a variety of disadvantages. For example, in many cases it may be difficult to manufacture cooling passages within the buckets and nozzles that are sufficiently close to some portions of the external surfaces to cool those surfaces. For example, the surfaces at and near to the trailing edges of the airfoils portions of buckets and nozzles may be particularly difficult to cool, due to a lack of internal space in which to manufacture a cooling passage.
Accordingly, improved hot gas path components would be desired in the art. For example, an improved airfoil for a hot gas path component would be advantageous.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one embodiment, an airfoil for a turbine system is disclosed. The airfoil includes a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material. The airfoil further includes a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
In another embodiment, a nozzle for a turbine section of a turbine system is disclosed. The nozzle includes an airfoil having exterior surfaces defining an aerodynamic contour, the aerodynamic contour comprising a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The airfoil includes a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material. The airfoil further includes a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
As is generally known in the art, air or another suitable working fluid is flowed through and compressed in the compressor section 12. The compressed working fluid is then supplied to the combustor section 14, wherein it is combined with fuel and combusted, creating hot gases of combustion. After the hot gases of combustion are flowed through the combustor section 14, they may be flowed into the turbine section 18.
For example, as shown, the turbine section 18 may include a plurality of buckets 26 and a plurality of nozzles 24. Each of the plurality of buckets 26 and nozzles 24 may be at least partially disposed in the hot gas path 20. Further, the plurality of buckets 26 and the plurality of nozzles 24 may be disposed in one or more annular arrays, each of which may define a portion of the hot gas path 20.
The turbine section 16 may include a plurality of turbine stages. Each stage may include a plurality of buckets 26 disposed in an annular array and a plurality of nozzles 24 disposed in an annular array. For example, in one embodiment, the turbine section 16 may have three stages, as shown in
It should be understood that the turbine section 16 is not limited to three stages, but rather that any number of stages are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
It should be understood that hot gas path components according to the present disclosure are not limited to components in turbine sections 16. Rather, hot gas path components may be components at least partially disposed in flow paths for compressor sections 12 or any other suitable sections of a system 10.
As further shown in
As shown in
In exemplary embodiments, the exterior surfaces of the first body 62 may define at least a portion of the pressure side 52 and suction side 54 as well as the leading edge 56, while the exterior surfaces of the second body 64 may define the trailing edge 58. The exterior surfaces of the second body 64 may further define the remaining portions of the pressure side 52 and suction side 54, or these entire sides may be defined by the first body 62. In other embodiments, however, the first body 62 may include exterior surfaces defining any one or more of the pressure side 52, suction side 54, leading edge 56, and trailing edge 58, or any portion thereof, while the second body 64 may include exterior surfaces defining the remaining such sides and/or edges, or portions thereof.
The first body 62 according to the present disclosure is formed from a first material. The first material may be any suitable material, such as a suitable metal or metal alloy. For example, in some embodiments, the first material may include aluminum, nickel, iron, carbon, chromium, and/or any other suitable metal. It should further be understood that the first material is not limited to metals, but rather that the first material may be formed from any suitable material.
Further, in exemplary embodiments as shown in
The second body 64 of an airfoil 40 according to the present disclosure is formed from a second material. The second material according to the present disclosure has a different temperature capability than the first material. Temperature capability means ability to withstand a certain temperature before failing, such that failure of the material occurs at such temperature. Thus, a second material fails at a temperature that is different from the temperature at which the first material fails. In exemplary embodiments, the second material has a temperature capability that is higher than that of the first material.
The second material may be any suitable metal or metal alloy, as discussed above, or a suitable non-metal material, alloy, or composite. For example, in exemplary embodiments, the second material is a ceramic matrix composite (“CMC”) material. CMC materials are designed to withstand relatively increased temperatures, such as those temperatures in a hot gas path 20 during operation of a system 10. CMC materials are typically formed from ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix. The fibers and/or matrix may be formed from carbon, silicon carbide, alumina, mullite, or any other suitable materials. The use of CMC materials or other suitable second materials to form the second body 64 may, if the second materials have higher temperature capabilities than the first materials, advantageously allow the second body 64 to withstand the temperatures in the hot gas path 20 during operation. Thus, no cooling of the second body 64 may be required. This is particularly advantageous in embodiments wherein the second body 64 includes the trailing edge 58 of the airfoil 40, which may otherwise not be adequately cooled during operation due to the lack of internal space in the airfoil 40 in which to manufacture cooling passages or other suitable cooling apparatus.
It should be understood that a body formed from a first material or second material may include other materials that are covered with a layer of the first or second material, or may be formed solely from a first or second material.
In some exemplary embodiments, as shown in
Further, in some embodiments, the second body 64 may be a single, unitary component. In other embodiments as shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, for example, one of the first body 62 and the second body 64 may define a recess 72, while the other of the first body 62 and the second body 64 defines a mating protrusion 74. As shown in
In other embodiments, end caps 44 or other suitable coupling apparatus may couple the second body 64 to the first body 62. For example, as shown in
It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to recesses and protrusions or end caps for coupling the second body 64 to the first body 62 of an airfoil 40. Rather, any suitable design of the bodies or suitable coupling apparatus for coupling the bodies together is within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
Claims
1. An airfoil for a turbine system, the airfoil comprising:
- a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material; and
- a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of an aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
2. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein the second material is a ceramic matrix composite.
3. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein the exterior surfaces of the first body at least partially define a pressure side and a suction side and further define a leading edge, and wherein the exterior surfaces of the second body define a trailing edge.
4. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein the second body is continuous throughout a cross-sectional profile.
5. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein the second body comprises a plurality of second body sections, each of the second body sections formed from a second material.
6. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein one of the first body or the second body defines a recess and the other of the first body or the second body comprises a protrusion, and wherein engagement of the protrusion in the recess couples the second body to the first body.
7. The airfoil of claim 1, further comprising an end cap coupling the second body to the first body.
8. The airfoil of claim 1, wherein the first body defines a cooling passage.
9. A nozzle for a turbine section of a turbine system, the nozzle comprising:
- an airfoil having exterior surfaces defining an aerodynamic contour, the aerodynamic contour comprising a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the airfoil comprising: a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material; and a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
10. The nozzle of claim 9, wherein the second material is a ceramic matrix composite.
11. The nozzle of claim 9, wherein the exterior surfaces of the first body at least partially define a pressure side and a suction side and further define a leading edge, and wherein the exterior surfaces of the second body define a trailing edge.
12. The nozzle of claim 9, wherein the second body is continuous throughout a cross-sectional profile.
13. The nozzle of claim 9, wherein one of the first body or the second body defines a recess and the other of the first body or the second body comprises a protrusion, and wherein engagement of the protrusion in the recess couples the second body to the first body.
14. The nozzle of claim 9, further comprising an end cap coupling the second body to the first body.
15. A turbine system, comprising:
- a turbine section, the turbine section comprising a plurality of hot gas path components, at least one of the plurality of hot gas path components comprising an airfoil having exterior surfaces defining an aerodynamic contour, the aerodynamic contour comprising a pressure side and a suction side extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the airfoil comprising: a first body having exterior surfaces defining a first portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil and formed from a first material; and a second body having exterior surfaces defining a second portion of the aerodynamic contour of the airfoil, the second body coupled to the first body and formed from a second material having a different temperature capability than the first material.
16. The turbine system of claim 15, wherein the second material is a ceramic matrix composite.
17. The turbine system of claim 15, wherein the exterior surfaces of the first body at least partially define a pressure side and a suction side and further define a leading edge, and wherein the exterior surfaces of the second body define a trailing edge.
18. The turbine system of claim 15, wherein the second body is continuous throughout a cross-sectional profile.
19. The turbine system of claim 15, wherein one of the first body or the second body defines a recess and the other of the first body or the second body comprises a protrusion, and wherein engagement of the protrusion in the recess couples the second body to the first body.
20. The turbine system of claim 15, further comprising an end cap coupling the second body to the first body.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 7, 2011
Publication Date: Apr 11, 2013
Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (Schenectady, NY)
Inventors: Tyler Clark Stevenson (Louisville, CO), Andres Jose Garcia-Crespo (Greenville, SC)
Application Number: 13/268,087
International Classification: F01D 5/14 (20060101);