ROTATING ASSEMBLY FOR A TURBINE ASSEMBLY
A rotating assembly for a turbine assembly includes an airfoil extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline. Also included is a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of the airfoil. Further included is a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud. Yet further included is at least one hard face interface member secured to the substrate.
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The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine systems, and more particularly to tip shrouds.
Turbine systems employ a number of rotating components or assemblies, such as compressor stages and turbine stages that rotate at high speed when the turbine is in operation, for example. In general, a stage includes a plurality of free-floating blades that extend radially outward from a central hub. Some blades include a shroud that limits vibration within a stage. The shroud is typically positioned at a tip portion of the blade, a mid portion of the blade or at both the mid portion and the tip portion of the blade. The shrouds are designed such that at high or operational speeds, the free-floating blades interlock to form an integral rotating member, however, even at lower speeds and possibly even when starting from a starting position at 0 rpm, the blades may interlock. During blade interlock, wear occurs due to slip when the tip portions are interlocked. At lower speeds, such as on turbine turning gear, the blades may not interlock and will often times impact one another. Impacts between the blades can cause damage that will shorten service life of the turbomachine.
In order to minimize damage resulting from blade impacts, a hard face coating is applied to potential contact points. The hard face coating increases wear resistance that may occur during operation of the blades and also increases the durability of potential contact points that may be susceptible to impacts. Conventionally, the hard face coating is metallurgically bonded to the blade through, for example, a welding, brazing or spraying process. Using a welding process to bond the hard face interface to the blade inherently produces a great deal of localized heat which, if not properly controlled, can weaken the wear and impact resistance and other metallurgical properties at the interface of the materials being joined. Excessive heat can also cause cracking in adjacent material during manufacture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the invention, a rotating assembly for a turbine assembly includes an airfoil extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline. Also included is a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of the airfoil. Further included is a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud. Yet further included is at least one hard face interface member secured to the substrate.
According to another aspect of the invention, a rotating assembly for a turbine assembly includes a plurality of rotating members extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline. Also included is a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of at least one of the plurality of rotating members. Further included is a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud. Yet further included is a hard face interface member having a base portion and a plurality of edge portions, wherein the base portion is secured to the substrate and a portion of the substrate at least partially surrounds at least one of the plurality of edge portions.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a rotating assembly for a turbine assembly includes an airfoil extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline. Also included is a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of the airfoil. Further included is a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of grooved portions. Yet further included is at least one hard face interface member being both mechanically interlocked with, and metallurgically bonded to the substrate.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONReferring to
In operation, air flows into the compressor 12 and is compressed into a high pressure gas. The high pressure gas is supplied to the combustor assembly 14 and mixed with fuel, for example process gas and/or synthetic gas (syngas), in the combustion chamber 18. The fuel/air or combustible mixture ignite to form a high pressure, high temperature combustion gas stream of approximately 538 degrees Celsius (° C.) to 1593° C. (1000 degrees Fahrenheit (° F.) to 2900° F.). Alternatively, the combustor assembly 14 can combust fuels that include, but are not limited to, natural gas and/or fuel oil. In any event, the combustor assembly 14 channels the combustion gas stream to the turbine 24 which converts thermal energy to mechanical, rotational energy.
At this point, it should be understood that each rotating assembly or stage 26-28 is similarly formed, thus reference will be made to
The tip shroud 50 covers a bucket or throat portion (not separately labeled) of airfoil 32. The tip shroud 50 is designed to receive, or nest with, tip shrouds on adjacent rotating members in order to form a continuous ring that extends circumferentially about the stage 26. The continuous ring creates an outer flow path boundary that reduces gas path air leakage over top portions (not separately labeled) of the stage 26, so as to increase stage efficiency and overall turbine performance. In the exemplary embodiment shown, during high or operational speeds, adjacent airfoils 32 interlock through their respective tip-shrouds 50 by virtue of centrifugal forces created by the operation of the turbine 24. It should be noted that interlock may occur even at extremely low speed operation, such that wearing due to slipping of the blades may occur due to operation during interlock. However, during lower speeds such as, during turbine turning gear, the rotational force may not be sufficient to establish the interlock and thus, adjacent rotating members may impact one another. The impacts can create wear on the rotating members thereby lowering an overall service life of the turbine 24. Additionally, operator handling at several manufacturing and assembly stages may result in such impacts. Towards that end, tip shroud 50 is provided with a wear resistant/impact resistant member in a manner that will be described more fully below.
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While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A rotating assembly for a turbine assembly comprising:
- an airfoil extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline;
- a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of the airfoil;
- a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud; and
- at least one hard face interface member secured to the substrate.
2. The rotating assembly of claim 1, the tip shroud comprising:
- a tip blade having a first surface, a second surface opposing the first surface, a first edge and a second edge,
- a first cutter member disposed proximate the first edge and the second surface; and
- a second cutter member disposed proximate the second edge and the first surface.
3. The rotating assembly of claim 1, the tip shroud comprising a relatively planar tip blade having a first edge and a second edge, wherein the substrate includes a fillet portion proximate at least one of the first edge or the second edge.
4. The rotating assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one hard face interface member includes a base portion and a plurality of edge portions, wherein a portion of the substrate at least partially surrounds at least one of the plurality of edge portions.
5. The rotating assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one hard face interface member is formed from a pre-sintered preformed material.
6. The rotating assembly of claim 1, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of grooved portions.
7. The rotating assembly of claim 6, wherein the plurality of grooved portions are relatively U-shaped.
8. The rotating assembly of claim 6, wherein the plurality of grooved portions are relatively V-shaped.
9. The rotating assembly of claim 1, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of protrusions.
10. The rotating assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one hard face interface member is brazed to the substrate.
11. A rotating assembly for a turbine assembly comprising:
- a plurality of rotating members extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline;
- a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of at least one of the plurality of rotating members;
- a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud; and
- a hard face interface member having a base portion and a plurality of edge portions, wherein the base portion is secured to the substrate and a portion of the substrate at least partially surrounds at least one of the plurality of edge portions.
12. The rotating assembly of claim 11, the tip shroud comprising:
- a tip blade having a first surface, a second surface opposing the first surface, a first edge and a second edge,
- a first cutter member disposed proximate the first edge and the second surface; and
- a second cutter member disposed proximate the second edge and the first surface.
13. The rotating assembly of claim 11, the tip shroud comprising a relatively planar tip blade having a first edge and a second edge, wherein the substrate includes a fillet portion proximate at least one of the first edge or the second edge.
14. The rotating assembly of claim 11, wherein the hard face interface member is formed from a pre-sintered preformed material.
15. The rotating assembly of claim 11, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of grooved portions.
16. The rotating assembly of claim 11, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of protrusions.
17. A rotating assembly for a turbine assembly comprising:
- an airfoil extending radially outward from, and rotatable about, an axial centerline;
- a tip shroud integrally connected proximate a radially outer tip of the airfoil;
- a substrate operably coupled to the tip shroud, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of grooved portions; and
- at least one hard face interface member being both mechanically interlocked with, and metallurgically bonded to the substrate.
18. The rotating assembly of claim 17, wherein the plurality of grooved portions are relatively U-shaped.
19. The rotating assembly of claim 17, wherein the plurality of grooved portions are relatively V-shaped.
20. The rotating assembly of claim 17, wherein the at least one hard face interface member is formed from a pre-sintered preformed material.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 8, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 8, 2013
Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (Schenectady, NY)
Inventors: Kevin Leon Bruce (Greer, SC), Ronald Ralph Cairo (Greer, SC), Matthew Robert Piersall (Greenville, SC), Richard Gordon Rollings (Greer, SC)
Application Number: 13/368,931
International Classification: F01D 5/22 (20060101);