Fan containment casings and methods of manufacture

• US 20080145215A1
• Filed: 12/13/2006
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Finnigan, Peter Michael, Young, Craig Douglas, Finn, Scott Roger
• Granted Patent: US 7,713,021 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 415/200
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/222 the structure being shaped to form a three dimensional configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/32 on a rotating mould, former or core
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3076 Aircrafts blades, propellers B29L2031/08
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/7504 Turbines
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 21/045 special arrangements in stators or in rotors dealing with breaking-off of part of rotor
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 3/06 with front fan
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/526 Details of the casing section radially opposing blade tips ducts F04D29/545
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2300/603 Composites; e.g. fibre-reinforced
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49229 Prime mover or fluid pump making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49243 Centrifugal type

Abstract

A fan containment casing includes a core comprising a number of tows. The core has a central region and two end regions. The tows are grouped into a number of bands and form a number of filament-wound radially disposed layers. The bands of tows are interleaved as a number of direct bands and indirect bands along at least a portion of one or more of the layers. A method of forming a fan containment casing includes winding a number of tows on a liner to form a number of radially disposed layers, where each of the layers is continuously connected to at least one adjacent one of the layers across one of the end regions via at least one of the tows.

Claims

1. A fan containment casing comprising a core comprising a plurality of tows, the core having a central region and two end regions, wherein the tows are grouped into a plurality of bands and form a plurality of filament-wound radially disposed layers, and wherein the bands of tows are interleaved as a plurality of direct bands and indirect bands along at least a portion of one or more of the layers.

2. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein the bands of tows are wrapped along at least a portion of one or more of the layers.

3. The fan containment casing of claim 2, wherein the bands of tows are wrapped along the end regions of the core within at least one of the layers, and wherein the bands of tows are interleaved in the central region of the core within at least one of the layers.

4. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein at least one of the tows comprises a first material and wherein at least one of the tows comprises a second material.

5. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein the second material comprises an electrically conductive material.

6. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of carbon, glass, boron, ceramic, aromatic polyamid and silicon carbide.

7. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein at least one of the layers is formed using the tows comprising the first material, and wherein at least one other layer is formed using the tows comprising the second material.

8. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein at least one of the layers comprises at least one tow comprising the first material and at least one tow comprising the second material.

9. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein the tows comprising the first and second materials are interlaced to form at least one layer.

10. The fan containment casing of claim 4, wherein the tows comprising the first and second materials are wound on different regions of the core.

11. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bands has a first width, wherein at least another of the bands of tows has a second width, and wherein the first and the second widths are different.

12. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein the tows are wound such that a thickness of the fan containment casing varies as a function of spatial position along a z-axis.

13. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein the core is disposed on an acoustic liner.

14. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein the core is disposed on an abradable liner.

15. The fan containment casing of claim 1, wherein the core further comprises a resin that bonds the layers to one another.

16. A method of forming a fan containment casing, the method comprising:

winding a plurality of tows on a liner to form a plurality of radially disposed layers, wherein each of the layers is continuously connected to at least one adjacent one of the layers across one of the end regions via at least one of the tows.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising removing at least a portion of at least one of the ends regions such that the layers are separated from adjacent ones of the layers at the end region.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the liner comprises an acoustic liner.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the liner comprises an abradable material.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising bonding at least one of:

the tows to each other,

the layers to one another, and

an inner one of the layers to the liner,

using a thermosetting resin.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the winding step comprises:

grouping the tows into a plurality of bands; and

interleaving the bands of tows as a plurality of direct bands and indirect bands along at least a portion of one or more of the layers to form at least one winding pattern.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the winding step further comprises wrapping the bands of tows along at least a portion of one or more of the layers.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the winding step further comprises:

wrapping the bands of tows along the end regions of the core within at least one of the layers; and

interleaving the bands of tows in the central region of the core within at least one of the layers.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising adjusting a tightness of the winding pattern to vary a unit cell size for the winding pattern in different regions.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising adjusting a width of at least one of the bands by adjusting a number of the tows within the band.