Reinforced fan blade

• US 7,575,417 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2003
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Rengarajan, Govindarajan, Prentice, Ian Francis, Crall, David William, Finn, Scott Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarazano; D. Lawrence
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thompson; Camie S
• Application Number:
  US10/656,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20050053466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,174 Days
• Field of Search: 428/292.1, 416/230, 416/189, 416/190, 416/191, 416/229.A
• US Class Current: 416/230
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/147 Construction, i.e. structural features, e.g. of weight-saving hollow blades F01D5/148, F01D5/16 and F01D5/20 take precedence; blade shape F01D5/141; blades with cooling or heating channels or cavities F01D5/18; heating, heat-insulating or cooling means on blades F01D5/18
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 5/282 Selecting composite materials, e.g. blades with reinforcing filaments
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/324 Blades
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/36 specially adapted for the fan of turbofan engines
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2240/303 related to the leading edge of a rotor blade
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249924 Noninterengaged fiber-containing paper-free web or sheet which is not of specified porosity

Abstract

A fan blade including a plurality of fiber composite layers and at least one high elongation fiber composite strip joining one of the fiber composite layers at a joint. A method of making a fan blade includes joining a plurality of fiber composite layers and joining at least one high elongation fiber composite strip to one of the plurality of fiber composite layers. An end of the high elongation fiber composite strip meets an end of the fiber composite layer at a joint.

Claims

1. A fan blade comprising:

a plurality of fiber composite layers; and

a plurality of high elongation fiber composite strips joining one of said fiber composite layers at a joint, said high elongation fiber composite strips including a first high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a first direction, a second high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a second direction different than said first direction, and a third high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a third direction different than said first direction and said second direction.

2. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

the modulus of said high elongation fiber composite strips is from about 13,790 MPa to about 96,530 MPa.

3. The fan blade of claim 2 wherein:

the modulus of said high elongation fiber composite strips is from about 41,370 MPa to about 62,055 MPa.

4. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

the tensile elongation of said high elongation fiber composite strips is at least about 1.75%.

5. The fan blade of claim 4 wherein:

the tensile elongation of said high elongation fiber composite strips is at least about 3%.

6. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said high elongation fiber composite strips is embedded within an interior surface of said fan blade.

7. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

said high elongation fiber composite strips are layered from a first outside surface of said fan blade towards an interior of said fan blade.

8. The fan blade of claim 7 wherein:

ends of said high elongation fiber composite strips are staggered such that a length of each high elongation fiber composite strip decreases as position from said first outside surface increases.

9. The fan blade of claim 7 wherein:

said high elongation fiber composite strips are contiguously layered from a first outside surface of said fan blade towards an interior of said fan blade.

10. The fan blade of claim 7 wherein:

said high elongation fiber composite strips extend around a leading edge of said fan blade to a second outside surface of said fan blade, said high elongation fiber composite strips layered from said second outside surface of said fan blade towards said interior of said fan blade.

11. The fan blade of claim 1, wherein:

said first direction is 45 degrees relative to a spanwise direction of said fan blade.

12. The fan blade of claim 11 wherein:

said second direction is parallel to the spanwise direction of said fan blade.

13. The fan blade of claim 1, wherein:

said first direction is 45 degrees relative to a spanwise direction of said fan blade;

said second direction is parallel to said spanwise direction of said fan blade; and

said third direction is −

45 degrees relative to said spanwise direction of said fan blade.

14. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said high elongation fiber composite strips is positioned at a leading edge of said fan blade.

15. The fan blade of claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said high elongation fiber composite strips is positioned at a leading edge, trailing edge and tip of said fan blade.

16. The fan blade of claim 1, wherein a plurality of fiber composite layers are interposed between respective ones of the high elongation fiber composite strips, such that at least a plurality of the high elongation fiber composite strips are not contiguous.

17. The fan blade of claim 16, wherein at least some of the high elongation fiber composite strips have fibers oriented in a direction of about 45 degrees relative to the spanwise direction of the blade.

18. The fan blade of claim 1, wherein ends of said high elongation fiber composite strips are staggered such that:

a length of at least one of the high elongation fiber composite strips differs relative to the respective length of other ones of the high elongation fiber composite strips, and

the respective lengths of the high elongation fiber composite strips do not monotonically increase or monotonically decrease as position from said first outside surface increases.

19. The fan blade of claim 18, wherein:

said first direction is parallel to a spanwise direction of said fan blade,

said second direction is 45 degrees relative to the spanwise direction of said fan blade, and

said third direction is −

45 degrees relative to said spanwise direction of said fan blade.