Systems for preventing wear on turbine blade tip shrouds
First Claim
1. A system in a turbine engine for preventing wear on a tip shroud of a turbine blade, the system comprising:
- a pocket formed in a contact surface of the tip shroud; and
a rigid plug that fits within the pocket and has a durable outer surface;
wherein;
the tip shroud comes into contact with an adjacent tip shroud during the operation of the turbine at the contact surface;
the contact surface comprises a Z-interface, the Z-interface having an approximate profile of a “
Z”
;
the tip shroud further comprises a cutting tooth that forms a ridge down the middle of a top surface of the tip shroud; and
the Z-interface includes a middle contact face that corresponds to a middle leg of the approximate “
Z”
profile, the middle contact face having a substantially rectangular shape that substantially corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the cutting tooth.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system in a turbine engine for preventing wear on a tip shroud of a turbine blade that includes a pocket formed in a contact surface of the tip shroud and a plug that fits within the pocket and has a durable outer surface. The durable outer surface may include a cobalt-based hardfacing powder. The pocket may be machined out of the contact surface, and the plug may include a plug of predetermined size that fits snugly into the pocket. In some embodiments, the durable outer surface may substantially align with the contact surface after the plug is fitted into the pocket. In other embodiments, the durable outer surface may remain slightly raised from the contact surface after the plug has been fitted into the pocket.
58 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system in a turbine engine for preventing wear on a tip shroud of a turbine blade, the system comprising:
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a pocket formed in a contact surface of the tip shroud; and a rigid plug that fits within the pocket and has a durable outer surface; wherein; the tip shroud comes into contact with an adjacent tip shroud during the operation of the turbine at the contact surface; the contact surface comprises a Z-interface, the Z-interface having an approximate profile of a “
Z”
;the tip shroud further comprises a cutting tooth that forms a ridge down the middle of a top surface of the tip shroud; and the Z-interface includes a middle contact face that corresponds to a middle leg of the approximate “
Z”
profile, the middle contact face having a substantially rectangular shape that substantially corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the cutting tooth. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system in a turbine engine for preventing wear on a tip shroud of a turbine blade, the system comprising a rigid plate attached to a contact surface of the tip shroud, wherein the plate includes a durable outer surface;
wherein; the tip shroud comes into contact with an adjacent tip shroud during the operation of the turbine at the contact surface; the contact surface comprises a Z-interface, the Z-interface having an approximate profile of a “
Z”
;the tip shroud further comprises a cutting tooth that forms a ridge down the middle of a top surface of the tip shroud; and the Z-interface includes a middle contact face that corresponds to a middle leg of the approximate “
Z”
profile, the middle contact face having a substantially rectangular shape that corresponds to the approximate cross-sectional shape of the cutting tooth.- View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
Specification