Method of fabricating integrally bladed rotor and stator vane assembly

• US 9,327,341 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Ing, Visal
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Richard
• Application Number:
  US14/108,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20140101939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 53/78 propeller blades; turbine blades
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49316 Impeller making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4932 Turbomachine making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49321 Assembling individual fluid flow interacting members, e.g., blades, vanes, buckets, on rotary support member
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49336 Blade making

Abstract

A method of fabricating an integrally bladed rotor of a gas turbine engine according to one aspect, includes a 3-dimensional scanning process to generate a 3-dimensional profile of individual blades before being welded to the disc of the rotor. A blade distribution pattern on the disc is then determined in a computing process using data of the 3-dimensional profile of the individual blades such that the fabricated integrally bladed rotor is balanced.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an integrally bladed rotor of a gas turbine engine, the integrally bladed rotor including a disc with an array of blades affixed to the disc, the blades extending radially outwardly and being circumferentially spaced apart, the method comprising:

a) operating a milling machine to cut a blank of the integrally bladed rotor secured in a device for ensuring a machining position, thereby forming the integrally bladed rotor having the blades extending from the disc;

b) scanning the fabricated integrally bladed rotor to generate a complete 3 dimensional profile of the integrally bladed rotor before removing the integrally bladed rotor from the device;

c) calculating a center of gravity of the integrally bladed rotor based on the complete 3-dimensional profile of the integrally bladed rotor, and verifying whether or not the center of gravity is within an acceptable range with respect to a reference point of the integrally bladed rotor; and

then

d) removing the integrally bladed rotor from the device if the verification has a positive result.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 comprising further machining the fabricated integrally bladed rotor prior to step (d) if the verification in step (c) has a negative result and then repeating step (c).

3. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein step (b) is conducted with a non contact 3-dimensional scanning system.

4. A method of fabricating a stator vane assembly of a gas turbine engine, the stator vane assembly including coaxial inner and outer rings with an array of stator vanes circumferentially spaced apart and radially extending between the inner and outer rings, the method comprising:

a) electronically scanning each of the stator vanes to capture geometric data representative of a 3 dimensional profile of the individual stator vanes before the stator vanes are welded to the respective inner and outer rings;

b) determining a stator vane array pattern between the inner and outer rings of the assembly to be fabricated, using the geometric data of the individual stator vanes in a computing process, the determined stator vane array pattern having openings between trailing edges of the stator vanes adapted to uniformly direct fluid flow; and

c) positioning and welding the respective stator vanes between the inner and outer rings in accordance with the determined stator vane array pattern.

5. The method as defined in claim 4 wherein step (a) is conducted with a non-contact 3-dimensional scanning system.

6. The method as defined in claim 4 further comprising replacing one or more stator vanes the shape of which is outside of shape tolerances according to the obtained geometric data, with one or more new stator vanes having desirable geometric data before step (b).