U.S. patent application number 13/718562 was filed with the patent office on 2013-05-02 for airflow-straightening structure for the nacelle of an aircraft engine.
This patent application is currently assigned to SNECMA. The applicant listed for this patent is AIRCELLE, SNECMA. Invention is credited to Wouter BALK, Bertrand DESJOYEAUX, Nicolas DEZEUSTRE, Francois GALLET.
Application Number | 20130108432 13/718562 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43533356 |
Filed Date | 2013-05-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130108432 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DESJOYEAUX; Bertrand ; et
al. |
May 2, 2013 |
AIRFLOW-STRAIGHTENING STRUCTURE FOR THE NACELLE OF AN AIRCRAFT
ENGINE
Abstract
An airflow-straightening structure for an aircraft engine is
provided that includes a hoop inside which there are arranged a
plurality of flow-straightening vanes bearing a hub of a fan. Also
includes is a clevis for connecting to a suspension strut, the
clevis being fixed to said hoop. The structure has at least two
elements chosen from the group of the hoop, the plurality of vanes,
the hub and the clevis, which are formed in one piece, that is to
say without any assembly operation. Additionally, at least one of
the elements chosen from the group is at least partially formed of
a composite material.
Inventors: |
DESJOYEAUX; Bertrand;
(Sainte Adresse, FR) ; DEZEUSTRE; Nicolas; (Le
Havre, FR) ; BALK; Wouter; (Melun, FR) ;
GALLET; Francois; (Paris, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
AIRCELLE;
SNECMA; |
Gonfreville L'Orcher
Paris |
|
FR
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
SNECMA
Paris
FR
AIRCELLE
Gonfreville L'Orcher
FR
|
Family ID: |
43533356 |
Appl. No.: |
13/718562 |
Filed: |
December 18, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/FR2011/051379 |
Jun 16, 2011 |
|
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13718562 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
415/208.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01D 9/04 20130101; F01D
9/02 20130101; F01D 5/282 20130101; F05D 2250/51 20130101; Y02T
50/60 20130101; Y02T 50/672 20130101; F02C 7/04 20130101; F05D
2300/603 20130101; F05D 2240/14 20130101; F01D 25/24 20130101; F02C
7/20 20130101; F01D 5/34 20130101; F02K 3/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/208.1 |
International
Class: |
F01D 9/02 20060101
F01D009/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 18, 2010 |
FR |
10/54852 |
Claims
1 An airflow-straightening structure for an aircraft engine,
comprising: a hoop inside which there are arranged a plurality of
flow-straightening vanes bearing a hub of a fan; and a clevis for
connecting to a suspension strut, said clevis being fixed to said
hoop, the structure being characterized in that at least two
elements chosen from a group consisting of said hoop, said
plurality of vanes, said hub and said clevis are formed in one
piece, that is to say without any assembly operation, and in that
at least one of the elements chosen from the group consisting of
said hoop, said plurality of vanes, said hub and said clevis is at
least partially formed of a composite material.
2. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that all of
said elements are made in a single piece and from a composite
material.
3. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said
hoop incorporates the case of said fan.
4. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said
hoop incorporates an air intake shroud.
5. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said
hoop incorporates a thrust reverser cascade edge.
6. A nacelle for an aircraft engine, characterized in that it
comprises an airflow-straightening structure according to claim 1.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of International
Application No. PCT/FR2011/051379 filed on Jun. 16, 2011, which
claims the benefit of FR 10/54852, filed on Jun. 18, 2010. The
disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an airflow-straightening
structure for an aircraft engine.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The statements in this section merely provide background
information related to the present disclosure and may not
constitute prior art.
[0004] As is known in itself, and shown in the appended FIG. 1, a
nacelle having axis A for a dual-flow (turbojet) engine
traditionally comprises an outer structure 1 having an upstream
portion 3 forming an air intake, an intermediate portion 5 whereof
the inner skin 6 forms a case for the fan 7 of the engine, and a
downstream portion 9 that may incorporate thrust reversal
means.
[0005] This nacelle also includes an inner structure 11 having a
fairing 13 for the engine 15.
[0006] The outer structure 1 defines, with the inner structure 11,
an annular air duct 17, often called "cold air duct," as opposed to
the hot air created by the engine 15.
[0007] The fan 7 essentially consists of a propeller provided with
blades 19, which are rotatably mounted on a stationary hub 21
connected to the fan case 6 by a plurality of stationary arms 25,
which may for example be distributed at 120 degree intervals.
[0008] Upstream of these stationary arms are airflow-straightening
vanes 23, also called OGV ("Outlet Guide Vanes"), which make it
possible to straighten the cold air flow created by the fan 7.
SUMMARY
[0009] The present disclosure provides an airflow-straightening
structure for an aircraft engine, comprising: [0010] a hoop inside
which there are arranged a plurality of flow-straightening vanes
bearing a hub of a fan, and [0011] a clevis for connecting to a
suspension strut, said clevis being fixed to said hoop,
[0012] the structure being remarkable in that at least two of the
elements chosen from the group consisting of said hoop, said
plurality of vanes, said hub and said clevis are formed in one
piece, that is to say without any assembly operation,
[0013] and for the fact that at least one of the elements chosen
from the group consisting of said hoop, said plurality of vanes,
said hub and said clevis is at least partially formed of composite
material.
[0014] Having at least two of the aforementioned elements (hoop,
vanes, hub, clevis) made in a single piece makes it possible to
limit the number of assembly operations to be carried out during
assembly of the nacelle, and having at least one of those four
elements made from a composite material enables savings in terms of
weight.
[0015] According to other optional features of this structure
according to the invention: [0016] all of said elements are made in
a single piece and from a composite material: in this way, the ease
of assembly and weight reduction are optimized; [0017] the hoop
incorporates the case of said fan; [0018] the hoop incorporates an
air intake shroud for the nacelle; [0019] the hoop incorporates a
thrust reverser cascade edge: these various arrangements make it
possible to still further reduce the number of parts.
[0020] The present disclosure also relates to a nacelle for an
aircraft engine, remarkable in that it comprises an
airflow-straightening structure as described above.
[0021] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. It should be understood that the
description and specific examples are intended for purposes of
illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the
present disclosure.
DRAWINGS
[0022] In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there
will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of
example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal half-section view of a nacelle and
engine assembly of the prior art, described in the preamble of this
description;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an airflow-straightening
structure according to the present disclosure; and
[0025] FIG. 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view of an engine
equipped with an airflow-straightening structure according to one
particular form of the present disclosure, and the associated
nacelle portion.
[0026] In all of the figures, identical or similar references
designate identical or similar members or sets of members.
[0027] It will also be noted that a three-axis reference has been
provided in these figures showing the X, Y and Z axes. These three
axes respectively represent the longitudinal, transverse and
vertical directions of the engine when it is installed on an
aircraft.
[0028] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes
only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present
disclosure in any way.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and
is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or
uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings,
corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding
parts and features.
[0030] FIG. 2 shows that the airflow-straightening structure
according to the invention may comprise a plurality of
airflow-straightening vanes 23 extending between a radially inner
wheel 27 and a radially outer wheel 29, these vanes and wheels thus
forming a flow-straightening grid.
[0031] The wheel with the larger diameter 29 is designed to be
fixed or integrated inside a hoop 31 that is part of the inner skin
of the intermediate portion 5 of the outer structure 1 of the
engine.
[0032] The wheel with the smaller diameter 27 bears the stationary
hub 21 on which the fan 7 is rotatably mounted.
[0033] Fixed on the upper portion of the hoop 31 is a clevis 33 for
suspending the nacelle from a support strut secured to the
structure of an aircraft: this clevis makes it possible to connect
the nacelle and its associated engine 15 to the aircraft.
[0034] In one form, the airflow-straightening vanes 23 and the
wheels 27, 29 are formed in a single piece.
[0035] Also, the hub 21 on the one hand and the assembly formed by
the hoop 31 and the clevis 33 on the other hand are also formed in
a single piece.
[0036] At least some of said members are made from a composite
material, for example by weaving.
[0037] Still more preferably, the aforementioned set of members,
i.e. the hub 21, the vanes 23, the wheels 27, 29, the hoop 31 and
the yoke 33, are formed in a single piece, and from a composite
material.
[0038] This makes it possible to obtain a multi-functional piece
with an overall weight much lower than the set of parts it
replaces, and not requiring any assembly operation.
[0039] As can be understood from the preceding, the fact that the
hub 21 of the fan 7 is borne directly by the airflow-straightening
vanes 23 makes it possible to do away with the support arms for
that hub, which are present in the nacelles according to the prior
art: savings are thus procured in terms of structural simplicity
and weight.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the upstream portion of a
nacelle and part of the engine which are equipped with an
airflow-straightening structure according to the invention, and
shows that the hoop 31 can incorporate a fan case 6 and the air
intake shroud 35.
[0041] As a reminder, the air intake shroud 35 is a substantially
cylindrical piece forming the inner skin of the air intake 3, on
which sound absorption panels 37 are attached that can typically
have a honeycomb structure, so as to form Helmholtz resonators.
[0042] The hoop 31 can also incorporate, in the downstream portion
thereof, an extension 37 forming a cascade edge, i.e. defining one
of the walls of the channel making it possible to guide the cold
airflow toward the outside of the nacelle during implementation of
the thrust reversal means (not shown).
[0043] As will be understood, the additional integration of the fan
case 6, the shroud 35 and the cascade edge 37 in the
flow-straightening structure according to the invention also allows
increased structural simplicity, as well as weight savings when the
set of parts is made in a single piece and from a composite
material.
[0044] Of course, the present disclosure is in no way limited to
the embodiments described and shown, which have been provided
solely as examples.
* * * * *