U.S. patent application number 12/504850 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-03 for perforated turbine bucket tip cover.
This patent application is currently assigned to General Electric Company. The applicant listed for this patent is Zekai Ceylan, Joseph A. Cotroneo, Xiaoyue Liu, Hiteshkumar R. Mistry, Jonathon E. Slepski. Invention is credited to Zekai Ceylan, Joseph A. Cotroneo, Xiaoyue Liu, Hiteshkumar R. Mistry, Jonathon E. Slepski.
Application Number | 20130259691 12/504850 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42555650 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130259691 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liu; Xiaoyue ; et
al. |
October 3, 2013 |
PERFORATED TURBINE BUCKET TIP COVER
Abstract
An airfoil with a tip cover surface treatment for reducing
leakage flows, minimizing tip vortex size and penetration into main
flow that will improve turbine efficiency. The surface treatment
for the airfoil tip covers includes a series of concave shapes,
such as grooves or holes. These grooves and holes will cause the
leakage flow into separate flow paths within the cavities and
generate more resistance to leakage flows through the airfoil tip
clearance, thereby reducing the leakage mass flow and weakening tip
vortex and its interaction with turbine main flows. The material
removed from the tip cover provides the additional benefit of
reducing the weight of the tip cover, thereby enhancing blade
reliability.
Inventors: |
Liu; Xiaoyue; (Clifton Park,
NY) ; Cotroneo; Joseph A.; (Clifton Park, NY)
; Slepski; Jonathon E.; (Clifton Park, NY) ;
Ceylan; Zekai; (Malta, NY) ; Mistry; Hiteshkumar
R.; (Bangalore, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Liu; Xiaoyue
Cotroneo; Joseph A.
Slepski; Jonathon E.
Ceylan; Zekai
Mistry; Hiteshkumar R. |
Clifton Park
Clifton Park
Clifton Park
Malta
Bangalore |
NY
NY
NY
NY |
US
US
US
US
IN |
|
|
Assignee: |
General Electric Company
|
Family ID: |
42555650 |
Appl. No.: |
12/504850 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
416/179 ;
29/889.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01D 5/225 20130101;
Y10T 29/49336 20150115; F01D 5/22 20130101; F05D 2260/2212
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
416/179 ;
29/889.7 |
International
Class: |
F01D 5/22 20060101
F01D005/22 |
Claims
1. A blade for a turbine engine including a root, a tip, a leading
edge, a trailing edge, and opposed pressure and suction sidewalls
extending generally along a radial axis within an inner casing of
the turbine engine, the blade comprising: a tip cover extending
between a tip-cover pressure sidewall and a tip-cover suction
sidewall; a top surface on the tip cover extending between the
tip-cover pressure sidewall and the tip-cover suction sidewall and
adapted to permit the blade to rotate with a limited clearance to a
shroud of a casing of the turbine engine; a thickness of the tip
cover extending from the top surface to a tip of the blade; a
plurality of depressions over essentially the full top surface of
the tip cover, the plurality of depressions extending into the
thickness of the tip cover and adapted to restrict leakage flow
between the tip cover and the shroud of the casing of the turbine
engine.
2. The blade according to claim 1, the plurality of depressions
comprising: a plurality of grooves extending into the thickness of
the tip cover.
3. The blade according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of grooves
extend parallel to each other between a first interlocking end of
the tip cover and a second interlocking end of the tip cover.
4. The blade according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of grooves
include a U-shaped cross-section.
5. The blade according to claim 4, wherein the U-shaped
cross-section includes vertical walls roughly normal to the top
surface of the tip cover and a bottom surface roughly parallel to
the top surface of the tip cover.
6. The blade according to claim 5, wherein when the blade is
rotating at a full operating speed the plurality of grooves at the
first interlocking end of the tip cover are aligned with the
plurality of grooves of the second interlocking end of a tip cover
on an adjacent blade and the plurality of grooves at the second
interlocking end of the tip cover are aligned with the plurality of
grooves of the first interlocking end of a tip cover on an adjacent
blade.
7. The blade according to claim 2, further comprising at least one
seal tooth on the top surface of the tip cover, the at least one
seal tooth disposed generally parallel with the plurality of
grooves on the top surface and the at least one seal tooth
extending between a first interlocking end of the tip cover and a
second interlocking end of the tip cover.
8. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of
depressions comprise a plurality of holes in the top surface of the
tip cover extending into the thickness of the tip cover, the
plurality of holes being aligned in a plurality of rows extending
between the opposite interlocking ends of the tip cover and a
plurality of columns extending between the pressure side and the
suction side of the tip cover.
9. The blade according to claim 8, wherein the holes of adjacent
columns may be staggered relative to the holes of the adjacent rows
of holes.
10. The blade according to claim 8 wherein when the blade is
rotating at a full operating speed, the rows of holes at the first
interlocking end of the tip cover are aligned with the rows of
holes of the second interlocking end of a tip cover on an adjacent
blade and the rows of holes at the second interlocking end of the
tip cover are aligned with the rows of holes of the first
interlocking end of a tip cover on an adjacent blade.
11. The blade according to claim 2, further comprising: at least
one seal tooth on the top surface of the tip cover, the at least
one seal tooth situated generally parallel with the rows of holes
on the top surface and the at least one seal tooth extending
between a first interlocking end of the tip cover and a second
interlocking end of the tip cover.
12. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the turbine engine is a
gas turbine.
13. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the turbine engine is a
steam turbine.
14. A method for fabricating a blade for a turbine engine, the
method comprising: providing a blade including a tip cover with a
top surface extending between a tip-cover pressure sidewall and a
tip-cover suction sidewall, a first interlocking end at a trailing
edge of the rotor blade and a second interlocking end at a leading
edge of the rotor blade, and a thickness of the tip cover extending
radially from the top surface of the tip cover to the rotor blade;
and removing a portion of the thickness of the tip cover forming a
plurality of depressions over essentially the full top surface of
the tip cover, the plurality of depressions being adapted to
adapted to restrict leakage flow between the tip cover and the
shroud of the casing of the turbine engine.
15. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 14, the
step of removing a portion of the thickness of the top cover
comprising: forming a plurality of grooves extending parallel to
each other between a first interlocking end of the tip cover and a
second interlocking end of the tip cover.
16. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 15, the
step of forming a plurality of grooves comprising: forming grooves
on the tip covers of adjacent blades so when the blades are
rotating at a full operating speed, the grooves at the first
interlocking end of the tip cover for each blade are aligned with
the grooves of the second interlocking end of a tip cover on an
adjacent blade and the grooves at the second interlocking end of
the tip cover are aligned with the grooves of the first
interlocking end of a tip cover on an adjacent blade.
17. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 15,
further comprising: forming at least one seal tooth on the top
surface of the tip cover, the seal tooth situated generally
parallel with the grooves on the top surface and the seal tooth
extending between a first interlocking end of the tip cover and a
second interlocking end of the tip cover.
18. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 17, the
step of removing a portion of the thickness of the top cover
comprising: forming a plurality of holes in the top surface of the
tip cover extending into the thickness of the tip cover; and
arranging the holes in a plurality of rows extending between the
opposite interlocking ends of the tip cover and a plurality of
columns extending between the pressure side and the suction side of
the tip cover.
19. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 14, the
step of arranging the closed-end holes comprising: staggering the
holes of adjacent columns of holes relative to the holes of the
adjacent rows of holes.
20. The method for fabricating a blade according to claim 14,
further comprising: forming at least one seal tooth on the top
surface of the tip cover, the seal tooth situated generally
parallel with the rows of holes on the top surface and the seal
tooth extending between a first interlocking end of the tip cover
and a second interlocking end of the tip cover.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to turbine blades for a
turbine engine and more specifically to a tip shroud for turbine
blades.
[0002] Turbine blades are rotating airfoil-shaped components in
series of stages designed to convert thermal energy from a working
fluid, such as gas or steam, into mechanical work of turning a
rotor. Performance of a turbine can be enhanced by sealing the
outer edge of the blade tip to prevent the working gas from
escaping the working flowpath into the gaps between a blade tip and
an outer casing of turbine. A common manner for sealing the gap
between the turbine blade tips and the turbine casing is through
blade tip shrouds. Not only do shrouds enhance turbine performance,
but also serve as a vibration damper, especially for large,
radial-length turbine blades. The shroud acts as a mechanism to
raise the blade natural frequency and in turn minimizes failures
due to extended resonance time of the blade at a natural
frequency.
[0003] A portion of a typical turbine blade with a shroud (also
referred to as turbine bucket cover or tip cover) is shown in FIG.
1. The turbine blade 10 includes an airfoil section 11 and shroud
12. The shroud 12 may be manufactured integral to the airfoil 11.
The airfoil further contains a leading edge 15 and trailing edge 16
that run generally perpendicular to shroud 12. The shroud 12 has a
thickness and has sidewalls 17, which may be cut to create an
interlocking configuration when adjacent turbine blades are
present. The interlocking mechanism occurs along two bearing faces
13, where adjacent turbine blades (not shown) contact at shroud 12.
It is the interlocking of the turbine blade shrouds 12 at bearing
faces 13, that creates means for damping out vibrations, as well as
for sealing the working fluid within the turbine gas-path. An
additional feature of a typical turbine blade shroud may be a
knife-edge tip seal (tooth seal) 14. Depending upon the size of the
blade shroud, one or more tip seals may be utilized. These seals
run parallel to each other, typically perpendicular to the engine
axis, and extend outward from shroud 12. The purpose of these seals
is to engage the shroud blocks of the turbine casing (not shown) to
further minimize leakage around the blade tip and reduce mechanical
impact in case the bucket tip rubs the casing. Tip leakage diverts
working fluid that would otherwise flow in a main flow path and
perform work on the turbine blades. Tip leakage may further result
in elevated tip votex size and intensity, which may penetrate the
main steam flow path downstream from the blade, raising
backpressure and thereby lowering the efficiency of the stage.
However, a clearance between the tip seal and the casing shroud
needs to be provided to account for thermal expansion and asymmetry
of rotation. A fully covered turbine blade tip has better
aerodynamics performance over uncovered bucket tip because of
reduced tip vortex size, intensity, and tip leakage.
[0004] While the purpose of the shroud is to seal the working fluid
within the flow path as well as to provide a means to dampen
vibrations, the shroud has its disadvantages as well. A drawback to
the shroud concept is the weight the shroud adds to the turbine
blade. During operation, the turbine blades spin on a disk, about
the engine axis 18. A typical industrial application includes disk
speeds up to 3600 revolutions per minute. The blades are held in
the disk by an interlocking cut-out between the blade root and the
disk. As the turbine blade spins, the centrifugal forces cause the
blade to load outward on the turbine disk at this attachment point.
The amount of loading on the disk and hence the blade root, which
holds the blade in the disk, is a function of the blade weight.
That is, the heavier the blade, the more load and stresses are
found on the interface between the blade root and disk, for a given
revolutions per minute. Excessive loading on the blade root and
disk can reduce the overall life of each component. Another
drawback to shrouds is creep curling of the blade shrouds.
Depending on the thickness of the shroud, the shroud edges can
"curl" up at their ends and introduce severe bending stresses in
the fillets between the shroud and blade tip. Shrouds curl due to
the bending load on the edges of the shroud from gas pressure loads
as well as centrifugal loads. The curling of a shroud is analogous
to the bending of a cantilevered beam due to a load at the free end
of the beam. An industry known fix to this curling phenomenon is to
increase the section thickness of the shroud uniformly which will
result in a stiffer shroud and more resistance to curling. The
downside to simply increasing the shroud thickness uniformly is the
additional weight that is added to the shroud by this additional
material.
[0005] As described above, to prevent the tip cover from rubbing
turbine casing wall and to further reduce tip leakage, one or
several seal teeth can be placed on the top of a tip cover.
According to recent computational flow dynamic (CFD) analysis of
48'' last stage bucket of a low pressure turbine, adding a seal
tooth may reduce the stage efficiency by about 0.5% since increased
bucket tip volume can cause tip vortex to penetrate deeper into
main flow.
[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to limit tip leakage for
turbine blades, while at the same time providing enhanced stage
efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a blade for a turbine engine including a root, a tip, a
leading edge, a trailing edge, and opposed pressure and suction
sidewalls extending generally along a radial axis within an inner
casing of the turbine engine. The blade includes a tip cover
extending between a tip-cover pressure sidewall and a tip-cover
suction sidewall. A top surface on the tip cover extends between
the tip-cover pressure sidewall and the tip-cover suction
sidewall.
[0008] The top surface is configured to permit the blade to rotate
with a limited clearance to a shroud of a casing of the turbine
engine. A thickness of the tip cover extends from the top surface
to a tip of the blade. A plurality of depressions are provided over
essentially the full top surface of the tip. The depressions extend
into the thickness of the tip cover and are adapted to restrict
leakage flow between the tip cover and the shroud of the casing of
the turbine engine.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
method is provided for fabricating a blade for a turbine engine.
The method includes providing a blade including a tip cover with a
top surface extending between a tip-cover pressure sidewall and a
tip-cover suction sidewall, a first interlocking end at a trailing
edge of the rotor blade and a second interlocking end at a leading
edge of the rotor blade, and a thickness of the tip cover extending
radially from the top surface of the tip cover to the rotor blade.
The method includes removing a portion of the thickness of the tip
cover forming a plurality of depressions over essentially the full
top surface of the tip cover, the plurality of depressions being
adapted to restrict leakage flow between the tip cover and the
shroud of the casing of the turbine engine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0010] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood when the following
detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the drawings, wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art shroud for a turbine
blade;
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates turbine blade incorporating an inventive
tip cover;
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates an isometric view of a first embodiment
of the inventive tip cover;
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a top isometric view of interlocked tip
covers according to the first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 illustrates an impact of the inventive depressions on
a tip leakage path for the working fluid between the tip cover for
a rotor blade and the turbine casing;
[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates reduced axial velocity of tip leakage
flow with the inventive surface treatment;
[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the present
invention wherein the depressions are formed as holes over the top
surface of the tip cover;
[0018] FIG. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the present
inventive tip cover incorporating a seal tooth; and
[0019] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of
a method for fabricating a blade with a surface treatment of
depressions that may be used with a turbine engine, including a
steam turbine engine or a gas turbine engine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The following embodiments of the present invention have many
advantages, including reducing bucket tip leakage flow, increasing
rotor torque work, minimizing mixing losses caused by tip vortex,
improving turbine performance and reducing tip cover weight.
[0021] The present invention relates to an airfoil with a tip cover
surface treatment for reducing leakage flows, minimizing tip vortex
size and penetration into main flow that will improve turbine
efficiency. An aspect of the present invention is to treat airfoil
tip covers with a series of concave shapes, such as grooves or
holes. These grooves and holes will cause the leakage flow into
separate flow paths within the cavities and generate more
resistance to leakage flows through the airfoil tip clearance, that
reduces the leakage mass flow and weakens tip vortex and its
interaction with turbine main flows. The material removed from the
tip cover provides the additional benefit of reducing the weight of
the tip cover, thereby enhancing blade reliability. The surface
treatment may also eliminate the need for using one or more tooth
seals on the tip cover to reduce leakage flow. The toothless fully
covered blade tip cover provides superior aerodynamic performance
over any of partially covered tip shrouds.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a turbine blade incorporating an
inventive tip cover. The tip cover 25 may be attached to an airfoil
21 of a blade 20 for a turbine engine. The airfoil 21 may include a
root 30, a tip 35, a leading edge 40, a trailing edge 41, a
pressure side 45 and a suction side 50. A dovetail arrangement 32
in the root section 30 engages the airfoil to the rotor wheel of
the turbine engine (not shown). The tip cover 25 may be formed
integral with the airfoil 21 at the tip end 35. The tip cover 25
may include a plurality of depressions 80 in a top surface 55
adapted to reducing leakage between the top surface of the airfoil
and the shroud of the turbine engine casing.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates an expanded isometric view of a first
embodiment of the inventive tip cover. The tip cover 25 may include
a top surface 55, a tip-cover pressure sidewall 45, and a tip-cover
suction sidewall 50, the top surface 55 extending between the
tip-cover pressure sidewall 60 and the tip-cover suction sidewall
65. The tip cover 25 may have a thickness 66 in a general inward
radial direction with respect to the root 30 of the airfoil 21
(FIG. 2). The top surface 55 of the tip cover may be generally
conformed to an inner surface of a stage shroud for the casing of
the turbine engine (not shown), so as to provide a limited
clearance there-between to limit leakage of working fluid between
the stages of the turbine engine. The tip cover 25 may further
include a first interlocking end 70 and a second interlocking end
71 providing bearing surfaces 75 to engage opposing bearing
surfaces of tip covers of a leading turbine blade and a trailing
turbine blade (see FIG. 4) of a turbine wheel when the wheel is
rotating at operating speed. The tip cover 25 may include a
plurality of depressions 80 adapted to reducing leakage between the
top surface of the airfoil and the shroud of the turbine engine
casing. In the first embodiment, the depressions 80 may include a
plurality of grooves 85 in the top surface 55 Each groove 85 may be
aligned parallel to each other, extending in length in a direction
generally between the first interlocking 70 end and the second
interlocking end 71 of the tip cover 25. The groove 85 may be
formed as a U-shaped depression with groove floor 81. The walls of
the grooves may be essentially normal to the face of the top
surface of the tip cover 25. The groove 85 may include a width 86
and a depth 87 below the top surface 55.
[0024] On each adjacent side of the parallel-arranged grooves 85
there may be situated a wall 88 of an elevated height 87 relative
to the grooves. The top 89 of the elevated wall 88 is formed by the
top surface 55 of the tip cover 25. The elevated wall 88 may be
aligned generally in parallel with other elevated walls 88 and in
generally in parallel with the plurality of grooves 85. The walls
88 may extend in length in a direction generally between the first
interlocking end 70 and the second interlocking end 71 of the tip
cover 25. The elevated walls 88 are also arranged normal to the
leakage flow 90 across the tip cover from the tip-cover pressure
sidewall 60 to the tip-cover suction sidewall 65.
[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates a top isometric view of interlocked tip
covers according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The turbine blade 20 is situated between leading turbine blade 23
and a trailing turbine blade 24. Bearing surfaces 75 of tip cover
25 for the turbine blade 20 engage the complimentary bearing
surface 76 of the leading turbine blade 23 and the trailing turbine
blade 24 when the rotor wheel is turning at operating speed. The
grooves 85 and elevated surfaces of the tip cover 25 for the
turbine blade 20 are aligned with the grooves and elevated surfaces
of the tip covers for the leading turbine blade 23 and the trailing
turbine blade 24, thereby presenting continuous elevated walls and
continuous grooves between adjacent turbine blades when the turbine
is at operating speed to oppose tip leakage flow 90 from tip-cover
pressure sidewall to the tip-cover suction sidewall.
[0026] FIG. 5 illustrates an impact of the inventive depressions on
a tip leakage path for the working fluid between the tip cover for
a rotor blade and the turbine casing. A clearance 100 is provided
between the top surface 55 of tip cover 25 and the inner surface 95
of turbine casing 96. The clearance 100 must be maintained to
account for thermal expansion and rotational eccentricity. Tip seal
leakage 90 is driven by a differential pressure between the
pressure side 60 and the suction side 65 of the tip cover 25 for
the blade 20. The grooves 85 and elevated walls 88 are seen from
the side. The tip leakage flow 90 passes through the clearance 100
above the top surface 55 of the tip cover 25. Low pressure in each
of grooves 85 diverts a part of the tip leakage flow 90 near the
top surface 55 of the tip cover 25, thereby creating vortex
circulation 110 in and about the plurality of grooves 85. The
vortex circulation 110 within the plurality of grooves 85 impinges
into the clearance 100, restricting the effective tip clearance 105
available to pass tip leakage flow, thereby reducing the leakage
flow 90.
[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates reduced axial velocity of steam flow at a
rotor outlet over an outer section of a span for a blade with a
grooved surface treatment. The relative axial velocity 210 of the
steam flow vs. percent turbine span 215 is plotted for a flat tip
shroud without seal teeth 220 and a tip shroud with the inventive
grooves 230. Axial velocity is relatively constant over a span 240
from about 75% to 97.5% of blade length. For the area between the
tip shroud and the casing shroud 250 (97.5% to 100% span), a large
increase in the axial velocity resulting from tip leakage relative
to the bulk working steam flow path the blade section is shown for
both cases. The inventive groove arrangement provides approximately
a 15% velocity reduction over the case with the inclined tip
shroud. The inventive grooves of the tip cover slow the steam
velocity between the tip cover and the casing shroud, resulting in
less leakage compared to other arrangements. The reduced tip
leakage further minimizes tip vortex size and penetration into the
main working gas flowpath, thereby increasing rotor torque and
improved stage performance.
[0028] A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated
in FIG. 7. The blade 20 and the tip cover 25 remain as described
for the first embodiment. The depressions 80 may include a
plurality of holes 125 essentially covering the top surface 55 of
the tip cover 25. In one configuration, the holes may be aligned in
a plurality of rows 130 extending between the opposite interlocking
ends 70, 71 of the tip cover 25 and a plurality of columns 135
extending between the pressure side 60 and the suction side 65 of
the tip cover 25. The holes 125 of adjacent columns 135 may be
staggered relative to the adjacent rows 130 as illustrated in FIG.
7. The holes 125 may include a radius 126 and a depth 127. Further,
it should be understood that various other arrangements of holes on
the top surface of the tip cover are possible within the scope of
the present invention. Similar to the operation of the grooves of
the first embodiment as depicted in FIG. 5, the holes 125 of the
top surface 55 may divert a portion of the tip leakage forming
vortices that extend into the tip leakage path, thereby having the
effect of reducing the leakage passing through the tip clearance.
The shape of the holes 135 may be generally circular, although
other shapes may be considered within the scope of the present
invention. The holes are usually close ended.
[0029] FIG. 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the present
inventive blade incorporating a tip cover including a seal tooth.
Tip cover 25 is mounted on airfoil 21. The top surface 55 of the
tip cover 25 includes a plurality of grooves 85 between the tip
cover and a casing shroud (not shown). The plurality of grooves 85
is adapted for reducing tip leakage, as previously described. The
tip cover 55 may further include a seal tooth 150. The seal tooth
150 may be disposed along a length of the top surface 55 between
bearing surfaces 75, forming a barrier to tip leakage. When the.
turbine blade 20 is mounted with a leading turbine blade and a
trailing turbine blade (not shown), the tip seal may align with the
tip seals of these adjacent blades to form a continuous barrier
limiting tip leakage.
[0030] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
method is provided for fabricating a blade for a turbine engine.
FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of a
method 200 of fabricating a blade that may be used with a turbine
engine, including a steam turbine engine or a gas turbine engine.
Although the method 200 may be used to fabricate any blade, the
method will be described with respect to fabricating blade (20)
shown in FIG. 2. Method 200 includes providing in step 202 the
blade 20 (as shown in FIG. 2) The blade being provided includes a
tip cover with a top surface extending between a tip-cover pressure
sidewall and a tip-cover suction sidewall, a first interlocking end
at a trailing edge of the rotor blade and a second interlocking end
at a leading edge of the rotor blade, and a thickness of the tip
cover extending radially from the top surface of the tip cover to
the rotor blade. Step 204 includes removing a portion of the
thickness of the tip cover forming a plurality of depressions over
essentially the full top surface of the tip cover, the plurality of
depressions being adapted to adapted to restrict leakage flow
between the tip cover and the shroud of the casing of the turbine
engine.
[0031] Removing a portion of the thickness of the top cover may
include forming a plurality of grooves extending parallel to each
other between a first interlocking end of the tip cover and a
second interlocking end of the tip cover. Forming a plurality of
grooves may include forming grooves on the tip covers of adjacent
blades so when the blades are rotating at a full operating speed,
the grooves at the first interlocking end of the tip cover for each
blade are aligned with the grooves of the second interlocking end
of a tip cover on an adjacent blade and the grooves at the second
interlocking end of the tip cover are aligned with the grooves of
the first interlocking end of a tip cover on an adjacent blade. The
method for fabricating a blade may further include forming at least
one seal tooth on the top surface of the tip cover, the seal tooth
situated generally parallel with the grooves on the top surface and
the seal tooth extending between a first interlocking end of the
tip cover and a second interlocking end of the tip cover.
[0032] Alternatively, the step of removing a portion of the
thickness of the top cover may include forming a plurality of holes
in the top surface of the tip cover extending into the thickness of
the tip cover and arranging the holes in a plurality of rows
extending between the opposite interlocking ends of the tip cover
and a plurality of columns extending between the pressure side and
the suction side of the tip cover. The step of arranging the
closed-end holes may also include staggering the holes of adjacent
columns of holes relative to the holes of the adjacent rows of
holes. The method for fabricating a blade may further include
forming at least one seal tooth on the top surface of the tip
cover, the seal tooth situated generally parallel with the rows of
holes on the top surface and the seal tooth extending between a
first interlocking end of the tip cover and a second interlocking
end of the tip cover.
[0033] The surface treatment may also provide about 0.1%
improvement in stage efficiency over the inclined tip shroud and
about a 0.07% improvement in stage efficiency over the flat tip
shroud. Further, the surface treatment may provide about a 0.33%
work extraction increase over the inclined tip shroud and about a
+0.08% improvement in work extraction over a flat tip shroud
without seal tooth.
[0034] While various embodiments are described herein, it will be
appreciated from the specification that various combinations of
elements, variations or improvements therein may be made, and are
within the scope of the invention.
* * * * *