Composite Ceramic Gas Turbine Blade

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gas turbine blade and, more particularly, to a rotor blade, which is combined of a supportive metallic core having a root formed at the lower end thereof, and of a ceramic airfoil encompassing it at a spacing.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

An operationally safe joint between these two blade components is difficult to produce, and namely because of their different thermal expansion, and also because of the danger of abrasion through centrifugal pressure and vibrations, and primarily due to the danger of fracture of the brittle ceramic material. The latter material will fairly well withstand static pressure, but not tensile stress. The heretofore known designs disclosed have, as a consequence, failed to succeed notwithstanding their partially high constructional complexity or demand.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a gas turbine blade of the above described type which meets the rigid demands of gas turbine operation with an acceptable complexity of construction.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a blade of the above type in which the core and the airfoil are allowed to expand and contract independently of each other at different rates of expansion; in which the mutual contacting surface is large so as to provide a low surface pressure, while, finally, the tensile load imposed on the ceramic component by centrifugal force is extremely low.

Reference may now be had to a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the blade of the present invention inclusive of a portion of the rotor disk; and

FIG. 1a is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line A--A in FIG. 1.

Having now reference to FIG. 1a, a thin-walled ceramic airfoil 1 engages from below into a recess 3a in a tip plate 3 of a circumference correponding with the airfoil section. The tip plate is also constituted of ceramic and is supported by four rod-shaped metallic blade cores, of which the three rearward, namely 2, 2' and 2" are visible in the drawing, through the widened head 2b, 2b' and 2b" of each. The support in the turbine disk 5 is achieved by respectively each widened head 2a, and so forth; these lower heads support themselves against a common, cylindrical metallic adaptor 5a which is slid into the turbine disc and locked in place therein. All supporting surfaces are herein conically shaped.

The airfoil can be constituted of a plurality of sections along its span or length and change over into a base plate or pedestal at its lower end. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the rotor foil 1 has a separate ceramic pedestal 7 at the lower end thereof which evidences a recess 7a for the insertion of the airfoil. The base portions of all blades form a continuous closed ring while allowing narrow gaps to remain therebetween. A layer 4 of a yieldable material is arranged in the interior of the airfoil 1, for example, ceramic foam or a felting of ceramic fiber with cooling air ducts 6 being permitted to extend in the longitudinal direction of the blade. These ducts extend into outlet ports 6a which are arranged in the concave surface 1' of the airfoil near the trailing edge 1a of the blade.

The upper tip 2b, 2b' and 2b" of the rod-shaped blade cores 2, 2' and 2" is formed through plastic deformation, diffusion welding or high-temperature brazing after the mounting of the blade airfoil 1 including the tip plate 3.