TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to turbine engine repair processes, and more specifically to a system for determining and applying a blend repair process corresponding to a specific damage profile.

BACKGROUND

Gas turbine engines, such as those utilized in commercial and military aircraft, include a compressor section that compresses air, a combustor section in which the compressed air is mixed with a fuel and ignited, and a turbine section across which the resultant combustion products are expanded. The expansion of the combustion products drives the turbine section to rotate. As the turbine section is connected to the compressor section via a shaft, the rotation of the turbine section further drives the compressor section to rotate. In some examples, a fan is also connected to the shaft and is driven to rotate via rotation of the turbine as well.

During operation of a gas turbine engine, internal gas turbine engine components can become damaged due to standard wear, debris ingestion, or any other number of known damaging events. Due to the expenses associated with manufacturing gas turbine engine components, it is often more economically viable to repair a damaged component, rather than replacing it. This is particularly true for expensive or difficult to manufacture components.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one exemplary embodiment a process for repairing an aircraft engine component includes receiving a plurality of component measurements of a damaged component, comparing the plurality of component measurements of the damaged component to a finite element model of an ideal component, and generating a finite element model of the damaged component based at least partially on the comparison, determining a corrective material removal operation based at least in part on the finite element model of the damaged component, and removing material from the damaged component according to the corrective material removal operation, thereby creating a repaired component.

In another example of the above described process for repairing an aircraft engine component the damaged component is an integrally bladed rotor.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component determining the corrective material removal operation comprises creating a material removal template and applying the material removal template to the damaged component prior to removing material from the damage component.

Another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component further includes predicting a performance of the repaired component by providing the finite element model of the damaged component and the corrective material removal operation to a mathematical model.

Another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component further includes comparing an output of the mathematical model against a predetermined set of criteria, and determining the acceptability of the corrective material removal operation based at least in part on the output of the mathematical model.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component determining the acceptability of the corrective material removal operation includes comparing the output of the mathematical model to at least one of a mistuning range, an aeromechanical performance metric range, and a modeshape range.

Another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component further includes determining a plurality of component measurements of the repaired component.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component, the process includes comparing the plurality of component measurements of the repaired component to a finite element model of the ideal component, thereby determining a finite element model of the repaired component.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component removing material from the damaged component according to the corrective material removal operation comprises an automated material removal operation.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component removing material from the damaged component according to the corrective material removal operation comprises a manual material removal operation.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component the repaired component includes a blade, and wherein at least 5% of the surface of the blade is part of a blend.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an aircraft engine component the repaired component includes at least one blend extending into the repaired component by at least 3 mm (0.118 in).

In one exemplary embodiment a process for repairing an integrally bladed rotor includes receiving a plurality of component measurements of a damaged integrally bladed rotor, generating a finite element model of the damaged integrally bladed rotor based at least partially on a finite model of an ideal integrally bladed rotor, determining a corrective material removal operation by at least simulating the damaged integrally bladed rotor under hot conditions, creating a corrective finite element model based on the determined corrective material removal operation, simulating operations of the corrective finite element model under hot conditions, and comparing the simulation to a set of predetermined criteria, and removing material from the damaged component according to the corrective material removal operation, thereby creating a repaired integrally bladed rotor, in response to the simulation meeting the predetermined criteria.

Another example of the above described process for repairing an integrally bladed rotor further includes reiterating the step of determining a corrective material removal operation in response to the simulation not meeting at least one of the predetermined criteria.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an integrally bladed rotor the reiteration further incorporate the results of the simulation corrective finite element model simulation, and wherein the reiteration generates a second corrective removal operation distinct from the first corrective material removal operation.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an integrally bladed rotor determining the corrective material removal operation comprises creating a material removal template and applying the material removal template to the damaged component prior to removing material from the damage component.

In another example of any of the above described processes for repairing an integrally bladed rotor the predetermined criteria includes at least one of mistuning range, an aeromechanical performance metric range, and a modeshape range

In one exemplary embodiment an integrally bladed rotor includes a hub ring and a plurality of blades extending radially outward from the hub ring, wherein the hub ring and the blades are a single integral piece, and wherein the integrally bladed rotor includes is a blended integrally bladed rotor and at least one blade of the integrally bladed rotor includes at least one of a surface where at least 5% of the surface of the blade is part of a blend and a blend intruding into the blade by at least 3 mm (0.118 in).

In another example of the above described integrally bladed rotor at least 5% of the surface of a blade in the plurality of blades is part of a blend.

In another example of any of the above described integrally bladed rotors the repaired component includes at least one blend extending into the integrally bladed rotor by at least 3 mm (0.118 in).

These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.

