Propeller blade arrangement

Abstract

A propeller blade arrangement comprising a propeller blade attached to and rotatable with a hub, via a retention bearing, the blade being rotatable about a center line of the blade, the retention bearing configured to tilt the blade such that its center line is tilted with respect to the hub.

Claims

1. A propeller blade arrangement comprising: a hub; a retention bearing; and a propeller blade attached to the hub via the retention bearing and rotatable with the hub; wherein the blade being rotatable about a centreline of the blade defined by an axis of rotation of the retention bearing, the retention bearing configured to tilt the blade relative to the hub such that the centreline is tilted with respect to the hub such that the centreline of the blade does not intersect the centreline of the hub and is not orthogonal to the centreline of the hub; and wherein, in a forward thrust mode of operation, the blade is arranged such that its centre of gravity is offset in a direction and by a magnitude that generates a restoring bending moment that reduces a total bending moment to counteract an aero-bending moment acting on the blade; and wherein, in a reverse thrust mode of operation, the angle of tilt is selected such that the blade centreline is tilted such that a location of the centre of gravity of the blade compared to the hub is the same as in the forward thrust mode of operation.

2. A propeller blade arrangement as in claim 1, wherein the blade is constructed such that its centre of gravity is offset with respect to the centreline.

3. A propeller blade arrangement as in claim 1, wherein the blade is constructed such that its centre of gravity is aligned with the centreline.

4. A propeller blade arrangement comprising: a hub; and a plurality of blades mounted about the hub each by a respective retention bearing, whereby the retention bearings are configured to tilt the blades such that their centrelines are tilted with respect to the hub such that the centrelines of the blades do not intersect the centreline of the hub and are not orthogonal to the centreline of the hub; and wherein, in a forward thrust mode of operation, the blades are arranged such that their centres of gravity are offset in a direction and by a magnitude that generates a restoring bending moment that reduces a total bending moment to counteract aero-bending moments acting on the blades; and wherein, in a reverse thrust mode of operation, the angle of tilt is selected such that the centrelines of the blades are tilted such that the locations of the centres of gravity of the blades compared to the hub are the same as in the forward thrust mode of operation.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A and 1B show the forces acting on a blade as in known arrangement in a forward thrust mode.

(2) FIGS. 2A and 2B show the forces acting on a blade as in known arrangement in reverse thrust mode.

(3) FIGS. 3A and 3B show the forces acting on a blade in reverse thrust mode according to the arrangement of the disclosure.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the blade arrangement of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) The described embodiments are by way of example only. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the claims.

(6) Referring first to FIGS. 1A and 1B, existing arrangements for generating a blade centrifugal restoring moment will be briefly explained.

(7) A blade 1 is shown having a centreline C about which the blade rotates. In the example shown, it is calculated that in a forward thrust operation in ‘cruise mode’, the engine torque loading E and the external thrust loads A will combine to generate a resultant aero bending moment R on the blade retention with direction located in the fourth quadrant. In order to generate a restoring centrifugal bending moment that will counter the loading on the blade, the blade will be constructed or stacked so that its center of gravity CG is offset relative to its centreline C. The azimuthal location of the center of gravity will be determined so that, as shown in FIG. 1B, the centrifugal bending moment will be in the same plane or as close as possible to, but in the opposite direction to the aero-bending moment R (2.sup.nd quadrant). Under these flight conditions, therefore, the sum of these moments will result in an optimally small total bending moment. CL indicates the centreline of the hub.

(8) FIGS. 2A and 2B, however, show the forces on this blade 1 when the pitch of the blade rotates to reverse thrust mode angle. The direction of the thrust A acting on the blade, is now opposite to the direction shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B while the direction of the torque loading remains the same. Resultant bending moment R on the blade retention direction is therefore located in the first quadrant. The location of the centre of gravity which rotated with the blade now gives rise to a centrifugal bending moment that is no longer in the opposite direction to the aero-bending moment and, instead, is essentially in the same direction (also 1.sup.st quadrant). When added, therefore, these moments give rise to a greater total bending moment—i.e. to a total bending moment that is actually greater than the aero-bending moment itself. As mentioned above, the retaining bearings need to be designed to be able to withstand this bending moment.

(9) In the arrangement of the present disclosure, the situation in forward thrust is the same as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

(10) The blade 10, according to this disclosure, is attached to the propeller hub via a retention bearing 20 which allows rotation of the blade about bearing centreline to adjust and vary blade pitch. Hub arms incorporating the retention bearings 20 are designed so the blade can be tilted in the hub 30. By tilting the blade retention bearing 20, the blade centreline CL1 is tilted such that the location of the blade center of gravity CG1 is offset as compared to an axis going through the center of the retention bearing and intersecting/perpendicular to the hub centreline to get a restoring moment that subtracts from the aero bending moment for flight condition such as Take-off as detailed in the background description. In reverse thrust mode, as shown in FIG. 3A, the offset of the CG1 position caused by the tilting does not rotate with the blade and remains constant in magnitude and azimuth as compared to the hub reference axis (still 2.sup.nd quadrant). Consequently, the resulting restoring bending moment does not add significantly to the aero-bending moment.

(11) The forces acting on the blade 10 will be the same as described with respect to FIG. 2A in reverse thrust mode but, because the CG1 offset contribution from tilting does not rotate with the blade and retains at least part of the relative location of the center of gravity CG1, the centrifugal bending moment will be at or around a 90° angle with respect to the aero-bending moment that is shown in FIG. 2B and will not add much or could even counter some of the aero-bending moment.

(12) The sum of the aero-bending moment and the centrifugal bending moment will then result in a total bending moment that is almost equal or even less than the aero-bending moment.

(13) The blades and the hub can be designed by varying the location of CG1 and/or the angle α of tilt, to optimise the total bending moment in different flight conditions.

(14) FIG. 4 shows, schematically, how the blade can be tilted, at the bearing, relative to the hub, such that its centreline CL1 is tilted relative to the centreline CL defined by the hub 30.

(15) Because the arrangement avoids loading much greater than the aero-bending moment, the bearing design for the worst-case scenario can be smaller and lighter. This also provides the possibility of engaging reverse thrust at greater airspeeds without over-stressing the retention bearings.

(16) It is envisaged that the concepts described and claimed herein could be applied to any propellers or fans, not just aircraft propellers.