COMPOSITE TURBOMACHINE VANE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME

Abstract

A turbomachine blade is made of composite material formed of woven fibers and embedded in a polymerized resin. The blade includes a root connected by a stilt to a vane which comprises a pressure side and a suction side. At least one anti-wear strip of fabric is located on a surface of the root and/or the stilt. At least one anti-wear strip is secured to the root surface in a unitary manner by the resin.

Claims

1. A turbomachine vane, comprising a composite material formed of carbon fibers woven in three-dimensions and embedded in a polymerized resin, the vane comprising a root connected by a stilt to a blade which comprises a pressure side and a suction side, at least one anti-wear strip of fabric being located on a surface of the root and/or the stilt, wherein the at least one anti-wear strip is secured in a unitary manner to the surface of the root by said resin and is produced by weaving PTFE and/or aramid fibers.

2. The vane according to claim 1, further comprising at least one anti-wear strip, on a first surface of the root and/or the stilt located on a side of said pressure side, and at least one anti-wear strip on a second surface of the root and/or the stilt located on a side of said suction side.

3. The vane according to claim 1, wherein the at least one anti-wear strip is elongate in shape and extends from one end of the root located on a side of a leading edge of the blade to an opposite end of the root located on a side of a trailing edge of the blade.

4. The vane according to claim 1, wherein the at least one strip has a thickness that varies along its length.

5. A method for manufacturing a vane according to claim 1 using a tooling comprising a mold defining a cavity configured to receive a preform of woven fibers, the method comprising the steps of: a) positioning the at least one anti-wear strip on at least one wall of the mold opening into the cavity, b) installing the preform in the cavity and on said wall, and c) polymerizing the resin present on the fibers of the preform or injected into the cavity, the resin being configured to solidify the vane and ensure the securing of the at least one anti-wear strip to this vane.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein in step a) the at least one anti-wear strip is positioned in a recess formed in said wall.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein in step c) the resin is configured to soak the at least one anti-wear strip.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0037] Further characteristics and advantages will be apparent from the following description of a non-limiting embodiment of the invention with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0038] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a composite vane according to the invention,

[0039] FIG. 2 is a larger scale schematic view of a portion of the vane of FIG. 1, and in particular its root and its stilt on which are located anti-wear strips,

[0040] FIG. 3 is a very schematic cross-sectional view of a tooling for manufacturing a vane according to the invention, and

[0041] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a mould of a tooling for manufacturing a vane according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] Reference is made firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2 which illustrate a composite material vane 10 for a turbomachine, this vane 10 being for example a fan vane.

[0043] The vane 10 comprises a blade 12 connected by a stilt 14 to a root 16 which has, for example, a dovetail shape and is shaped to be engaged in a complementarily shaped pocket of a rotor disc, in order to retain the vane on this disc.

[0044] The blade 12 comprises a leading edge 12a and a trailing edge 12b of the gases flowing through the turbomachine. The blade 12 has a curved or twisted aerodynamic profile and comprises a pressure side 18 and a suction side 20 extending between the leading 12a and trailing 12b edges.

[0045] Anti-wear strips 22 made of fabric are secured to the vane 10.

[0046] In the example shown, the vane 10 comprises four anti-wear strips 22, two on each side of the root 16 and two others on each side of the stilt 14.

[0047] As the name suggests, the strips 22 are configured to limit the wear on the walls to which they are attached, by contact and/or friction. These strips 22 are located on the root 16 and the stilt 14 which are likely to come into contact with bearing surfaces of the aforementioned rotor disc.

[0048] Each strip 22 is generally elongate in shape and extends substantially from the leading edge 12a to the trailing edge 12b of the vane 12. A strip 22 has for example a length of between 2 and 50 cm, and a width of between 2 and 7 cm.

[0049] An anti-wear strip 22 is carried out by weaving fibres such as aramid fibres and/or PTFE.

[0050] The vane 10 is made of composite material from a fibrous preform whose fibres, for example of carbon, are coated or impregnated with polymerisable and in particular cross-linkable resin (such as an epoxy resin).

[0051] The tooling used to manufacture the vane 10 comprises a mould and a counter-mould, the mould and the counter-mould defining between them a cavity configured to receive the fibrous preform

[0052] When manufacturing a vane, the tooling is opened and a fibrous preform is arranged into the cavity. This arrangement can be made with a three-dimensional woven preform or with fabrics that are draped and superimposed in the cavity. This step can be done manually or by means of a robot. The tooling is then closed by attaching in a sealing manner the counter-mould to the mould.

[0053] The preform is pre-impregnated with resin or the resin is injected into the mould to impregnate the preform.

[0054] The tooling is heated to raise the temperature of the resin and cause it to polymerized.

[0055] After the resin has polymerized and the vane has stiffened, the strips 22 are glued to the vane, for example with a phenolic adhesive, in the prior art.

[0056] This gluing operation is, at present, an entirely manual operation which comprises three steps, a step of coating the strips with the glue, a step of positioning the strips, and a step of holding the strips in position until the glue sets.

[0057] This manual operation is the source of many defects in the final part, as seen above.

[0058] The present invention proposes to eliminate the manual gluing operation and to carry out the assembly of the strips 22 at the same time as the polymerizing operation of the resin and the stiffening operation of the vane.

[0059] The manufacturing method of the vane according to the invention thus allows to do away with the manual gluing operation of the prior art, which allows to solve the problem of obtaining non-conforming parts and, moreover, to have a simpler method than that currently used

[0060] Indeed, the method of the invention comprises, as in the prior art method, the use of a tooling 24 comprising a mould 26 and a counter-mould 28, the mould 26 and the counter-mould 28 defining between them a cavity 30 configured to receive the fibrous preform 32 of the vane (FIG. 3).

[0061] However, in the method of the invention, before installing the fibrous preform 32 in the mould, the strip or the strips 22 of fabric are placed on at least one wall 26a, 28a of the mould 26 or of the counter-mould 28, which opens into the cavity 30.

[0062] The fibrous preform 32 is then installed between the mould 26 and the counter-mould 28.

[0063] As mentioned above, the preform is pre-impregnated with resin, or resin is injected through a port 33 in the mould to impregnate the preform. The injection of resin into the cavity of the tooling allows to exert a pressure on the preform and to prevent air bubbles and microporosities from appearing in the final part. The resin is then polymerized.

[0064] In the method of the invention, two types of resin are no longer used, the resin impregnating the fibres of the preform and a resin or glue for gluing the strips, but only the resin, for example epoxy.

[0065] The defects due to the wrong amount of glue, an extra thickness or a lack of glue between the strip 22 and the vane are therefore avoided.

[0066] In addition, a unitary part is obtained.

[0067] In order to achieve precision to within a few millimetres in the positioning and holding of the strips 22, which was also a source of defects in the prior art method, the mould 26 advantageously comprises housings 34 provided to receive the strips 22.

[0068] These housings 34 may be recesses or cut-outs formed in the wall 26a, 28a opening into the cavity 30. They are advantageously calibrated to the nominal thickness of the strips 22, which is for example between 0.1 and 1.5 mm.

[0069] The invention thus provides several advantages, including: [0070] the securing of the strips by means of the resin rather than dedicated glue, during the solidification of the vane, allows for a perfect geometry and a precise placement of the strips; [0071] the variable thicknesses of the strips no longer have any impact since they are pressed against the walls of the tooling and received in calibrated housings in these walls; [0072] the amount of resin is optimal at any point on the strips, driven by the injection pressure in the tooling and/or by the closing pressure of the mould; etc.