Device for limiting turbine overspeed in a turbomachine

1. A device for limiting overspeed of a turbine in a turbomachine, the turbine comprising:

a rotor formed from disks mounted on a turbine shaft and carrying moving blades,

stages of fixed vanes disposed between the disks of the rotor, and

means of destruction of the blades of the disks of the rotor in case of a fracture of the turbine shaft,

wherein the means of destruction are fixed and carried by a stage of fixed vanes situated between an upstream disk of the rotor and a following disk of the rotor and are provided at a radially inner end of the fixed vanes in order to shear the blades of the upstream disk of the rotor at the start of a downstream displacement of the rotor resulting from the fracture of the turbine shaft.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the means of destruction are carried or formed by an upstream circumferential rim of the stage of fixed blades vanes.

3. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the means of destruction comprise a plurality of sawteeth distributed around the circumference of said rim.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the means of destruction are intended to act on thin parts or “struts” of the moving blades, adjacent to the blade roots.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the means of destruction have an axial dimension protruding in the upstream direction equal to at least a fraction of the axial dimension of the thin parts of the moving blades to be sheared and sufficient for the uncut or non-destroyed part of the moving blades to be subjected to a stress at least equal to its ultimate breaking strength.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the means of destruction are made from a material of hardness greater than that of the moving blades to be destroyed.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the means of destruction are covered at least partially with an abrasive material.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the means of destruction are produced by machining or by casting.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the turbine is a low pressure turbine of a turbojet.

10. A device for limiting overspeed of a turbine in a turbomachine, the turbine comprising:

a rotor formed from disks mounted on a turbine shaft and carrying moving blades, stages of fixed blades disposed between the disks of the rotor, and

means of destruction of the moving blades of the disks of the rotor in case of a fracture of the turbine shaft,

wherein the means of destruction are fixed and carried by a stage of fixed blades situated between an upstream disk of the rotor and a following disk of the rotor and are intended to shear the blades of the upstream disk of the rotor at a start of a downstream displacement of the rotor resulting from the fracture of the turbine shaft, and wherein the means of destruction are intended to act on thin parts of the moving blades, adjacent to the blade roots.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the means of destruction include an axial dimension that protrudes in an upstream direction equal to at least a fraction of an axial dimension of the thin parts of the moving blades to be sheared and sufficient for an uncut or non-destroyed part of the moving blades to be subjected to a stress at least equal to an ultimate breaking strength of the moving blades.

12. A device configured to limit overspeed of a turbine in a turbomachine, the turbine comprising:

a rotor that includes a plurality of disks mounted on a turbine shaft, each of the plurality of disks including a plurality of blades circumferentially mounted thereon such that the plurality of blades are configured to rotate with the rotor;

stages of fixed vanes alternately disposed with respect to the plurality of disks such that each stage of fixed vanes is disposed between an upstream one of the plurality of disks and a downstream one of the plurality of disks;

a blade destruction mechanism that is configured to destroy the blades of the disks of the rotor in case of a fracture of the turbine shaft, the blade destruction mechanism being fixedly mounted on a radially inner end of one of the stages of fixed vanes such that the blade destruction mechanism is configured to shear the blades of the upstream one of the plurality of disks when a downstream displacement of the rotor occurs due to the fracture of the turbine shaft.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the blade destruction mechanism is included on an upstream circumferential rim of the one of the stages of fixed vanes.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the blade destruction mechanism includes a plurality of sawteeth distributed around the circumference of said rim.

15. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the blade destruction mechanism is configured to act on thin parts of the blades of the upstream one of the plurality of disks that are adjacent to the blade roots.

16. The device according to claim 15 , wherein the blade destruction mechanism includes an axial component that protrudes in an upstream direction by an amount that is at least equal to a fraction of an axial dimension of the thin parts of the blades of the upstream one of the plurality of disks such that, when the fracture of the turbine shaft occurs, an uncut or non-destroyed part of the blades of the upstream one of the plurality of disks is subjected to a stress at least equal to an ultimate breaking strength of the blade.

17. The device according to claim 12 ,

wherein the blade destruction mechanism includes a first material having a first hardness, and the blades of the upstream one of the plurality of disks include a second material having a second hardness, and

wherein the first hardness is harder than the second hardness.

18. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the blade destruction mechanism is covered at least partially with an abrasive material.

19. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the turbine is a low pressure turbine of a turbojet.

20. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the one of the stages of fixed vanes that includes the blade destruction mechanism is arranged further upstream than any other stage of fixed vanes of the stages of fixed vanes.