Small scale high speed turbomachinery
A small scale, high speed turbomachine is described, as well as a process for manufacturing the turbomachine. The turbomachine is manufactured by diffusion bonding stacked sheets of metal foil, each of which has been pre-formed to correspond to a cross section of the turbomachine structure. The turbomachines include rotating elements as well as static structures. Using this process, turbomachines may be manufactured with rotating elements that have outer diameters of less than four inches in size, and/or blading heights of less than 0.1 inches. The rotating elements of the turbomachines are capable of rotating at speeds in excess of 150 feet per second. In addition, cooling features may be added internally to blading to facilitate cooling in high temperature operations.
1. A process for manufacturing a rotating element of a turbomachine, the method comprising:
pre-forming a plurality of sheets of a material, each sheet comprising a cross section of the rotating element of the turbomachine;
stacking the sheets in an order to reproduce a structure of the rotating element;
bonding the sheets together to form the rotating element therewithin; and
removing an amount of excess material from the bonded sheets to free the rotating element therefrom,
wherein stacking the sheets in an order to reproduce the structure of the rotating element comprises stacking the sheets at an angle that is not 0 or 90 degrees with respect to the axis of the rotating element.
2. A process for manufacturing a rotating element of a turbomachine, the method comprising:
pre-forming a plurality of sheets of a material, each sheet comprising a cross section of the rotating element of the turbomachine;
stacking the sheets in an order to reproduce a structure of the rotating element;
bonding the sheets together to form the rotating element therewithin; and
removing an amount of excess material from the bonded sheets to free the rotating element therefrom,
wherein stacking the sheets in an order to reproduce the structure of the rotating element comprises forming the sheets into axisymmetric shells prior to bonding.
3. A turbomachinery component configured to rotate during operation, comprising:
a plurality of preconfigured metal sheets that when bonded together define a hub, a shroud, a plurality of blades, and a plurality of fully formed primary flow paths for pumping or compressing a working fluid or gas or for extracting energy from the working fluid or gas,
wherein the plurality of blades extend from the hub to the shroud and are integrally formed with the hub and the shroud by the bonded metal sheets,
wherein the plurality of preconfigured metal sheets are stacked at an angle that is not 0 degrees and not 90 degrees with respect to a centerline axis of the hub.
4. A turbomachinery component configured to rotate during operation, comprising:
a plurality of preconfigured metal sheets that when bonded together define a hub, a shroud, a plurality of inducer blades, a plurality of impeller blades, and a plurality of fully formed primary flow paths for pumping or compressing a working fluid or gas or for extracting energy from the working fluid or gas,
wherein the plurality of inducer blades and the plurality of impeller blades extend from the hub to the shroud and are integrally formed with the hub and the shroud,
wherein the plurality of preconfigured metal sheets are stacked at an angle that is not 0 degrees and not 90 degrees with respect to a centerline axis of the hub.
5. A turbomachinery component configured to rotate during operation, comprising:
a plurality of preconfigured metal sheets that when bonded together define a hub, a shroud, a plurality of blades, and a plurality of fully formed primary flow paths for pumping or compressing a working fluid or gas or for extracting energy from the working fluid or gas,
wherein the plurality of blades extend from the hub to the shroud and are integrally formed with the hub and the shroud by the bonded metal sheets,
wherein at least one of the preconfigured metal sheets defines a portion of each of the hub, the shroud, the plurality of blades, and the plurality of fully formed primary flow paths,
wherein a discharge diameter of the blades is 0.4 inches to 3 inches,
wherein a blade height of each of the blades at the discharge diameter is 0.1 inch or less,
wherein the blade height of each of the blades varies from an inlet end to a discharge end of the blades,
wherein the plurality of preconfigured metal sheets are stacked at an angle that is not 0 degrees and not 90 degrees with respect to a centerline axis of the hub.