LIGHT WEIGHT TURBINE BLADE ATTACHMENT

PROBLEMS - INCREASE THRUST-TO-WEIGHT REQUIREMENT IS ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS OF THE DOD (DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE) AND THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY. THE THRUST-TO-WEIGHT RATIO COULD BE IMPROVED BY REDUCING THE WEIGHT OF THE ENGINE. ONE AREA IN THE ENGINE COULD BE REDUCED IS IN THE TURBINE BLADE/DISK ATTACHMENT. THE CURRENT DESIGN USED THE HIGH STRESS DOVETAIL OR FIR TREE ATTACHMENT. OBJECTIVES - THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP A FEASIBLE BLADE/DISK ATTACHMENT CONCEPT THAT WILL REDUCE THE BLADE/DISK ATTACHMENT WEIGHT AND STILL ALLOW THE EASE OF REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF BLADES. APPROACH - THE PHASE I WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN THREE MAIN STEPS. STEP 1 IS TO DEVELOP SEVERAL CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS AND A BEST FEASIBLE CONCEPT WILL BE CHOSEN. STEP 2 IS TO CREATE FEM (FINITE ELEMENT MODEL) AND PERFORM FEA (FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS) AND STEP 3 IS TO REFINE AND OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN.