US-12624641-B1 - Interstage seal with provision for dedicated cooling flow ingress and method

Abstract

A cooling flow arrangement for a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) component of a turbine engine, wherein the CMC component includes a hot side configured for exposure to a hot gas path of the turbine engine and an opposing cold side. At least one cavity is provided in the CMC component, the at least one cavity having an entrance disposed on the cold side that is configured for receiving a cooling flow. A seal is disposed adjacent the at least one cavity and the cold side of the CMC component and is configured to provide a seal between the CMC component and an upstream turbine component. At least one hole extends through the seal and is positioned to provide the cooling flow to the at least one cavity of the CMC component.

Inventors

• Wintson Smiddy
• Alex Schneider
• Howard Liles
• Peter Wilkins
• Paul Lutjen

Assignees

• RTX CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250115

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A cooling flow arrangement for a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) component of a turbine engine, the CMC component having a hot side configured for exposure to a hot gas path of the turbine engine and an opposing cold side, comprising: a cavity formed in the CMC component, the cavity having an entrance disposed on the cold side configured for receiving a cooling flow; a brush seal disposed adjacent the cavity and the cold side of the CMC component and configured to provide a seal between the CMC component and an upstream turbine component via first and second metal brushes extending from a central portion; and a hole extending through the central portion of the brush seal and positioned to provide the cooling flow to the cavity of the CMC component.
2. 2 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the hole is round.
3. 3 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the hole is straight.
4. 4 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the hole includes a plurality of holes and the cavity includes an entrance plenum.
5. 5 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of holes is configured for impingement cooling of the entrance plenum and the entrance plenum feeds a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component.
6. 6 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 4 , wherein the entrance plenum feeds a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component.
7. 7 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the cavity includes an entrance plenum and a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component.
8. 8 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the cavity includes an entrance conduit and a hollow core configured for providing cooling flow to the CMC component.
9. 9 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the cavity includes a conduit leading to another portion of the CMC component or an adjacent region of the turbine engine.
10. 10 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 9 , wherein the brush seal includes a plenum in a lower portion thereof for feeding the conduit.
11. 11 . The cooling flow arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the CMC component is a blade outer air seal (BOAS).
12. 12 . A method of providing a cooling flow to a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) component of a turbine engine, the CMC component having a hot side configured for exposure to a hot gas path of the turbine engine and an opposing cold side, the method comprising: providing cavity in the CMC component, the cavity having an entrance disposed on the cold side for receiving the cooling flow; disposing a brush seal adjacent the cavity and the cold side of the CMC component to provide a seal between the CMC component and an upstream turbine component; and passing the cooling flow from a source through hole extending through the brush seal and positioned to provide the cooling flow to the cavity of the CMC component.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein providing cavity in the CMC component includes providing an entrance plenum, and passing the cooling flow from the source through the hole extending through the brush seal includes passing the cooling flow through a plurality of holes to the entrance plenum.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein passing the cooling flow through the plurality of holes provides impingement cooling of the entrance plenum and the entrance plenum feeds a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component to provide film cooling.
15. 15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the entrance plenum feeds a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component to provide film cooling.
16. 16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein providing the cooling flow to the cavity of the CMC component includes providing the cooling flow to an entrance plenum that feeds a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component to provide film cooling.
17. 17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein providing the cooling flow to the cavity of the CMC component includes providing the cooling flow to an entrance conduit that feeds a hollow core configured for providing cooling flow to the CMC component.
18. 18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein providing the cooling flow to the cavity of the CMC component includes providing the cooling flow to a conduit leading to another portion of the CMC component or an adjacent region of the turbine engine.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The subject matter disclosed herein relates to providing cooling flow to ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components and, in particular, to providing dedicated cooling flow ingress through an interstage seal. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Gas turbine engines or jet engines, in general, include a fan section, a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section. Air enters through the fan section and is compressed in the compressor section before being introduced into the combustion section. In the combustion section, the air is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-energy, high temperature gas flow. The high-energy, high temperature gas flow is expanded in the turbine section which is used to create thrust and to drive the compressor and fan sections. Certain components of gas turbine engines are thus exposed to the high-energy, high-temperature gas flow (flow path components). Therefore, it is desirable that such components be made of heat-resistant materials such as ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). CMC components can withstand much higher operating temperatures than components composed of superalloys. However, CMC components have comparably lower thermal conductivity. To increase their operational lifespans, precautions can be taken to cool CMC components by subjecting the components to a flow of cooling fluid (e.g., air). To provide cooling of CMC components, secondary air flows, i.e., secondary to the main flow of high-energy, high temperature gas, can be used to cool components of the gas turbine engines that are exposed to high temperatures as well as to prevent high temperature gas from reaching those components that are not directly exposed to the hot gas flow. To facilitate the cooling of the CMC components, cavities can be provided within the components themselves to allow secondary cooling air to flow from one region to another region of the turbine. For example, a component such as a blade outer air seal (BOAS, sometimes referred to as a blade shroud) can be provided with an internal cooling cavity to allow cooling air to flow to a region between the engine casing and the outer radial surface of the BOAS into the internal cooling cavity of the BOAS to cool the interior of the component and thereby reduce its thermal deterioration due to exposure to the hot gas path. However, given the packaging constraints within a turbine engine, the sensitivity of CMC materials to machined features, and the manufacturing difficulties involved with providing cooling circuit components with non-machining techniques (e.g., casting-like processes and the like), feeding of the cooling flow to the internal cavity of the CMC component may be difficult. The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for understanding of the background of the inventive concepts and, therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure is directed, in a first aspect, to a cooling flow arrangement for a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) component of a turbine engine, wherein the CMC component has a hot side configured for exposure to a hot gas path of the turbine engine and an opposing cold side. The cooling flow arrangement includes at least one cavity in the CMC component, the at least one cavity having an entrance disposed on the cold side configured for receiving a cooling flow. The cooling flow arrangement also includes seal disposed adjacent the at least one cavity and the cold side of the CMC component and configured to provide a seal between the CMC component and an upstream turbine component, and at least one hole extending through the seal and positioned to provide the cooling flow to the at least one cavity of the CMC component. In an embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the at least one hole may be round. In another embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the at least one hole may be straight. In a further embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the at least one hole may include a plurality of holes and the at least one cavity may include an entrance plenum. In yet another embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the plurality of holes may be configured for impingement cooling of the entrance plenum and the entrance plenum may feed a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component. In an embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the entrance plenum may feed a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component. In another embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the at least one cavity may include an entrance plenum and a plurality of film cooling holes extending to the hot side of the CMC component. In a further embodiment of the cooling flow arrangement, the at least one cavity may include an entrance conduit and a hollow core configured for providing cooling flow to the CMC component. In yet another embodiment of the