A stator vane assembly for a turbine and methods for forming the assembly

Abstract: Turbine vane segments (10, 12) having outer and inner bands (14, 16) and a vane (18) extending therebetween are welded one to the other by E-beam welding along their adjoining margins (30, 32) and from the outside of the bands. The adjoining margins on the hot gas path sides of the outer and inner bands (14, 16) are chamfered, TIG-welded and machined to provide a smooth, continuous gas path surface. The aft hook (28) of each segment is cut back to provide inset faces (47, 48, 50, 52) in a radially projecting flange and a flange extending axially from the radial flange. A filler piece having a body shaped to correspond to the shape of the space between the inset faces (47, 48, 50, 52) of the radial flange is E-beam welded to the radial flange. Gaps between a tongue on the filler piece and the inset faces of the axially extending flange are provided with weld filler material and TIG-welded to complete the welding of the aft hook.

Description: The present invention relates to turbines, e.g., gas turbines, and particularly to apparatus and methods for welding turbine vane segments one to the other to form an annular array of segments forming a turbine stage, as for example known from US-A-4 812 107. In the construction of turbines, particularly gas turbines, an annular array of turbine segments is provided to form a turbine stage. Generally, the turbine stage includes outer and inner annular bands spaced radially one from the other with a plurality of vanes extending between the outer and inner bands at circumferentially spaced positions one from the other. It will be appreciated that the outer and inner bands and the vanes define a path for the working fluid flowing through the turbine, e.g., a hot gas path in the case of a gas turbine. In a more recent advanced gas turbine design, the hot gas path is cooled by flowing steam along walls of the outer and inner bands and through the vanes. For various reasons, including the complexities of cooling a gas turbine with steam, the nozzle stages are formed of discrete segments or singlets. Each singlet or vane segment, because of the airfoil shape of the vanes, includes forward, generally axially extending outer and inner band portions, and aft outer and inner band portions which extend both axially and circumferentially, i.e., angled in an aft direction relative to the axis of the rotor and relative to the forward portions of the segment. The singlets are preferably welded together along adjoining margins of the outer and inner bands. However, the materials forming the outer and inner bands are necessarily designed for high strength and resistance to the high temperatures of the hot gas path. The inner and outer bands are therefore not readily welded to one another because of their necessary chemistry, conditioning and configuration. While tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding techniques are common, they are characterized by uneven heat input to the weld, resulting in significant warpage and distortion of the parts welded to one another. The filler material must also characteristically match the material of the outer and inner bands. Accordingly, a stator vane assembly and method of forming the assembly are required which eliminate or minimize any distortion in the welds and which provide a high strength joint. To appriciate the present invention, the adjacent margins of the outer and inner bands of adjoining stator vane segments are provided with generally radially outwardly and inwardly directed flanges, respectively. Chamfers are also formed along their adjoining edges on the hot gas path sides. By employing E-beam welding, the material of the margins, i.e., the flanges, are fused one to the other using the parent material and without the addition of high heat inputs characteristic of other welding techniques such as TIG welding. The resulting weld is without significant distortion or warp and has significantly fewer defects than TIG welds. While E-beam welding is not the most cost-effective type of welding, e.g., it must be performed in a vacuum, it has the advantage of significantly eliminating or minimizing distortion or warpage because of its reduced heat input. By fusing the margins of the outer and inner bands to one another by E-beam welding with the E-beam directed from outside of the outer and inner bands, it will be appreciated that the parent material may spatter weld material on the gas path side and form an irregular surface. Consequently, chamfers are provided on the margins of the outer and inner bands along the hot gas path sides thereof such that, subsequent to welding the outer and inner margins together using E-beam welding, the interior chamfers are TIG-welded. The weld material added to the mating chamfers and the higher heat input relative to E-beam welding does not affect the joint because the weld area is significantly smaller than welding the entirety of the margins to one another. The weld material applied along the chamfered surfaces of the outer and inner bands by TIG-welding can be machined to form a smooth, continuous gas path surface along the hot gas path side of the outer and inner bands. At the aft end of the outer band of each segment, there is provided an aft hook for securing the nozzle stage to the fixed casing of the turbine. The aft hook comprises a radially outwardly directed flange and a flange which projects in an aft direction from the radial flange. These flanges change the thickness of the material forming the margins of the outer band at the aft hook. E-beam welding requires a constant energy input and the material being welded should have a constant cross-sectional geometry to effect a uniform weld. The aft hook changes that geometry and therefore the aft hooks of the adjoining segments are not suitable for welding using solely an E-beam. To accommodate the change in material thickness, and still provide a high-strength weld without distortion or warpage, the adjoining ends of the aft hook at the juncture of the vane segments are cut back to provide angled faces spaced circumferentially one from the other and inset in a circumferential direction from the segment margin. A filler piece is provided for disposition in the slot thus formed between the inset faces of the aft hook portions of the vane segments. The filler piece has a reduced thickness tongue projecting in the same angled direction as the aft projecting flange. The cutout or slot in the adjoining aft hook segments are provided with a larger spacing between the inset faces of the aft projecting flange than between the inset faces of the radial projecting flange. Hence, the reduced tongue of the filler piece provides gaps between it and the inset faces of the aft projecting flanges of the adjoining segments. The body of the filler piece is preferably E-beam welded to the radial projecting flange faces and TIG-welded to the aft projecting flange faces. Weld material is therefore supplied in the gaps between the tongue and the inset faces of the aft projecting flange. By employing these welding techniques at the various locations of the adjoining segments, the individual vane segments are joined one to the other without substantial warpage or distortion. According to the present invention, there is provided a method of welding first and second stator vane segments to one another wherein each segment includes an outer band, an inner band and a vane extending between the bands comprising the steps of welding adjacent margins of the inner and outer bands of the first and second segments to one another, providing an opening along aft hooks of the outer bands defining opposed setback faces, inserting a filler piece in the opening spaced from the setback faces and welding the filler piece to the aft hooks. Still further, according to the present invention, there is provided a stator vane assembly for a turbine comprising first and second stator vane segments each including an outer band, an inner band and a vane extending between the outer band and the inner band, the outer and inner bands of the first segment having respective first margins welded to second margins of the outer and inner bands, respectively, of the second segment whereby the first and second segments are secured to one another to define a flow path between adjoining vanes and the inner and outer bands of the segments, each of the segments having an aft hook along an aft edge of the outer band thereof and having a generally radially extending flange and an aft projecting flange, the flanges of the aft hooks being set back from respective first and second margins of the segments forming setback faces defining an opening between the flanges, a filler piece in the opening defining gaps on opposite sides thereof with the setback faces of the aft projecting flanges and weld material in the gaps securing the filler piece and the aft projecting flanges to one another. The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:- FIGURE 1 is a radially inward plan view of the outer band portions of a pair of singlets welded together; FIGURE 2 is an axial cross-sectional view of the vane assembly of Figure 1; FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary circumferential cross-sectional view illustrating the outer band and vane of one of the segments; FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the aft hook of the outer band; FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the weld filler piece; FIGURE 6 is a plan view looking radially of the filler piece; FIGURE 7 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating the vane segments adjacent one another with the filler piece inserted prior to TIG-welding; and FIGURE 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 illustrating the TIG-welding of the filler piece at the aft hook prior to machining. Referring now to the drawing figures, particularly to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a pair of stator vane segments 10 and 12 forming a part of an annular array of stator vane segments forming a nozzle stage of a turbine, e.g., a gas turbine. Particularly, each segment 10 and 12 comprises an outer band 14, an inner band 16 and a vane 18 interconnecting the outer and inner bands 14 and 16, respectively. Each of the outer and inner bands comprises a forward section 20 extending in an axial direction and an aft section 22 extending at an angle to the axial direction. It will be appreciated that the vane 18 extending between the outer and inner bands 14 and 16, respectively, also includes a vane extension 24 projecting radially outwardly of the outer band 14. The vane extensions facilitate structural support for the segments from the fixed portion of the turbine casing, not shown, and also facilitate cooling of the outer and inner bands and vanes, both in a manner not pertinent to the present invention. The vane extensions 24 illustrate to a significant extent the cross-sections of the vanes, which necessitates the angled aft portions 22 of the segments. Referring to Figure 3, the forward portion 20 of the outer band of each vane segment includes a forward hook 26, while the aft section 22 of the outer band 14 includes an aft hook 28. The forward and aft hooks 26 and 28 secure the vane segments and the stage formed by the segments to the fixed casing of the turbine, not shown. As illustrated in Figure 2, each of the outer and inner bands 14 and 16, respectively, include a margin 30 and 32 having respective radially outwardly and inwardly directed flanges 34 and 36. The margins 30 and 32 are also provided with chamfers 38 and 40 along the interior sides of the outer and inner bands 14 and 16, i.e., along the gas path side of the bands. As illustrated in Figures 1, 3 and 4, the aft hook 28 on each vane segment includes a generally radially outwardly projecting flange 44 and an axially extending flange 46 at the distal end of the radial flange 44. Each segment 10 and 12 has a cutout along the adjoining aft hooks whereby the aft hooks of the respective segments are circumferentially spaced one from the other. More particularly, the upstanding radial flange 44 is cut back from the margin 30 of the outer band 14 to form an inset or setback face 47. The adjoining segment 12 has a similar setback face 48. The setback faces 47 and 48 form a seat 49 along the adjoining outer bands 14 in the region of the radial flange 44. The axially extending flange 46 of segment 10 also has a cutback face 50, while the flange 46 of segment 12 similarly has a cutback face 52. The inset or setback faces 50 and 52 are spaced in a circumferential direction one from the other a distance greater than the inset or setback faces 46 and 48 are spaced one from the other. Referring to Figures 5 and 6, there is illustrated a filler piece 56 having a main body 58 and a tongue 60. The main body 58 is received in the seat 49 formed by the margins of the outer walls and defined by the inset faces 47 and 48 in a closely toleranced fit enabling E-beam welding of the main body 58 to the upstanding flanges 44 of the adjoining segments. That is, the side faces of the main body 58 of filler piece 56 are E-beam welded to the inset faces 47 and 48 of the radial flanges 44 of the adjoining segments. As illustrated in Figure 7, the sides faces of the tongue 60 of the filler piece 56 project parallel to the inset faces 50 and 52 and thereby form gaps with the faces 50 and 52 of the axial flanges 46. The faces 50 and 52 form respective acute and obtuse angles with the distal edge of the aft flanges of the segments. To secure the vane segments one to the other, the margins of the inner and outer bands 14 and 16 of the adjoining segments are welded one to the other using an E-beam schematically illustrated at 70 and 72. Thus, the E-beam, which does not require filler material, fuses the flanges 34 and 36 of the adjoining segments to one another using the parent material of the segments. The flanges are thus fused to one another along the forward and aft sections 20 and 22 of the adjoining outer bands and along similar sections of the adjoining inner bands. The adjoining chamfered surfaces 38 and 40 are thereafter TIG-welded one to the other on the hot gas path sides of the outer and inner bands. That is, filler material is provided along the adjoining chamfers 38 and 40 as illustrated in Figure 2. The welds, of course, are subsequently machined to provide a smooth continuous surface along the outer and inner bands on the hot gas path side. The sides of the body 58 of the filler piece 56 are likewise E-beam welded to the faces 47 and 48 of the upstanding flanges 44. However, the tongue 60 of the filler piece 56 and the inset faces 50 and 52 of the axially directed flanges 46 of the adjoining segments are TIG-welded one to the other. Thus, as illustrated in Figure 8, filler material 76 is provided in the gaps between the registering side faces of the tongue 60 and the inset faces 50 and 52, respectively, of the aft flanges 46. The filler material is, of course, subsequently machined to form continuous smooth surfaces.

Claims: A method of welding first and second stator vane segments (10, 12) to one another wherein each segment includes an outer band (14), an inner band (16) and a vane (18) extending between the bands comprising the steps of: welding adjacent margins (30, 32) of said inner and outer bands of said first and second segments to one another from outside said bands and along inside surfaces of said bands characterised by providing an opening along aft hooks (28) of said outer bands defining opposed setback faces (47, 48, 50, 52); inserting a filler piece (56) in said opening spaced from said setback faces; and welding said filler piece to said aft hooks. A method according to Claim 1 including welding said adjacent margins to one another from outside said bands by fusing solely parent material of the bands to one another and forming chamfers (38, 40) along inside surfaces of said outer and inner bands defining said margins and TIG-welding the adjacent margins along inside surfaces of said band using weld filler material filling said chamfers. A method according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein said aft hooks (28) include radial flanges (44) and axial flanges (46) extending from said radial flanges and including the step of providing an opening along said adjoining aft hooks including said radial and axial flanges to define opposed setback faces (47, 48, 50, 52) along said radial and axial flanges, inserting a filler piece (56) in said opening, welding said filler piece to the setback faces of said radial flanges by fusing parent material of said filler piece and said flanges and without using filler material, and welding said filler piece to the setback faces of said axial flanges using weld filler material. A stator vane assembly for a turbine comprising: first and second stator vane segments (10, 12) each including an outer band (14), an inner band (16) and a vane (18) extending between said outer band and said inner band; the outer and inner bands of said first segment having respective first margins (30, 32) welded to second margins of the outer and inner bands, respectively, of said second segment whereby said first and second segments are secured to one another to define a flow path between adjoining vanes and said inner and outer bands of said segments; each of said segments having an aft hook (28) along an aft edge of said outer band thereof and having a generally radially extending flange and an aft projecting flange (46); characterised by said flanges of said aft hooks being set back from respective first and second margins of said segments forming setback faces (47, 48, 50, 52) defining an opening between said flanges; a filler piece (56) in said opening defining gaps on opposite sides thereof with said setback faces of said aft projecting flanges; and weld material in said gaps securing said filler piece and said aft projecting flanges to one another. An assembly according to Claim 4 wherein said gaps are filled with filler weld material. An assembly according to Claim 4 or 5 wherein said setback faces defining said gap form respective acute and obtuse angles with a distal edge of said aft flange. An assembly according to Claim 4, 5 or 6 wherein mating surfaces between said filler piece and said setback faces (47, 48) of said radial flanges are welded to one another without use of weld filler material. An assembly according to Claim 4, 5 or 6 wherein said mating surfaces between said filler piece and said setback faces (47, 48) of said radial flanges are fused to one another using solely parent material of the filler piece and said outer bands.

Inventors: FULTON JOHN ROBERT, GUNN GEORGE G, JONES RAYMOND JOSEPH, KIRKPATRICK FRANCIS LAWRENCE, FULTON, JOHN ROBERT, GUNN, GEORGE G., JONES, RAYMOND JOSEPH, KIRKPATRICK, FRANCIS LAWRENCE
Applicants: GEN ELECTRIC, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B23K15
IPC codes: F01D9, B23K9, B23K15, F01D5