Variable-section turbomachine nozzle

The present invention relates to the general field of variable-section nozzles for turbomachines, and more particularly it relates to nozzles made up of a plurality of moving flaps forming a ring.

In a conventional architecture for a turbomachine nozzle of variable section, the nozzle is constituted in particular by a ring of moving flaps that are mounted to extend an annular casing of the turbomachine.

The moving flaps are actuated by a control system so as to modify the profile of the primary stream of the turbomachine (i.e. its exhaust section). Depending on the intended configuration, the control system comprises one or more control actuators associated with a more or less complex linkage, e.g. making use of control levers and swivelling-fork connections.

The present invention relates more precisely to a variable-section nozzle of the type in which the control levers for the moving flaps comprise both controlled levers that are actuated directly by actuators, and follower levers that are not actuated directly by actuators but by the controlled levers by means of the swivel-fork connections that transmit displacement drive to the flaps.

With this type of variable-section nozzle, it has been found that in operation (and in particular when the turbomachine fitted with such a nozzle is operating at full speed), not all of the moving flaps making up the ring lie on the same diameter. As a result, while the nozzle is in operation, large leaks occur between adjacent flaps which are due to offsets in the pivoting of the various moving flaps. Such leaks are particularly harmful to the performance of the turbomachine (thrust, specific consumption, etc.).

A main object of the invention is thus to mitigate such drawbacks by proposing a variable-section nozzle enabling leaks between adjacent flaps to be decreased in operation, thereby improving the performance of the turbomachine fitted with such a nozzle.

To this end, the invention provides a variable-section turbomachine nozzle comprising a plurality of moving flaps, and a moving flap control system comprising control levers each associated with a respective moving flap, the control levers comprising both controlled levers that are actuated directly by actuators, and follower levers that are actuated by the controlled levers via transmission links, wherein, when the nozzle is at rest, the flaps associated with the follower levers present a radial offset relative to the flaps associated with the controlled levers.

With such a radial offset between the different types of flap, when the nozzle is in operation, the moving flaps forming the ring of the nozzle are to be found on a common diameter and any risk of leakage between adjacent flaps is thus avoided. This modification to the nozzle also remains simple and inexpensive.

According to a particular characteristic of the invention, when the nozzle is at rest, the moving flaps associated with the follower levers present a radial offset towards the inside of the nozzle relative to the moving flaps associated with the controlled levers.

According to another particular characteristic of the invention, the radial offset of the moving flaps associated with the follower levers is obtained by modifying the machining of said follower levers.

The control system for the moving flaps may comprise as many controlled levers as it comprises follower levers.

The present invention also provides a turbomachine fitted with a variable-section nozzle as defined above.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear from the following description given with reference to the accompanying drawings which show an embodiment that has no limiting character. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a variable-section nozzle of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the FIG. 1 nozzle when at rest;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front view of the FIG. 1 nozzle in operation at full speed; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of a follower control lever in a nozzle of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a portion of a variable-section turbomachine nozzle 10 of the invention.

The nozzle 10 of axis X-X comprises in particular a plurality of controlled moving flaps 12 a and 12 b and follower moving flaps 13 which are mounted on a downstream end of an annular casing 14 of the turbomachine that is centered on the axis X-X. The controlled flaps 12 a and 12 b and the follower flaps 13 thus form a ring.

The controlled moving flaps 12 a , 12 b are actuated directly by a control system so as to change the profile of the primary stream from the turbomachine (i.e. its exhaust section).

The control system for controlled flaps 12 a , 12 b comprises control levers 16 a , 16 b each associated with a respective moving flap 12 a , 12 b , and at least one actuator 18 for actuating the control levers. Each control lever 16 a , 16 b is secured to the moving flap 12 a , 12 b that it controls.

More particularly, in the example of FIG. 1 , a single actuator 18 serves to actuate two control levers 16 a , 16 b simultaneously. The actuator 18 acts directly on a first control lever, referred to as the controlled lever 16 a , and indirectly on a second control lever, referred to as a follower lever 16 b, via a transmission link 20 of the swivelling-fork type interconnecting the follower lever 16 b and the controlled lever 16 a.

As a result, the system for controlling the moving flaps has as many controlled control levers 16 a as it has follower control levers 16 b. When the nozzle is made up of a ring of ten controlled flaps 12 a , 12 b , for example, then five actuators 18 suffice to actuate all of the moving flaps.

Naturally, other configurations are possible. For example, it is possible to imagine a single actuator actuating more than two control levers together, the follower control levers being actuated via transmission links.

The follower flaps 13 are disposed radially inside the controlled flaps 12 a and 12 b and bear against the adjacent controlled flaps. They thus serve to provide continuity and leakproofing for the primary stream while the nozzle is in operation and regardless of the section of its opening.

It should be observed that the nozzle also comprises a plurality of supports for the respective control levers 16 a , 16 b. Such supports 22 are in the form of pairs of arms or splints 22 a , 22 b extending substantially parallel to each other and along the axis X-X of the nozzle. These arms 22 a , 22 b are secured firstly to the casing 14 at their upstream ends, and secondly to the control levers 16 a , 16 b at their downstream ends via spools 24 .

FIGS. 1 and 2 are different views of the nozzle 10 as described above while it is in a rest state (i.e. while it is not in operation). In such a state, the flaps 12 b associated with the following control levers 16 b present a radial offset θ ( FIG. 2 ) relative to the flaps 12 a associated with the control levers 16 a.

More precisely, when the nozzle is at rest at shown in the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 , the flaps 12 b associated with their follower control levers 16 b are radially offset by an amount θ relative to the other flaps 12 a in a direction that is directed towards the inside of the nozzle 10 .

In other words, when the nozzle is at rest, the flaps 12 b associated with the follower control levers 16 b lie on a diameter that is smaller than the diameter on which the flaps 12 a associated with the control levers 16 a lie.

Furthermore, it can be observed that the follower flaps 13 disposed between the adjacent flaps 12 a and 12 b shown in these FIGS. 1 and 2 bears solely against the flap 12 b associated with the follower control lever 16 b . This is due to the fact that this flap 12 b is situated on a diameter that is smaller than that on which the adjacent flap 12 a is situated.

FIG. 3 is a face view of the nozzle 10 while in operation (where such operation may correspond to operation at “full throttle”).

In this figure, it can be seen that the radial offset between the flaps 12 b associated with the follower control levers 16 b and the flaps 12 a associated with the controlled levers 16 a has disappeared. The adjacent flaps 12 a and 12 b in FIG. 3 lie on the same diameter, and the follower flap 13 then bears against both the flap 12 a and the flap 12 b . As a result any risk of leakage between the adjacent flaps is avoided.

The idea of introducing a radial offset θ between the various flaps of the nozzle depending on whether they are associated with follower levers 16 b or controlled levers 16 a stems from a study of the dynamic behavior of the nozzle.

In particular, it has been found that the forces and the directions in which they are taken up by the control lever supports 22 are not the same for flaps 12 a that are associated with controlled levers 16 a and for flaps 12 b that are associated with follower levers 16 b. In addition, the dynamic behavior (i.e. the deformation of the parts) is reduced by not having any forces taken up by the follower levers 16 b.

A consequence of these differences is that the clearances are not taken up in the same manner by flaps 12 a associated with the controlled levers 16 a and flaps 12 b associated with follower levers 16 b.

In addition, given that during operation of the nozzle the control lever supports 22 and the casing 14 do not deform in the same manner, depending on whether or not they include an actuator, an offset arises in the vicinity of the spools 24 .

Finally, the deformation of the linkage (i.e. of the control levers 16 a , 16 b and of the transmission links 20 ) differs between follower levers 16 b and controlled levers 16 a.

All of these different observations have led to the conclusions that without a radial offset when the nozzle is at rest, the flaps 12 b of the nozzle that are associated with the follower levers 16 b are to be found in operation on a diameter that is greater than the diameter on which the flaps 12 a that are associated with the controlled levers 16 a are to be found, thereby leading to an offset between adjacent flaps and thus to leakage.

The radial offset θ applied to the flaps 12 b of the nozzle that are associated with follower levers 16 b is determined in such a manner that in operation the flaps 12 b of the nozzle lie on the same diameter as the flaps 12 a that are associated with the controlled levers 16 a. By way of example, such a radial offset may be of the order of about 10 millimeters (mm) to about 15 mm.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4 , the radial offset θ of the flaps 12 b associated with the follower control levers 16 b is achieved by changing the way in which the follower levers 16 b are machined.

FIG. 4 shows a controlled lever 16 a (in continuous lines) and a follower lever 16 b (in dashed lines). These control levers 16 a and 16 b are provided at their circumferential ends with radial orifices 26 a and 26 b for fastening to the swivel forks that form the transmission links.

These orifices 26 a and 26 b are machined differently in controlled levers and in follower levers as to confer the required radial offset to the flaps associated with the follower levers.

In FIG. 4 , it can clearly be seen that the orifices 26 b of the follower lever 16 b are machined in a manner that is offset radially towards the inside of the nozzle compared with the way in which the orifices 16 a of the controlled lever 16 a are machined. Such an offset in the machining of the orifices 26 a and 26 b suffices to establish a radial offset towards the inside of the nozzle between the flaps 12 a and 12 b.

Making the radial offset θ between the flaps 12 a and 12 b by modifying the machining of the follower levers 16 b is an operation that is simple and inexpensive and that presents the advantage of not requiring other parts of the nozzle to be modified. Furthermore, very little modification is applied to the levers: the main bodies of the levers remains the same both for the follower levers and for the controlled levers.