General Electric Company

Andrew P Elovic

Dean Thomas Lenahan

Alan Majors Walker

Gary Michael Itzel

Thomas G Wakeman

Larry W Plemmons

Charles F Riedmiller

The invention comprises the use of a thermal barrier coating on a member of a gas turbine engine component with one surface of the member exposed to high temperature but not exposed to high velocity gases, as an insulating material to slow the heat transfer to the substrate of the component member and allow thermal gradients within acceptable material limits between the thermal barrier coated member and the remainder of the component. In a particular application, the use of a thermal barrier coating enables making a high pressure turbine nozzle integral with a discourager seal lip, eliminating fasteners protruding into the rotor/stator cavity and split lines between segments of the prior art that allowed high temperature gas ingestion further into the cavity and caused windage losses.

Integral turbine nozzle support and discourager seal

The present invention is a unique nozzle assembly for a high pressure turbine of a gas turbine engine. The nozzle assembly includes a series of circumferentially spaced vanes and a nozzle band. The nozzle band supports the vanes and includes a mounting flange extending radially from the nozzle band and adapted to be secured to the gas turbine engine. The nozzle band has an overhang portion axially downstream of the mounting flange. A pin fin bank is formed within the overhang portion for allowing cooling fluid to flow therethrough to cool the overhang portion.

Nozzle band overhang cooling

The clearances between an array of high pressure turbine blades and its surrounding high pressure turbine shroud as well as the clearances between an array of low pressure turbine blades and its associated low pressure turbine shroud are carefully controlled by a support structure which provides for evenly controlled circumferential cooling of the shroud support structure. Radial loads on the shroud support structure are reduced by counterbalancing loads imposed on the support structure by the shroud with predetermined pressure loads controlled and set through a series of cooling air cavities. The high pressure turbine shroud and low pressure turbine shroud are formed as integral segments in a segmented shroud design. Forward and aft shroud hanger members interconnect the shroud with its support so as to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the shroud segments to and from their support structure.

Growing community of inventors

Rishon Lezion, Israel

Andrew P Elovic