United Technologies Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Andrew S Aggarwala

Mark F Zelesky

Joel H Wagner

Eric A Grover

Thomas J Praisner

Russell J Bergman

Atul Kohli

Timothy Charles Nash

Richard E Gacek

Michael G McCaffrey

Joseph Brent Staubach

Timothy S Snyder

Eric A Hudson

Ricardo Trindade

Daniel A Snyder

Kyle C Lana

Mark A Boeke

Andrew D Burdick

Eunice Allen-Bradley

Renee J Jurek

Jason L O'Hearn

J Brent Staubach

Jeff S Noall

Timothy C Nash

A platform includes a platform body. The platform body has an airfoil support surface, an axially extending base surface opposite the airfoil support surface, and a leading edge. The leading edge includes an upstream extending flange with a raised portion and a trough portion downstream of and radially inward from the raised portion. The raised portion and the trough portion are for holding a vortex of fluid flow. The upstream extending flange includes a converging surface connecting the upstream extending flange to the base surface. The converging surface converges in a direction toward the axially extending base surface and is at an angle relative to the base surface.

Platforms with leading edge features

A first stage vane array of a high pressure turbine that may be for a geared turbofan engine includes a plurality of airfoils circumferentially spaced from one-another and orientated about an engine axis. Each airfoil has a leading edge and a trailing edge with the trailing edge being circumferentially separated by the next adjacent trailing edge by a pitch distance. The leading a trailing edges of each one of the plurality of airfoils are axially separated by an axial chord length. A pitch-to-chord ratio of the pitch distance over the axial chord length is equal to or greater than 1.7.

Vane assembly of a gas turbine engine

An airfoil according to an example includes, among other things, a suction sidewall and a pressure sidewall. A tip wall extends from a leading edge to a trailing edge and joins respective outer ends of the suction and pressure sidewalls. A tip rib extends along a pressure side of the tip wall. A tip leakage control channel is provided at the tip wall and has a floor that extends between a first control channel vane sidewall and a second control channel vane sidewall established by a corresponding tip leakage control vane. Each of the tip leakage control vanes is contiguous with and extending from a suction side surface of the tip rib. The tip leakage channel extends toward the trailing edge while extending toward the suction sidewall. One or more of an internal cavity, a channel cooling aperture, and a sidewall microcircuit may be provided.

Tip leakage flow directionality control

A gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, an airfoil having a tip wall that joins outer spanwise ends of a suction sidewall and a pressure sidewall and including a tip rib extending chordwise along a pressure side of said tip wall. The tip wall includes a tip shelf disposed at a junction between said pressure sidewall and said tip rib. A tip leakage control channel at an outer surface of said tip wall, wherein said tip leakage control channel is between first and second tip leakage control vanes contiguous with a suction side surface of said tip rib, said tip leakage control channel extending toward said trailing edge while extending toward said suction sidewall. An air seal is radially outward of said tip wall and positioned to minimize leakage at said tip wall.

An airfoil stage of a turbine engine includes an upstream airfoil assembly, a downstream airfoil assembly in rotational relationship to the upstream airfoil assembly and a rim seal assembly integrated therebetween. The rim seal assembly may include a sloped downstream portion of a platform of the upstream airfoil assembly, an upstream segment of a platform of the downstream airfoil assembly and a nub that projects radially outward from the upstream segment. The downstream portion and the upstream segment are spaced from one-another defining a cooling cavity therebetween for the flow of cooling air. The portion and segment overlap axially such that the nub is axially aligned to the downstream portion for improved cooling effectiveness and a reduction of core airflow into the cooling cavity.

Low loss airfoil platform rim seal assembly

An airfoil for a gas turbine engine comprises a radially extending body having a transverse cross-section. The transverse cross-section comprises a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side and a suction side. The pressure side extends between the leading edge and the trailing edge with a predominantly concave curvature. The suction side extends between the leading edge and the trailing edge with a predominantly convex curvature. The suction side includes an approximately flat portion flanked by forward and aft convex portions. In another embodiment, the suction side includes a series of local curvature changes that produce inflection points in the convex curvature of the suction side spaced from the trailing edge.

Airfoil design having localized suction side curvatures

A gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, an airfoil having a tip wall that joins outer spanwise ends of a suction sidewall and a pressure sidewall, a tip leakage control channel recessed into an outer surface of the tip wall, a tip leakage control vane integrally formed on the tip wall adjacent to the tip leakage control channel and an air seal radially outward of the tip wall and positioned to minimize leakage at the tip wall.

An airfoil according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a suction sidewall and a pressure sidewall, each sidewall extending spanwise from an airfoil base and extending chordwise between a leading edge and a trailing edge. A tip wall extends chordwise from the leading edge to the trailing edge and joining respective outer spanwise ends of the suction and pressure sidewalls. A tip leakage control channel is recessed into the tip wall, the tip leakage control channel including a control channel floor that extends between a first control channel vane sidewall and a second control channel vane sidewall established by a corresponding tip leakage control vane. An internal cooling cavity is disposed between the suction sidewall and the pressure sidewall and a channel cooling aperture feeds airflow from the internal cooling cavity to the tip leakage control channel.

One exemplary embodiment of this disclosure relates to a system including an airfoil having a static portion, a moveable portion, and a seal between the static portion and the moveable portion. The seal is moveable separate from the static portion and the moveable portion.

Variable vane and seal arrangement

An airfoil according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a suction sidewall and a pressure sidewall, each sidewall extending spanwise from an airfoil base and extending chordwise between a leading edge and a trailing edge. A tip wall extends chordwise from the leading edge to the trailing edge and joining respective outer spanwise ends of the suction and pressure sidewalls. A tip leakage control vane is formed with an outer surface of the tip wall and a winglet is formed at a junction between the suction sidewall and the tip leakage control vane.

A turbine airfoil comprises a suction sidewall, a pressure sidewall, a tip wall, and a tip leakage control channel. Each sidewall extends spanwise from an airfoil base and chordwise between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The tip wall extends chordwise from the leading edge to the trailing edge and joins respective outer spanwise ends of the suction and pressure sidewalls. The tip leakage control channel has an inlet and an outlet recessed into an outer surface of the tip wall. An inlet of the channel begins proximate a junction of the airfoil pressure sidewall and the tip wall. An outlet of the channel terminates at a recessed portion of the junction of the tip wall and the suction sidewall.

An airfoil array is disclosed. The airfoil array may include an endwall, and a plurality of airfoils radially projecting from the endwall. Each airfoil may have a first side and an opposite second side extending axially in chord between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The airfoil array may further include a convex profiled region extending from the endwall adjacent the first side of at least one of said plurality of airfoils and near the leading edge of the at least one of said plurality of airfoils. The airfoil array may further include a concave profiled region in the endwall adjacent the first side of said at least one of said plurality of airfoils and aft of the convex profiled region.

Endwall contouring

An airfoil platform comprises a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion. The trailing edge portion comprises a first region having a convex flowpath contour, a second region having an intermediate flowpath contour extending downstream from the convex flowpath contour, and a third region having a concave or linear flowpath contour extending downstream from the intermediate flowpath contour to a downstream end of the trailing edge portion of the platform.

Low loss airfoil platform trailing edge

An airfoil array is disclosed. The airfoil array may include an endwall, and a plurality of airfoils radially projecting from the endwall. Each airfoil may have a first side and an opposite second side extending axially in chord between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The airfoils may be circumferentially spaced apart on the endwall thereby defining a plurality of flow passages between adjacent airfoils. The airfoil array may further include a convex profiled region extending from the endwall near the leading edge of at least one of said plurality of airfoils, and a concave profiled region in the endwall near a middle of at least one of said plurality of flow passages.

Growing community of inventors

Vernon, CT, United States of America

Andrew S Aggarwala