Sundstrand Corporation

Other

Anthony Blakeley

Timothy Scott Konicek

Gregory E Horihan

Patrick J O'Callaghan

Martin W Carrington

Jeffrey A Brown

Walter J Iseman

Clarence F Dolan

William D Sherman

The difficulty and expense of fabricating a support strut for a ram air driven turbine are reduced by providing an axially opening channel in a central portion of the strut. Blockage of a portion of the airstream flowing through the ram air turbine and past the strut is reduced by extending the axially opening channel through the entire axial length of the strut. Apparatus for converting or transferring power generated by the ram air turbine to a point of use, such as an aircraft, is routed through the axially opening channel, thereby allowing convenient access to such apparatus. A strut design is provided which may be readily manufactured as a single unitary structure from a variety of metallic and non-metallic materials including fiber reinforced composites.

Support strut for ram air driven turbine

A turbine blade (1), for example, for a ram air turbine engine, and method of making the turbine blade, wherein the turbine blade (1) includes a blade retention insert member (2) having a hub connector (3). The turbine blade (1) is fabricated by using sheet molding compound consisting essentially of discontinuous short fibers (7) initially random spaced within a polymer matrix sheet. A plurality of sheets of sheet molding compound are precut to a desired configuration or shape and placed in a heated blade mold. Heat and pressure are applied to the mold causing the sheet molding compound to flow around the blade retention insert member (2) and fill the mold cavity. The flow of the sheet molding compound causes the initially randomly oriented short fibers (7) to preferentially align in the direction of flow to rigidify the turbine blade (1). Fiber woven cloth skins (8) may integrally molded with the sheet molding compound during the compression molding process to accommodate high loads, and an aluminum chopped strand veil cloth (9) may also be integrally molded into the blade (1) or layers of conductive material may be deposited on at least portions of the surface of the turbine blade (1) during a secondary operation. At least one woven cloth material (6) may also be integrally molded into the turbine blade (1) to react to bending loads and to provide additional load transfer capabilities.

Turbine blade with metallic attachment and method of making the same

Leakage of a coolant into the air gap (16) of a dynamoelectric machine so as to cause undesirable windage losses may be avoided through the use of a composite rotor sleeve (44) including a continuous film (46) of polyimide material on its radially inner surface and surrounding the machine rotor (22).

Composite rotor sleeve

A root attachment for a turbine blade is integrally molded with a composite turbine blade for a ram air turbine. The root attachment includes an insert at the one end of the root attachment for integrally molding within the blade and a hub connector at an opposite end for connecting the blade to a rotor hub. The insert has a geometry and surface area such that a dual load carrying capability is achieved during molding by the formation of an adhesive bond between the material of the blade and the insert and also a mechanical locking which resists failure in bearing. Each of the adhesive bond and the mechanical locking is designed to fail above an ultimate design load.

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Rockford, IL, United States of America

Anthony Blakeley