General Electric Company

Brian Alan Norton

Ching-Pang Lee

Jan Christopher Schilling

Matthew Nicklus Miller

James Walter Caddell

William Charles Herman

Robert Edward Athans

Gerard Anthony Rinck

Darek Tomasz Zatorski

Aspi Rustom Wadia

Tingfan Pang

Brian Keith

Jonathan Philip Clarke

John Peter Heyward

James Michael Caldwell

Michael Philip Hagle

Mark Edward Stegemiller

Hardev Singh

Robert John Heeg

Dwayne Edward Burnett

James W Caddell, Jr

Jonathon P Clarke

Scott Joseph Schmid

Ganesh Nagab Kumar

Francis Bobie

A hollow turbine airfoil includes a tip cap bounding an internal cooling circuit between opposite pressure and suction sidewalls. The tip cap includes an internal dome surrounding a dust hole, and the dome is inclined inwardly toward the airfoil root both transversely between the opposite sidewalls and chordally between opposite leading and trailing edges of the airfoil.

Dust hole dome blade

A method for fabricating a rotor blade is provided. The method includes providing a rotor blade that includes a tip shroud having a portion of increased cross-sectional thickness relative to adjacent portions of the tip shroud. The increased cross-sectional thickness section extends across substantially an entire circumferential width of the tip shroud. The increased cross-sectional thickness section defines a pair of opposite interlock surfaces that each form a portion of a respective side of the pair of opposite tip shroud sides used for interlocking the tip shrouds of two adjacent rotor blades on the rotor. The method also includes removing a portion of the increased cross-sectional thickness section between the pair of opposite tip shroud sides to facilitate enhancing the efficiency of the rotor blade.

Rotor blade and method of fabricating same

A gas turbine engine rotor blade includes an airfoil, platform, shank, and dovetail integrally joined together. A dust escape hole extends through the platform adjacent a fillet bridging the platform and shank to bleed dust therefrom during operation.

Dust resistant platform blade

A method for repairing a stationary turbine nozzle segment having at least one vane disposed between outer and inner structural bands includes providing an engine-run turbine nozzle segment having at least one vane disposed between outer and inner bands, wherein the outer band and the vanes are previously replaced components of the segment and the inner band is an original component of the segment; separating the inner band from the nozzle segment; repairing damage in the outer band and/or the vane; and joining the outer band and the vane to a newly manufactured replacement inner band segment. The replacement inner band segment includes: a structural inner band; and an integral structural collar adapted to receive an inner end of the at least one vane.

Turbine nozzle segment and method of repairing same

A turbine blade includes an airfoil, platform, shank, and dovetail. The platform includes a first side disposed along the pressure side of the airfoil, and an opposite second side disposed along the airfoil suction side. The platform second side includes an integral damper keeper disposed below the midchord of the airfoil, and is locally thinner at the forward and aft ends of the platform second side for reducing blade weight.

Selectively thinned turbine blade

A turbine blade includes an airfoil, platform, shank, and dovetail. The shank includes opposite forward and aft faces corresponding with leading and trailing edges of the airfoil, and opposite first and second sides corresponding with pressure and suction sides of the airfoil. The shank further includes lugs extending outwardly from the two sides, with a first lug having an inverted skirt extending outwardly toward the platform to join the shank aft face. The skirt cooperates with a seal body when mounted in the engine for reducing inter-blade leakage.

Skirted turbine blade

A turbine blade includes an airfoil having an internal cooling circuit with a first flow passage disposed directly behind the leading edge followed by a second flow passage separated therefrom by a corresponding bridge. The bridge includes a row of impingement apertures for cooling the leading edge. The suction sidewall of the airfoil includes a row of diffusion film cooling first holes extending in flow communication with the first passage. The first holes have a compound inclination angle, with a quadrilateral cross section forming a generally teardrop shaped outlet in the convex contour of the suction sidewall.

Teardrop film cooled blade

A method is provided for repairing a turbine nozzle segment having at least one vane disposed between outer and inner bands. The method includes separating the inner band from the nozzle segment, and joining the inner band to a newly manufactured replacement casting having an outer band and a vane. The replacement casting includes an airfoil stub. The airfoil stub is received in a recess formed in the inner band. Joining is completed by joining the airfoil stub to the inner band. The replacement casting may be modified from a newly manufactured singlet casting.

A method for repairing a turbine nozzle segment having at least one vane disposed between outer and inner bands includes separating the inner band from the nozzle segment, and joining the inner band to a newly manufactured replacement casting having an outer band and at least one vane. The replacement casting includes a mounting platform formed on one end of the vane and a boss formed on the mounting platform. A collar is joined to the inner band and has a slot formed therein. The boss is then inserted into the slot, and the mounting platform is received in a recess formed in the inner band. Joining is completed by joining the boss to the collar and the mounting platform to the inner band. The thickness of the collar is tapered in an axial direction, and a relief is formed in the collar to provide assembly clearance with adjacent components.

Fabricated repair of cast nozzle

A turbine blade includes an airfoil and dovetail. The dovetail includes a pair of supporting tangs. A rectangular root block bridges the tangs over a majority of the root end thereof. The block terminates short of one endface of the dovetail to form a root notch thereat for preferentially reducing weight.

Root notched turbine blade

A gas turbine engine includes rotor blades including airfoils that facilitates reducing manufacturing losses due to airfoil trailing edge scarfing. Each airfoil includes a first and second sidewall connected at a leading edge and a trailing edge. The sidewalls define a cooling cavity that includes at least a leading edge chamber bounded by the sidewalls and the airfoil leading edge, and a trailing edge chamber bounded by sidewalls and the airfoil trailing edge. The cooling cavity trailing edge chamber includes a tip region, a throat, and a passageway region connected in flow communication such that the throat is between the tip region and the passageway region. Furthermore, the tip region is bounded by the airfoil tip and extends divergently from the throat, such that a width of the tip region is greater than a width of the throat.

Methods and systems for cooling gas turbine engine airfoils

A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine. An existing blade was found to exhibit bowing, or a concave configuration facing the pressure side, along its trailing edge. The invention reduces bowing by ( ) changing tilt, ( ) changing lean, ( ) reducing the number of cooling holes, while ( ) changing the diameters of the cooling holes, to maintaining the total cooling flow unchanged.

Gas turbine engine blade

A rotor blade for a rotor of a gas turbine engine having an axis of rotation including a root portion, a platform portion connected to the root portion and having a damper pocket formed therein, an airfoil portion connected to the platform portion, a generally bar-shaped damping member loosely arranged in the damper pocket having at least one scrubbing surface, and at least one retainer pin for retaining the bar-shaped damping member in the damper pocket. The bar-shaped damping member is slidably displaceable and rotatable within the damper pocket during rotation of the rotor. The damper pocket in the platform portion has a rear surface with an upper portion and a lower portion at an angle to the upper portion, a pair of spaced side surfaces, and a pair of spaced lower surfaces extending from the rear surface lower portion which are substantially coplanar. The damper pocket lower surfaces are provided by a first flange extending laterally inward from one of the side surfaces and a second flange extending laterally inward from the other side surface, where a retainer pin extends through and is connected to at least one of the first and second flanges so as to retain the bar-shaped damping member within the damper pocket.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Brian Alan Norton