General Electric Company

Christen Staton Vonderau

John Peter Heyward

Mark Richard Shaw

Gregg Ford

Elizabeth Ervin

A method of assembling a gas turbine engine includes coupling at least one turbine nozzle segment within the gas turbine engine, each turbine nozzle segment includes at least one airfoil vane extending between an inner band and an outer band, wherein the airfoil vane includes a leading edge and a trailing edge, and wherein the outer band includes a front face, a rear face, and an inner surface extending therebetween. The method also includes coupling at least one turbine shroud segment downstream from the at least one turbine nozzle segment, wherein each turbine shroud segment includes a front face, a rear face, and an inner surface extending therebetween, and coupling a cooling fluid source to each turbine nozzle segment such that cooling fluid may be channeled to each turbine nozzle inner surface proximate to one of the leading edge and the trailing edge of each airfoil vane, such that cooling fluid channeled to each turbine nozzle outer band rear face is directed towards the front face of at least one turbine shroud segment.

Methods and apparatus for assembling gas turbine engines

A modeling system predicts natural frequency responses in tube sub-systems including shrouded bellows components. The system determines a stiffness multiplier from input values and uses the determined flexibility factor to determine the natural frequency responses. The input values include geometry inputs and dynamic operating condition inputs. The flexibility factor is determined with a regression equation. The regression equation, based on dynamic stiffness test data of various shrouded bellows configurations, permits the system to characterize the shrouded bellows using a geometry element that includes an assigned flexibility factor based on dynamic stiffness test data.

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Beavercreek, OH, United States of America

Christen Staton Vonderau