United Technologies Corporation

Damon K Brown

Anthony R Bifulco

Nicholas Aiello

James B Kelly

Bruce S Hinton

Gilbert L Anderson, Jr

A spacer of a gas turbine engine is reinforced with a fiber. The fiber can be cured with a substrate to form a fiber reinforced composite material. As a gas turbine engine operates, the rotation creates forces which can deform, expand, contract or translate certain gas turbine engine components, including spacers. These forces can adversely affect gas turbine engine performance and reliability, particularly when they are either unpredictable or difficult to control. Reinforcing a spacer with a fiber may allow a lower system weight, more compact or configurable internal packaging or a high degree of reinforcement.

Fiber reinforced spacer for a gas turbine engine

A structurally-reinforced rotor disk for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The rotor disk may comprise a body including a rim configured to support airfoils (which may be separate or integral with the airfoils), an axially-extending bore disposed radially inward of the rim, and a radially-extending web connecting the rim and the bore. The bore may include an axial outer edge and at least one circumferentially-extending annular recess formed axially between the outer edge and the web. The rotor disk may further comprise an annular ring retained in the annular recess, and the annular ring may be formed from a different material than the body of the rotor disk so as to increase a self-sustaining radius of the rotor disk.

Reinforced gas turbine engine rotor disk

A propulsive engine rotor configured for operation within a gas turbine includes a plurality of spaced airfoil blades circumferentially affixed to an outer hoop-style rim. At least two of the airfoil blades have an integral root configured to extend either through or at least radially inwardly from the rim. A woven fiber system provides that the blade roots are interdigitally wrapped by a plurality of woven fibers before impregnation and/or encapsulation of the fibers and wrapped roots within a ceramic or other composite matrix material to form a composite ring. The composite ring defines the interior body of the rotor, includes a bore through which passes the rotational axis of the rotor, and has a lower mass than the rotor rim. The woven fiber interface between the roots increases the tensile load capacity of the airfoil blades relative to the composite ring, and increases the self-sustaining radius of the rotor.

Rotor with blades secured by woven fiber attachment system

The present invention provides a method of detecting an engine stall based on the intensity of ultraviolet light being sensed in the augmentor. The method is used to confirm a stall when the gas generator burner pressure sensor is operating properly, and as a back-up detection method when the burner pressure sensor fails, or when the burner pressure line to the control system ruptures and fails.

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Middletown, CT, United States of America

Damon K Brown