General Electric Company

Metis Design Corporation

Dong-Jin Shim

Nicholas Joseph Kray

Ian Francis Prentice

Scott Roger Finn

Trevor Howard Wood

Pranav Dhoj Shah

Mark Ernest Vermilyea

Apostolos Pavlos Karafillis

Wendy Wen-Ling Lin

Daniel Edward Mollmann

Todd Alan Anderson

Suresh Subramanian

Peggy Lynn Baehmann

Seth S Kessler

William Howard Hasting

Gregory Carl Gemeinhardt

Douglas Duane Ward

Tod Winton Davis

Arjan Johannes Hegeman

Sultan Shair

Christopher T Dunn

Xiaomei Fang

Julian O'Flynn

Phani Nandula

Bo Wang

Ross Ashely Spoonire

Christopher Lee McAfee

Christopher Madsen

Christopher Lee Mcafee

A gas turbine engine composite article having a composite article airfoil extending outwardly to an article root to an article airfoil tip. Within the article airfoil is a core including a core airfoil attached to a core root including a core dovetail. A continuous outer three-dimensional braided layer including braided composite material tows are braided on the core and the braided layer covers the entire core airfoil and the core root. The core may be an inflatable mandrel or a composite core made of a composite material. The core may include stiffeners such as an I beam or hollow rectangular cross-section box beams. A method for making such an article includes braiding a continuous outer three-dimensional braided layer including braided composite material tows on the core including covering the entire core airfoil and the core root with the continuous outer three-dimensional braided layer.

Braided blades and vanes having dovetail roots

An airfoil assembly including a composite body having a mounting edge and a trailing edge which is secured to a leading edge element defining a 3-D leading edge geometry with both chord and camber variation.

Airfoil assembly with leading edge element

According to present embodiments or aspects thereof, a composite booster spool with separable composite blades is provided. The blades are inserted radially from within the inner circumference of the spool and extend outwardly through the spool. The system provides a reduced weight assembly as compared to prior art metallic or composite/metallic combination systems. Additionally, the blades are separable which results in a more field-serviceable assembly over a fully integral system wherein the blades and spool are integrally formed from composites or combination of metal and composites.

Composite booster spool with separable composite blades

A metallic leading edge protective strip adapted to provide impact protection for a leading edge of an airfoil of a turbomachine. The protective strip is formed of a stainless steel or a nickel-based alloy and is denser and provides increased strength and elasticity characteristics as compared to an identical protective strip formed of a titanium-based alloy. The protective strip is particularly suitable for use with composite blades and allows for thinner airfoils, thereby improving engine efficiency.

Metal leading edge protective strips for airfoil components and method therefor

A composite article including composite component extending heightwise from a component base to a component tip and lengthwise between spaced apart component first and second edges. Component plies having widthwise spaced apart ply first and second sides and ply edges therebetween. Component mounted on a spar which includes a shank extending heightwise into the composite component, tab at upper end of shank and substantially or fully embedded in the composite component, and tab tip. Ply edges of at least a first portion of the plies directly or indirectly contacting or pressing against the tab. Ply edges of at least a second portion of the plies may directly or indirectly contact or press against the tab tip. Ply edges of first portion may press against one or more indented or recessed surfaces in the tab. The composite article may be a composite blade or vane including a composite airfoil.

Attachment of composite article

A gas turbine engine airfoil includes leading and trailing edges, pressure and suction sides extending from airfoil base to airfoil tip, trailing edge cladding made of cladding material bonded to composite core made of composite material, cladding material less brittle than composite material, composite core including central core portion extending downstream from leading edge portion to trailing edge portion of composite core, and trailing edge cladding including wavy wall and trailing edge. Pressure and suction side flanks of trailing edge cladding may be bonded to pressure and suction side surfaces of trailing edge portion. Waves of wavy wall may extend normal to and away from the pressure and suction side surfaces. Trailing edge cladding may include wavy pressure and suction side trailing edge guards including waves of wavy wall. Airfoil may extend outwardly from platform of a blade. Root may include integral dovetail.

Fan blade with composite core and wavy wall trailing edge cladding

An airfoil, a fan assembly and an engine include at least one airfoil including a root portion, a body portion and a tip portion. The body portion is configured extending radially outward from the root portion and the tip portion is configured extending radially outward from the root portion and the body portion. The airfoil including a suction and a pressure side coupled together at a leading and a trailing edge and extending therebetween. The airfoil including a compliant tip at the tip portion. The compliant tip extending along at least a portion of the tip portion in a chord-wise direction and a span-wise direction. The compliant tip is configured to provide wave propagation along the tip portion such that critical strain proximate the tip portion and the trailing edge is reduced during a foreign object impact.

Airfoils including compliant tip

A composite material includes a composite body having a composite surface, and a reinforcing element extending through the composite body in a first plurality of stitches and a second plurality of stitches. The first plurality of stitches are aligned relative to the composite surface substantially similarly to each other. The second plurality of stitches are aligned relative to the composite surface substantially dissimilarly to each other.

Methods and systems for stitching composite materials

A composite gas turbine engine structure includes a retention ring with airfoils mounted on, integral with, and extending radially away from retention ring. Retention ring includes annular composite plies, a circumferentially segmented airfoil ring including airfoil ring segments disposed around one of outer and inner circumferences of retention ring. Airfoil ring segments include annular bases and radially extending clockwise and counter-clockwise airfoil segments at clockwise and counter-clockwise ends of annular base. Composite airfoils include circumferentially adjacent ones of the clockwise and counter-clockwise airfoil segments. A flowpath shell circumferentially disposed around segmented airfoil ring traps annular bases between flowpath shell and retention ring. Composite airfoils airfoils extend through slots in flowpath shell. Plies may be wrapped in a single spiral made from a continuous composite tape. Slots may be circumferentially angled. Circumferentially adjacent ones of clockwise and counter-clockwise airfoil segments may be stitched together.

Composite rotor and vane assemblies with integral airfoils

In one aspect, a method for assembling an outlet guide vane is provided. The method includes providing an outlet guide vane frame having a first side and a second side. The outlet guide vane includes a radially inward flange coupled to a radially outward flange by a leading edge. A trailing edge is coupled to the radially inward flange and the radially outward flange aft of the leading edge. A cavity is defined between the radially inward flange, the radially outward flange, the leading edge, and the trailing edge. A first and a second mating surface circumscribe the cavity on the first and second sides respectively. The method further includes coupling a filler portion within the cavity wherein the filler portion includes a third side and a fourth side, coupling a first skin to the third side and the first mating surface, and coupling a second skin to the fourth side and the second mating surface, wherein at least one of the first skin and the second skin are fabricated from a composite material.

Method and apparatus for a structural outlet guide vane

A method of detecting an event in a structure using a device having sensors and at least one actuator includes sending a signal from the at least one actuator encapsulated in the device, returning a reflected wave signal from the event to each of the sensors in the device, determining a respective duration of time for which the signal travels from the event to each of the sensors, and calculating a location of the event by using differences in the respective durations of time for which the signal travels from the event to each of the sensors to determine an angle and a distance at which the event is positioned.

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Cohoes, NY, United States of America

Dong-Jin Shim