General Electric Company

Hsin-Tuan Liu

Brent Franklin Beacher

Robert Bruce Dickman

Gregory T Steinmetz

Bryan Keith Doloresco

Kenneth William Krabacher

Apostolos Pavlos Karafillis

William R Hines

William Andrew Bailey

Samuel Ross Rulli

Matthew Joseph Ring

Cory Kirk

John Doane Niedermeier

A method for assembling a compressor for use with a turbine is provided. The method includes coupling at least a first stator ring to a second stator ring via at least one fastener sized to extend through at least one stator ring opening. The method further includes coupling a shield assembly to at least one of the first stator ring and the second stator ring to facilitate reducing convection and aerodynamic bleed losses of the at least one stator ring. The shield assembly includes a downstream surface, a retaining portion, and a contoured upstream surface extending from the downstream surface to the retaining portion.

Method and apparatus to facilitate reducing losses in turbine engines

A method of assembling a gas turbine engine includes coupling an inner engine casing to an outer engine casing such that an annular flow path is defined therebetween, coupling a plurality of circumferentially-spaced support struts between the inner and outer casings, and coupling a plurality of circumferentially-spaced outlet guide vanes within the flow path upstream from the support struts, such that a first circumferential spacing is defined between a first guide vane and a second guide vane, and a second circumferential spacing is defined between the second guide vane and a third guide vane. The guide vanes are arranged such that the second guide vane is between the first and third guide vanes and the second circumferential spacing is different from the first circumferential spacing.

Methods and apparatus for assembling gas turbine engines

A compressor stator includes an outer casing supporting a row of stator vanes extending radially inwardly therefrom. Each vane includes pressure and suction sides extending axially between leading and trailing edges and radially between a root and a tip. The root and tip are twisted relative to a pitch section disposed therebetween. Each vane tip is radially convex adjacent a leading edge for defining an axially concave outer flowpath in the casing for reducing peak velocity of airflow for enhanced efficiency.

Twisted stator vane

A variable inlet guide vane includes opposite pressure and suction sides extending along a chord between leading and trailing edges and in span from root to tip. The vane has a maximum thickness greater than about eight percent chord length and located less than about thirty-five percent chord length from the leading edge.

Wide angle guide vane

A compressor airfoil includes pressure and suction sides extending from root to tip and between leading and trailing edges. Transverse sections have respective chords and camber lines. Centers of gravity of the sections are aligned along a double bowed stacking axis for improving performance.

Doubled bowed compressor airfoil

The present invention provides a gas turbine engine with a circumferentially disposed plurality of pivotal flow splitters between compressor sections to bleed off flow and remove particles, particularly ice in the case of an aircraft fan-jet gas turbine engine, by pivoting the leading edge of the splitter into the compressor flow thereby using the total pressure Q of the flow to drive bleed flows overboard and remove particles. In the preferred embodiment the pivotal flow splitter is integral with a booster variable bleed valve (VBV) door, and includes a booster bleed duct means having a bellmouth shaped inducer type inlet to enhance the capture of compressor flow and particle removal

Growing community of inventors

West Chester, OH, United States of America

Hsin-Tuan Liu