General Electric Company

Other

The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

James Edward Johnson

Lawrence Wayne Dunbar

Rollin George Giffin

Lawrence Butler

Peter Nicholas Szucs

John Christopher Brauer

Jorge Francisco Seda

Thomas Ory Moniz

David William Crall

Rollin G Giffin, Iii

Philip Roger Gliebe

John Lewis Baughman

Brandon Flowers Powell

John Robert Simmons

Gregory T Steinmetz

John W Salvage

Onofre T Castells

Elmore Verne Sprunger

Bernard L Koff

Ronald Burton Steinmetz

Tom Foster

Roy Duncan Allan

Raymond E Budinger

Rollin George Griffin, Iii

Dan J Rundell

Mark Harrington

Ronald B Steinmetz

Iii Rollin George Giffin

Jorge F Seda

A fan assembly having an outer fan system is disclosed, the fan assembly comprising an outer fan first stage and an outer fan second stage both extending radially outward from an arcuate platform.

Multistage tip fan

A method of operating a compressor in an adaptive core engine is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of operating a front block compressor to increase pressure of a fluid to a first pressure ratio in a high-power mode operation; operating a rear block compressor coupled to the front block compressor such that the front block compressor and the rear block compressor operate at the same physical speed; closing a rear block stator vane located axially forward from the rear block compressor such that the flow of the fluid into the rear block compressor is substantially cut off; and keeping a blocker door opened such that substantially all of the fluid pressurized by the front block compressor flows through a bypass passage during the high-power mode operation. The operation may be transitioned from the high-power mode to a low-power mode by opening a rear block stator such that the rear block compressor receives at least a portion of the fluid flowing from the front block compressor and maintains an overall engine pressure ratio.

Method of operating adaptive core engines

A gas turbine engine includes a turbomachinery core operable to generating a flow of pressurized combustion gases; a rotating fan adapted to extract energy from the core and generate a first flow of pressurized air; a fan stator assembly connected in flow communication with the fan and operable to vary the first flow of pressurized air while the fan operates at a substantially constant speed; a fan outer duct surrounding the core; and a flade stage comprising a supplementary fan disposed in the fan outer duct and driven by the fan for generating a pressurized bleed air flow.

Turbine engine with modulated flow fan and method of operation

A gas turbine engine includes a turbomachinery core operable to generate a flow of pressurized combustion gases at a variable flow rate, while maintaining a substantially constant core pressure ratio; a rotating fan disposed upstream of the core, the fan adapted to extract energy from the core and generate a first flow of air which is compressed at a first pressure ratio; and at least a first bypass duct surrounding the core downstream of the fan adapted to selectively receive at least a first selected portion of the first flow which is compressed at a second pressure ratio lower than the first pressure ratio, and to bypass the first selected portion around the core, thereby varying a bypass ratio of the engine. The fan is adapted to maintain a flow rate of the first flow substantially constant, independent of the bypass ratio.

Convertible gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine includes a turbomachinery core operable to generating a first flow of pressurized combustion gases, the core having an exit plane; a fan disposed upstream of the core adapted to extract energy from the core and generate a first flow of pressurized air; a bypass duct surrounding the core which receives a portion of the flow of pressurized air from the fan; a duct burner disposed in the bypass duct, upstream of the exit plane, for receiving the first flow of pressurized air and generating a second flow of pressurized combustion gases; and an exhaust duct disposed downstream of the core and operable to receive and the first and second flows of pressurized combustion gases and to discharge the combined flows downstream.

Duct burning mixed flow turbofan and method of operation

A gas turbine engine assembly is provided. The gas turbine engine assembly includes a core engine. The gas turbine engine assembly further includes a first rotor spool including a first fan assembly, an intermediate-pressure turbine, and a first shaft. The first fan assembly includes a single stage fan assembly coupled upstream from the core engine. The intermediate-pressure turbine includes a single stage turbine coupled downstream from the core engine. The first shaft extends between the first fan assembly and the intermediate-pressure turbine. The gas turbine engine assembly further includes a second rotor spool including a second fan assembly, a low-pressure turbine, and a second shaft. The second fan assembly includes a single stage fan assembly coupled upstream from the first fan assembly. The low-pressure turbine includes a single stage turbine coupled downstream from the intermediate-pressure turbine. The second shaft extends between the second fan assembly and the low-pressure turbine. A method of assembling the same is provided.

Apparatus and method for assembling gas turbine engines

A fan assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a turbine rotor adapted to be disposed aft of a core of the gas turbine engine; a row of turbine blades carried by the rotor, each turbine blade extending from the rotor to a tip, the turbine blades adapted to extract energy from a stream of pressurized combustion gases generated by the core; and at least two rows of axially-spaced apart, radially-extending fan blades carried by the row of turbine blades for rotation therewith.

High pressure ratio aft fan

A turbojet engine includes a core engine, an afterburner, and a converging-diverging exhaust nozzle in serial flow communication. A thrust vectoring system is joined between a compressor and the nozzle. A controller is operatively joined to the thrust vectoring system for selectively varying distribution of air bled from the compressor into the exhaust nozzle for vectoring propulsion thrust.

Thrust vectoring missile turbojet

A turbojet engine includes a core engine, afterburner, and converging-diverging exhaust nozzle disposed in serial flow communication. A bypass duct surrounds the core engine and afterburner and terminates in flow communication with the exhaust nozzle. The compressor includes first stage fan blades having integral flades at the tips thereof disposed inside the bypass duct. The bypass duct includes a row of variable inlet guide vanes disposed forward of the flades for controlling airflow thereto.

Fladed supersonic missile turbojet

A turbojet engine includes a core engine, an afterburner, and a converging-diverging exhaust nozzle in serial flow communication. An integral starter-generator is disposed inside the core engine and is joined to the rotor for equal speed rotation therewith. An electrical controller coordinates operation of the engine for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic operation of the engine in a missile self-powered by the starter-generator.

Self powdered missile turbojet

A turbojet engine includes a core engine, an afterburner, and a converging-diverging exhaust nozzle in serial flow communication. A controller is operatively joined to the core engine and afterburner and configured for scheduling fuel thereto for operating the afterburner dry during subsonic flight operation of the engine, wet during transonic flight, and dry during supersonic flight.

Supersonic missile turbojet engine

An aircraft propulsion system includes a gas turbine engine having a fan section, at least one row of FLADE fan blades disposed radially outwardly of and drivingly connected to the fan section, the row of FLADE fan blades radially extending across a FLADE duct circumscribing the fan section, an engine inlet including a fan inlet to the fan section and an annular FLADE inlet to the FLADE duct. A fixed geometry inlet duct is in direct flow communication with the engine inlet. The fan section may include only a single direction of rotation fan or alternatively axially spaced apart first and second counter-rotatable fans in which the FLADE fan blades are drivingly connected to one of the first and second counter-rotatable fans. The row of FLADE fan blades may be disposed between rows of variable first and second FLADE vanes.

Flade gas turbine engine with fixed geometry inlet

An exemplary embodiment of a FLADE counter-rotating fan aircraft gas turbine engine includes at least one row of FLADE fan blades disposed radially outwardly of and drivingly connected to one of axially spaced-apart first and second counter-rotatable fans. A core engine located downstream and axially aft of the first and second counter-rotatable fans is circumscribed by a fan bypass duct downstream and axially aft of the first and second counter-rotatable fans. The row of FLADE fan blades radially extend across a FLADE duct circumscribed about the first and second counter-rotatable fans and the fan bypass duct. A second low pressure turbine is drivingly connected to the first counter-rotatable fan and a first low pressure turbine is drivingly connected to the second counter-rotatable fan.

FLADE gas turbine engine with counter-rotatable fans

An aft FLADE gas turbine engine includes a fan section drivenly connected to a low pressure turbine section, a core engine located between the fan section and the low pressure turbine section, a fan bypass duct circumscribing the core engine and in fluid communication with the fan section, and a mixer downstream of the low pressure turbine section and in fluid communication with the fan bypass duct, and an aft FLADE turbine downstream of the mixer. At least one row of aft FLADE fan blades disposed radially outwardly of and connected to the aft FLADE turbine and radially extending across a FLADE duct circumscribing the fan bypass duct. The aft FLADE turbine may be a free turbine or connected to and rotatable with the low pressure turbine section. A power extraction apparatus may be disposed within the engine and drivenly connected to the aft FLADE turbine.

Aft FLADE engine

A method for assembling a gas turbine engine includes providing a core engine, and providing a flade system including a flade stream augmentor positioned within a flade duct. The method also includes channeling airflow through the core engine to produce engine thrust, channeling airflow through the flade duct to produce engine thrust, and igniting a portion of the airflow channeled through the flade duct using the flade stream augmentor to increase the amount of thrust produced by the flade system.

Growing community of inventors

Hamilton, OH, United States of America

James Edward Johnson