Rolls-royce Corporation

James M Townsend

Kenneth Franklin Udall

John Richard Webster

Gerard D Agnew

Michele Bozzolo

Jeffrey Allen

Mark W Turner

Todd M Coxhead

In a turbofan gas turbine engine, a fan shaft is rotatably mounted and radially supported by a bearing in a bearing support structure supported from a fixed engine structure by radially frangible bolts and radially extending spokes. The radially inner ends of the radially extending spokes are mounted on a common member that engages the bearing support structure. The radially outer ends of the radially extending spokes are mounted on a fixed engine structure located radially outwardly of the bearing support structure. The radially extending spokes are held in tension and include a super elastic material to exert a radially inward restoring force on the bearing support structure, subsequent to any radial excursion of at least part of the fan shaft relative to an engine rotational axis (X) following any fracture of the frangible bolts.

Turbofan gas turbine engine

A fuel cell arrangement comprises at least one fuel cell module, each fuel cell module comprises a plurality of fuel cells. Each fuel cell module is hollow and defines a chamber. Each fuel cell module is arranged within an inner vessel and the inner vessel is arranged within an outer pressure vessel. Means to supply oxidant is arranged to supply oxidant to the space within the inner vessel so as to supply oxidant to the cathode electrodes. Means to supply fuel is arranged to supply fuel to the chamber in each fuel cell module so to supply fuel to the anode electrodes. The outer pressure vessel is protected from the high temperature environment of the fuel cells by the inner vessel. The outer pressure vessel forms the main pressure containment of the arrangement and operates at a lower temperature and operates with a greater safety margin than a single pressure vessel arrangement.

Fuel cell arrangement

A hollow aerofoil () comprises an aerofoil portion () having a leading edge (), a trailing edge (), a concave pressure surface wall () extending from the leading edge () to the trailing edge () and a convex suction surface () extending from the leading edge () to the trailing edge (). The concave pressure surface wall () and the convex suction surface wall () are integral and define a cavity (). A plurality of webs () extend across the cavity () between the concave pressure surface wall () and the convex suction surface wall (). At least one of the webs (A) extends substantially perpendicularly to the concave pressure surface wall () and the convex suction surface wall () and at least one of the webs (B) extends substantially diagonally to the concave pressure surface wall () and the convex suction surface wall ().

Hollow aerofoil and a method of manufacturing a hollow aerofoil

A gas turbine engine includes an intermediate pressure compressor connected to an intermediate pressure turbine by a driveshaft . The driveshaft comprises a downstream turbine shaft attached to the intermediate pressure turbine and an upstream compressor shaft attached to the intermediate pressure compressor . The compressor shaft and turbine shaft are connected together by a splined connection which allows the turbine shaft to drive the compressor shaft . If the splined connected should fail, so that it no longer transmits torque, a further splined connection comes into operation to transmit torque between the turbine shaft and compressor shaft . When this happens, torque is transmitted via a torsionally weakened, shear section of the turbine shaft which tends to break under certain engine conditions. The turbine shaft is then released axially and turbine overspeed is restrained.

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Ashbourne, United Kingdom

James M Townsend