General Electric Company

Jeremy Stephen Wigon

Dean Thomas Lenahan

Christopher Mark Bordne

Peter Andrew Simeone

James Patrick McGovern

Alan Scott Grissino

Dennis Centeno Iglesias

Gianni Emanuolo Busso

Alan Patrick St Hilaire

Gianni Emanuele Busso

An air/oil separator for a gas turbine engine includes a drive shaft having a central axis extending in an axial direction, a free vortex chamber mounted radially around the drive shaft, a separation chamber coupled with the free vortex chamber in the axial direction opposite to the drive shaft, and a rotatable outlet shaft radially rotatable and having an inlet end coupled with the separation chamber opposite to the free vortex chamber, an outlet end, and a hollow interior chamber therebetween. The hollow interior chamber has an inner circumference extending in the axial direction a cylindrical air guide extending coaxially therein. The cylindrical air guide has a nonporous cylindrical main body, an upstream end fixedly coupled with the inlet end of the rotatable outlet shaft, and a downstream end coaxially disposed within the outlet end of the rotatable outlet shaft.

Cylindrical air guide in a turbine engine

A rim seal assembly includes an annular seal element circumscribing an engine centerline or axis and mounted on an annular platform including a radially inwardly extending annular platform flange disposed between and connected to forward and aft flanges at distal ends of forward and aft annular elements respectively. Annular forward and aft outer rim cavities radially disposed between the forward and aft annular elements and the platform are axially separated by the platform flange. Cooling slots extend radially across axially facing forward and aft surfaces of the forward and aft flanges. The platform flange and the forward and aft flanges are bolted together. The annular seal element may include seal teeth in sealing relationship with an annular seal land such as in a labyrinth seal. The rim seal assembly may be incorporated in a low pressure turbine use a compressor as a source of cooling air.

Cooled turbine rim seal

A method facilitates assembling a gas turbine engine. The method comprises providing a rotor assembly including a rotor shaft and a rotor disk that includes a radially outer rim, a radially inner hub, and an integral web extending therebetween, wherein the rotor assembly is rotatable about an axis of rotation extending through the rotor shaft, and coupling a disk retainer including at least one discharge tube to the rotor disk wherein the discharge tube extends outwardly from the disk retainer for pumping the air to a higher pressure before discharging cooling fluid therefrom in a direction that is substantially perpendicular with respect to the axis of rotation.

Methods and apparatus for cooling gas turbine engine rotor assemblies

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Topsfield, MA, United States of America

Jeremy Stephen Wigon