General Electric Company

John Robert Staker

Marwan Al-Roub

Gilbert Farmer

Steven Clayton Vise

John Howard Starkweather

Sean Robert Keith

Judd Dodge Tressler

Thomas Anthony Leen

Wilson Frost

Thomas Edward Demarche

Stanford P Seto

Ronald L Sheranko

Philip W Dietz

Ting-Yu Tu

Ella Christine Kutter

Gregory Thomas Lucas

James Hollice Poynter

Tariq Kay Harris

Edward Lee Howard

Thomas Carl Mills

A unitary swirler assembly that provides improved service life, having a ferrule body and a unitary swirler body. The unitary swirler body has oppositely-directed primary swirler passages and secondary swirler passages. A pair of rails formed on the unitary swirler body engage the ferrule body to limit relative movement, and prevent relative rotation, of the ferrule body and the unitary swirler body.

Combuster swirler assembly

A method of fabricating a test model of a gas turbine engine combustor dome, and the test model produced thereby. The method entails individually stamping a plurality of dome wall segments and first and second mounting band segments. Each wall segment comprises at least one cup between radially inward and outward edges of the wall segment, and an opening in the cup. At least one wall segment and its two corresponding mounting band segments are placed on a fixture that locates the opening of the wall segment, locates the first and second mounting band segments at the radially-inward and outward edges of the wall segment, and orients the wall segment to establish a dome angle of the fixtured dome assembly. The wall segment and mounting band segments are then joined while the fixtured dome assembly remains on the fixture to form at least a unitary sector of the test model.

Test model for a gas turbine combustor dome and method of fabricating

A swirler includes a tubular body having a row of secondary radial swirl vanes. A tubular ferrule adjoins the body at the secondary vanes, and includes a row of primary swirl vanes. The primary vanes are disposed axially obliquely to the secondary vanes, with a common annular inlet facing radially outwardly for swirling air radially inwardly therefrom with axial momentum into the tubular body.

Hybrid swirler

A method for fabricating a rotor blade for a gas turbine engine facilitates reducing operating temperatures of a tip portion of the rotor blade. The method comprises forming an airfoil including a first sidewall and a second sidewall connected at a leading edge and a trailing edge to define a cavity therein, wherein the first and second sidewalls extend radially between a rotor blade root and a rotor blade tip plate, and forming a first tip wall extending from the rotor blade tip plate along the first sidewall, such that at least a portion of the first tip wall is at least partially recessed with respect to the rotor blade first sidewall to define a tip shelf that extends from the airfoil trailing edge towards the airfoil leading edge. A second tip wall is formed to extend from the rotor blade tip plate along the second sidewall.

Method and apparatus for reducing turbine blade tip region temperatures

A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes a plurality of igniter tubes that facilitate reducing temperature gradients within the combustor in a cost effective and reliable manner. The combustor includes an annular outer liner that includes a plurality of openings sized to receive igniter tubes. Each igniter tube maintains an alignment of each igniter received therein, and includes an air impingement device that extends radially outward from the igniter tube. During operation, airflow contacting the air impingement device is channeled radially inward for impingement cooling of the igniter tubes and the combustor outer liner.

Method and apparatus for cooling gas turbine engine igniter tubes

A turbine seal includes a first arcuate segment defining a flowpath boundary between combustion gases and air, and includes a radially outwardly extending rail at one end thereof. A second arcuate segment is disposed coaxially with the first segment for defining a continuation of the flowpath boundary, and has a radially extending face adjoining the rail. A leaf seal bridges the rail and the face for sealing leakage therebetween, and a plurality of pins extend through the leaf seal for providing mounting to the rail. Each pin includes a head and an opposite tip, with the pins being fixedly joined to the rail solely about the pin tips for freely supporting the pin heads in a cantilever without obstruction therearound for eliminating supporting tabs. A leaf spring is mounted on the pins between the heads and the leaf seal to pre-load the leaf seal against the rail and face to effect the sealing therebetween.

Turbine flowpath seal

A generally wedge-shaped vibration damper for rotor blades of a gas turbine engine has a pair of scrubbing surfaces and is loosely retained in a pocket incorporated in the root cavity. The pocket is partly defined by a plurality of surfaces which orient the damper so that it is slidably displaceable and rotatable only in a predetermined plane. The retaining device is a hook-shaped sheet metal clip which is attached to the damping member. The clip has a resilient curved portion which is compressed to pass through a throat by which the pocket communicates with the remainder of the root cavity. When the curved portion of the clip clears the throat, it springs back to its uncompressed state in which the height of the curved portion is greater than the height of the throat, whereby the damping member is retained in the pocket.

Retention device for turbine blade damper

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

John Robert Staker