Avco Corporation

Joseph P Murphy

Charles Kuintzle, Jr

Richard M Norris

In a gas turbine engine, a duct is constructed extending axially and communicating directly, through a transverse opening, with the engine plenum. The plenum extends upward into the engine nacelle and connects with the inlet to the compressor of the gas turbine engine. A portion of the air entering the duct is drawn into the plenum. The remainder is exhausted out of the rear portion of the duct. To create inertial separation, a door is mounted on a lever arm which may be rotated between two positions. In one position the door partially closes the entrance to the plenum causing the airflow to turn through a greater angle in order to enter the plenum. The turning motion of the airflow divides the particles of heavier mass to the outside of the turn. These particles will be exhausted from the rearward exit of the duct. In a second position the door closes the rear portion of the duct so that the entire volume of air entering the duct is supplied to the engine plenum.

Swinging door particle separator and deicing system

An air pump useful in pumping gases containing abrasive particles is disclosed. A housing is constructed with a primary flow channel centered around the pump axis and a secondary flow channel annularly surrounding the primary channel just inside the outer housing wall. Within the midsection of the pump a powered impeller rotating within an axially symmetric shroud accelerates air drawn from the primary flow channel causing it to be discharged through an annular shaped ejector nozzle into a suction chamber. Presence of the high velocity airstream in the suction chamber draws the contents of the secondary flow channel into the suction chamber. The entrained contents of the primary and secondary flow channels are carried into the diffuser where the velocity energy of the mixture is converted into pressure. The pressurized mixture is then discharged through the exhaust section.

Air pump with primary and secondary inlet flow channels

A gas turbine engine air inlet having an improved separator for particulate matter is described. Liner means define an annular flow passage which curves inwardly to the entrance of the engine's compressor. Hollow struts extend radially through the curved portion of the air passage. A V-shaped trap provides particle receiving pocket portions which span adjacent struts and open into first chambers in the struts. A plate extends downstream of the upstream edge of the inner trap leg to define a narrow entrance to the pocket portions. The upstream edge of the inner trap leg is spaced inwardly of the inner liner means at the entrance portion to capture most, if not all, of the particulate matter entrained in the inner portion of the air stream. The outer liner means comprise first and second liners, with the latter having its upstream edge radially inward of the upstream edge of the outer trap leg and intermediate its length. Plates extending from the first and second outer liners define the entrance to pocket portions, outwardly of the second outer liner, which capture particulate matter from the outer portions of the air flow stream. These outer pocket portions also open into the first strut chambers which are maintained at a reduced pressure to draw particulate matter therein for disposal. The second strut chambers are connected to the compressor discharge to provide warm air which flows through passages in the separator to inhibit ice formation.

Gas turbine engine air inlets having particle separators

A particle separator for separating and removing foreign particles from engine inlet air incorporates a plurality of identical channel assemblies. The channel assemblies are arranged in side-by-side fashion in a defined panel area. Separation is achieved by accelerating the particles to a high velocity and bending the airstream such that the particle inertia carries the particles into a capture area. A small percentage of the incoming air is used to induce particulate matter to proceed into the capture area. By use of a turbulence generator particulates are kept in suspension in the capture area to enable easy exhaustion overboard.

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Newtown, CT, United States of America

Joseph P Murphy