General Electric Company

Leonard Paul Grammel, Jr

John Alan Manteiga

Kenneth L Johnson

Mark S Zlatic

David Lance Pennekamp

Ralph Henry Winslow, Jr

An annular trapped vortex cavity assembly segment comprising includes a cavity forward wall, a cavity aft wall, and a cavity radially outer wall therebetween defining a cavity segment therein. A cavity opening extends between the forward and aft walls at a radially inner end of the assembly segment. Radially spaced apart pluralities of air injection first and second holes extend through the forward and aft walls respectively. The segment may include first and second expansion joint features at distal first and second ends respectively of the segment. The segment may include a forward subcomponent including the cavity forward wall attached to an aft subcomponent including the cavity aft wall. The forward and aft subcomponents include forward and aft portions of the cavity radially outer wall respectively. A ring of the segments may be circumferentially disposed about an axis to form an annular segmented vortex cavity assembly.

Segmented trapped vortex cavity

A sprung seal assembly includes a flexible sprung seal having a center section disposed between opposing curved and cantilevered first and second end sections. First and second free edges of the first and second end sections respectively are trapped within a retainer. First and second sliding lugs attached to the first and second free edges respectively are slidably disposed in first and second channels respectively. The first and second free edges are trapped in the retainer by the first and second sliding lugs disposed in the first and second channels between a mounting surface and the retainer attached to the mounting surface. The center section may have a wear strip. The sprung seal assembly may be disposed between a relatively fixed sidewall and a relatively movable flap of a nozzle assembly. The retainer is mounted to the flap and the center section is in sealing engagement with a sealing surface of the sidewall.

Seal assembly

A thrust augmentor heat shield for enclosing radially extending fuel pipes which can be attached to and removed from the outer duct wall from within the augmentor. The heat shield includes a hollow, elongate housing extending substantially entirely along the length of the fuel pipe, a nose projecting forwardly from the housing and received within a slot formed in the duct wall and a bolt for clamping the housing to the duct wall and urging the nose of the housing into the slot. The housing includes an opening between the outer duct wall and the diffuser wall for conveying cooling air radially inwardly along the housing, and openings along lateral sides of the housing in registry with the fuel discharge ports of the fuel tube. The housing includes a diffuser flowpath segment such that, when the housings are arranged in a spoke pattern, the segments form a continuous annular wall joined by splined connections. In an alternate embodiment, the outer duct wall includes a strut which extends from the duct wall to the diffuser wall and the housing is connected to it by a bolt and nose connection. With other embodiments, the housing connection includes a wedge-shaped cam mounted on the diffuser wall which jams against a correspondingly-shaped flared upper end of the housing. Another embodiment includes a collar contiguous with the diffuser wall and extended shank shoulder bolts for installation from inside the augmentor through the collar.

Thrust augmentor heat shield

In an axial flow gas turbine engine, a shear wire flange joint for an aft centerbody having an outer ring flange, and an inner ring flange that are held close together and a locking member interposed therebetween is provided. The flanges are specially configured to achieve positional alignment and a uniformly shaped groove is machined into the surface of both the inner and the outer ring flange. The circumferential grooves are aligned to form a space between the flanges. A wire is inserted into the space through a window provided in the outer ring flange. The wire locks the inner and the outer ring flange together by preventing axial movement of the inner and outer ring flanges relative to one another.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Leonard Paul Grammel, Jr