Rolls-royce Corporation

Rolls-royce Deutschland Ltd & Co. Kg

Mark Spruce

Michael Nique

Christopher Campbell

Daren Ashmore

Paul Gorenz

Fiona M Halliday

Frank Wagner

Lucia Ciciriello

Christopher David Jones

Greg Blake

Matthew J Wilson

Russell Adkins

Stephen C Drew

Fiona Halliday

A shaft for a gas turbine engine includes a composite tube including a plurality of grooves extending along a longitudinal axis of the shaft. The shaft has a load fuse mechanism that has at least one metallic coupling that has a plurality of splines extending along the longitudinal axis of the shaft. Each of the plurality of splines is received within and engages with a corresponding groove of the composite tube to form a preloaded interference fit between the load fuse mechanism and the composite tube. The at least one metallic coupling includes a first portion defining a first diameter and a second portion extending from the first portion along the longitudinal axis. The second portion defines a second diameter that is greater than the first diameter. The second portion has a smooth annular outer surface devoid of any splines.

Shaft for a gas turbine engine

Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines, including a gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine, the gearbox including: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.

Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines

A gas turbine engine for an aircraft including: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan including a plurality of fan blades; a gearbox that can receive an input from the core shaft, and can output drive to a fan shaft via an output of the gearbox so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft; and a fan shaft mounting structure arranged to mount the fan shaft within the engine, the fan shaft mounting structure including at least two supporting bearings connected to the fan shaft.

High power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular to arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and to related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. Example embodiments include a gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine, the gearbox including: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.

Gas turbine engine for aircraft includes: an engine core including a turbine, compressor, and core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the core; a gearbox; and a gearbox support arranged to at least partially support the gearbox. The fan has a mass in a range of 150 kg to 1200 kg. A moment of inertia of the fan is greater than or equal to 7.40×10kgmm. A radial bending stiffness to moment of inertia ratio of: may be greater than or equal to 2.5×10Nkgmmm. A tilt stiffness to moment of inertia ratio of: may be greater than or equal to 4.0×10Nmradkgmm.

Geared gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine for an aircraft includes an engine core with a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine and compressor; a fan upstream of the engine core including a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox that receives an input from a gearbox input shaft portion of the core shaft and outputs drive to a fan shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, the gearbox being an epicyclic gearbox including a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier arranged to have the plurality of planet gears mounted thereon, and wherein the sun gear receives input from the core shaft. At cruise conditions the product of the torque on the core shaft and radial bending stiffness or tilt stiffness of the gearbox input shaft portion is within a specified range.

A gas turbine engine for an aircraft configured with an engine core that has a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor. A fan located upstream of the engine core, that has a plurality of fan blades. A gearbox arranged to receive an input from the core shaft and to output to the fan so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft. The gearbox being an epicyclic gearbox having a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The gearbox having an overall gear mesh stiffness, and wherein the overall gear mesh stiffness of the gearbox is greater than or equal to 1.05×10N/m and less than or equal to 8.0×10N/m.

Aircraft engine

Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. A gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine includes: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.

An engine for an aircraft includes an engine core having a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan having a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox. The gearbox is an epicyclic gearbox and comprises a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The radial bending stiffness of the planet carrier is equal to or greater than 1.20×10N/m, and/or the tilt stiffness of the planet carrier is greater than or equal to 6.00×10Nm/rad. A method of operation of such an engine is also disclosed.

High-power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the figures, where a method for manufacturing a gearbox, the method comprising: providing a predefined interval around an integer; providing a gearbox setup; determining a speed ratio of at least two components of the gearbox setup; comparing the speed ratio with the predefined interval around the integer; and manufacturing a gearbox in accordance with the gearbox setup in dependence on the comparison.

Method and system for reducing cross-shaft vibrations

A gas turbine engine for an aircraft configured with an engine core that has a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor. A fan located upstream of the engine core, that has a plurality of fan blades. A gearbox arranged to receive an input from the core shaft and to output to the fan so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft. The gearbox being an epicyclic gearbox having a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The gearbox having an overall gear mesh stiffness, and wherein the overall gear mesh stiffness of the gearbox is greater than or equal to 1.05&#xd7;10N/m and less than or equal to 8.0&#xd7;10N/m.

A shaft component, which in particular can be connected or is connected to the input or output side of a gear box in a gas turbine engine, in particular an aircraft engine, wherein the shaft component has at least two regions comprising fiber reinforced plastic, with fibers in the at least two regions differing in their composition, their geometric properties, their density, their radial position, their axial position and/or in their fiber orientation in the shaft component.

Growing community of inventors

Derby, United Kingdom

Mark Spruce