General Electric Company

Max Robert Farson

Nicholas Joseph Kray

Daniel Edward Mollmann

David William Crall

Donald Lee Gardner

Howard Paul Weaver

Marcia Boyle Johnson

Andrew Breeze-Stringfellow

Aspi Rustom Wadia

Frank Worthoff

Peter Nicholas Szucs

Gary Willard Bryant, Jr

Tod Winton Davis

William Joseph Solomon

Anthony Constantine Thermos

Michael Harvey Schneider

Govindarajan Rengarajan

Thomas Richard Henning

Ming Cheng Li

Paul Izon

John Douglas Mickol

William John Miller

Theodore R Ingling

Stephanie Glynn Cotten

Sunil Kumar Sinha

Virginia Louise Wilson

James Francis Brown

Scott Yiming Yu

An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine includes an airfoil with an outer wall having a pressure side and a suction side, the airfoil extending axially between a leading edge and a trailing edge to define a chord-wise direction and also extending radially between a root and a tip to define a span-wise direction. An aperture and at least one slot can define at least a portion of a release plane extending through the outer wall.

Turbine engine airfoil assembly

A rotor blade and blade retention key assembly includes: a radially outer airfoil, a shank and a radially inner attachment dovetail. The attachment dovetail has a radially innermost surface formed with a notch at one axial end thereof, and a retention key is received in the notch, and rotatable from a retracted position where a retention key portion is substantially flush with the radially innermost surface, to an extended position where the retention key portion projects inwardly from said radially innermost surface and into a recess or pocket formed in a rotor wheel slot to prevent axial movement of the blade within the slot.

Gas turbine compressor last stage rotor blades with axial retention

A method for reducing tip rub loads in a rotor blade is described having the steps of selecting a location of contact between the rotor blade and a static structure; selecting a location on the blade for incorporating a tip-cutter; selecting a cutter-profile for the tip-cutter; and incorporating the tip-cutter on the selected location on the blade such that tip-cutter is capable of removing a portion of the static structure during a tip rub such that tip rub loads are facilitated to be reduced.

Method for reducing tip rub loading

An airfoil for use in a rotor assembly is disclosed, the airfoil having a tip-cutter located on a sidewall near a tip portion, wherein the tip-cutter is capable of removing a portion of an abradable material during a tip rub. In another embodiment, an airfoil has a tip-grinder located on the tip portion, wherein the tip-grinder capable of removing a portion of an abradable material during a tip rub. In another embodiment, an airfoil has a tip-rake that facilitates reducing loading induced to said airfoil during tip rubs.

Rotor blade with reduced rub loading

A method for fabricating a fan assembly is provided, wherein the method includes providing a rotor having a plurality of rotor blades. At least one rotor blade is fabricated from a frangible material. The method also includes coupling a casing substantially circumferentially about the rotor, and positioning the casing a distance from the plurality of rotor blades. The distance is selected to facilitate increasing an amount of initial resistance created between the casing and the plurality of rotor blades after a bladeout.

Methods and apparatus for fabricating a fan assembly for use with turbine engines

A fan blade includes an airfoil having opposite pressure and suction sides extending in span between a root and tip, and extending in chord between opposite leading and trailing edges. From root toward tip, the airfoil includes increasing stagger and decreasing camber, and increasing chord length to barrel the airfoil along both the leading and trailing edges. The airfoil further includes forward aerodynamic sweep at the tip, and non-forward aerodynamic sweep between the maximum barrel and the root.

Tip cambered swept blade

A method and apparatus for ordering blades in a rotatable machine is provided. The machine includes a plurality of blades that extend radially outwardly from a rotor. The method includes determining a moment weight of each blade in a row of blades, determining a geometric parameter of each blade in the same row of blades, and determining a mapping order of each blade using the moment weight and the geometric parameter. The apparatus includes a computer system that includes a software product code segment for minimizing imbalance in a bladed rotor wherein the segment is configured to receive a moment weight value for each blade to be installed in said rotor, receive a geometric parameter value for each blade to be installed in said rotor, calculate a blade location on the rotor based on the received values, and generate a blade map based on the calculated location.

Methods and apparatus for assembling rotatable machines

A method enables a rotor assembly for a gas turbine engine to be fabricated. The method includes forming a blade including an airfoil extending from an integral dovetail used to mount the blade within the rotor assembly, and extending a projection from at least a portion of the blade, such that the stresses induced within at least a portion of the blade are facilitated to be maintained below a predetermined failure threshold for the blade to facilitate preventing failure of the blade.

Methods and apparatus for facilitating preventing failure of gas turbine engine blades

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Greer, SC, United States of America

Max Robert Farson