General Electric Company

Other

Robert J Hemmelgarn

Richard William Albrecht, Jr

Robert Paul Czachor

Christopher Charles Glynn

Michael Leon Barron

Andrew Shepherd

Eric E Baehre

Jeffrey Allen Kress

Henry B Stueber

Sugato Bhattacharjee

Laura A Iyer

A fan case for a turbofan engine having a fan including plurality of fan blades mounted to a rotor disk and a decoupler that fails in response to a predetermined load includes a substantially annular shell. The shell has a forward section, an intermediate section, and an aft section. The fan case further includes an aft facing step formed at the forward end of the intermediate section to prevent blade fragments from being ejected forward. The intermediate section is axially aligned with the fan and has a large inside diameter. The intermediate section thus defines an annular space around the fan blades that is sufficiently large to allow the fan to orbit when the decoupler fails. The intermediate section and the aft section are aligned radially to allow blade fragments to be ejected aft, avoiding additional secondary blade damage.

Fan case for turbofan engine having a fan decoupler

An improved containment structure for use with turbomachinery, such as turbofan engines. A casing is provided with at least one impact resistant section of a thickness sufficient to resist being pierced upon impact by a blade. The impact resistant section has a smoothly contoured thickness along its axial length and is free from features likely to cause a local failure in the event of impact by a blade released from a rotating disk.

Contoured hardwall containment

A turbine nozzle support assembly includes nozzle segments each having an inner band with an integral retention flange extending radially inwardly therefrom. A plurality of retention tabs extend radially inwardly and are spaced axially aft of the retention flange to define a capture slot therebetween. A nozzle support includes a radially outwardly extending upper flange having a plurality of support pins extending axially, forwardly therefrom and disposed in complementary retention apertures in the retention flanges of the nozzle segments. A retention key is disposed in the capture slot axially between the upper flange and the retention tabs for axially retaining the nozzle segments on the nozzle support.

Turbine nozzle support assembly

A stator seal assembly for a gas turbine engine of a type having a high pressure compressor section and a high pressure turbine section, the stator seal having a seal segment extending between a stator vane support structure and disk seal teeth, the stator seal segment having an arm for forming a cavity, a retaining segment attached to the seal segment and the arm for sealing the cavity to form a dead air space, a control ring located in the cavity having a coefficient of thermal expansion lower than a coefficient of thermal expansion for the seal segment, and a honeycomb pad located between the arm and the seal teeth, whereby thermal expansion clearance between the stator vane and the rotor disk is minimized.

Stator seal assembly providing improved clearance control

A seal support assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a stator seal support having an annular seal backing extending axially away therefrom and having an integral retention flange at one end thereof. The retention flange includes a retention groove. An annular seal block is supported radially inwardly of the seal backing for cooperating with rotor seal teeth to define a fluid seal. A control ring is disposed radially outwardly of the seal backing and is supported thereby, with the control ring having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart retention tabs cooperating with the retention flange for axially retaining the control ring on the seal backing. An annular heat shield is fixedly joined at one end to the seal support, and includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart retention tabs cooperating with the retention flange for axially retaining the heat shield to the seal backing while permitting unrestrained differential radial movement therebetween.

Uncoupled seal support assembly

A gas turbine engine has a plurality of casings defining a chamber exposable to a gasflow therein, and a plurality of retaining members are associated with the housings to retain them against displacement. Each retaining member has an end portion extending into the chamber and a shield is associated with the casings to define a protective cavity within the chamber about the end portions of the retaining members thereby to isolate the end portions from the chamber. A method of assembling a gas turbine engine is also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Mason, OH, United States of America

Robert J Hemmelgarn