United Technologies Corporation

Robert Sherman

Robert Telakowski

Kermit I Harner

Kenneth P Hansen

Philip E Barnes

Edward A Rothman

William E Fortmann

Frank R Niessen

Millard G Mayo

Michael A Gillott

Kenneth F Vosseller

Robert G Urie

Fred J Roberts

William Mandelbaum

James A Mrazek

The backlash spring of a fuel control linkage is enclosed by an elastomeric sleeve which absorbs the energy of multiple resonant modes stimulated in the spring by vibratory fields. Deflections of large amplitude in the spring are minimized thereby. The sleeve has a plurality of ribs which extend axially therein and which provide an interference fit with the coils of the spring. The sleeve ribs contact as many of the spring coils as possible but minimize interference of the sleeve with the motion of the spring during the normal articulation thereof.

Vibration damper

A heat exchanger (18) located in an enlarged flow area section (10) of a duct (12) includes a plate (14) located downstream of the exchanger for improving distribution of the duct flow.

Flow distribution device

A blade pitch angle control system for a wind turbine includes an improved control means (95) for providing a minimum pitch angle reference signal indicative of desired blade pitch at wind velocities less than rated. The control means includes means (35 and 30) for providing signals indicative of generated (output) power or torque and the rotational frequency of the wind turbine rotor. The output and rotor speed signals are input to a function generator which, in response to such signals, provides a signal indicative of the minimum pitch angle.

Blade pitch angle control for large wind turbines

Journal and/or thrust bearings of a high speed rotary machine are mounted on a portion of the machine stator by mounts which allow limited tracking of pivotal rotor displacements by the bearings to reduce the risk of bearing damage due to nonuniform bearing pressurization from such pivotal shaft displacements. The mounts resist radial and axial shaft displacements for maintenance of sufficient shaft-stator alignment to prevent risk of rotor-stator impact.

High speed rotary machine bearing mount structure

A pitch control system for a multibladed variable pitch wind turbine. Each of the turbine blades is pivotally driven about the longitudinal axis thereof independently of the other blades by at least a pair of hydraulic actuators. The actuators are supplied with pressurized hydraulic fluid from a first source thereof under conditions of normal pitch change adjustment. Under conditions wherein feathering of the blades is required, the actuators are supplied with hydraulic fluid from second sources thereof such that one of the actuators associated with each of the blades is supplied with fluid from one second source and a second actuator is provided with fluid from a redundant second source whereby blade feathering may be effected despite a malfunction of one of the redundant sources or one of the actuators. In one of the two preferred embodiments disclosed, the first and second fluid sources are maintained in mutual communication whereby fluid from the second sources thereof may supplement fluid from the first source under conditions of normal blade pitch adjustment.

Wind turbine blade pitch control system

A large wind turbine rotor blade having a filament wound composite spar securely mounted to a support structure in a manner by which blade loads are transmitted via redundant load paths. Concentric inner and outer metallic adapter sleeves are bonded to the inboard end of the blade spar, and the adapter sleeves and blade spar are joined by a first series of shear bolts and nuts which pass radially through the spar. A second series of radially extending bolts and nuts join the inner and outer sleeves slightly inboard of the end of the spar. The end of the spar is of slightly reduced diameter forming a conical surface which interacts with the inner and outer sleeves to produce a positive lock when the blade is subject to centrifugal loads. The outer sleeve is adapted to be connected to the support structure by conventional techniques such as by a plurality of bolts which extend axially into the butt end of the outer sleeve.

Wind turbine blade retention device

A generally conically shaped cam formed internally of the actuator piston and a follower connected to a rotary shaft serves to provide a position feedback signal within a minimum of space.

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West Hartford, CT, United States of America

Robert Sherman