General Electric Company

Rolf R Hetico

Christopher Charles Glynn

Wu-Yang Tseng

Brent L Bristol

Aspi Rustom Wadia

Peter John Wood

Robert Bruce Dickman

Hsin-Yi Yen

Thomas G Wakeman

Larry W Plemmons

Ambrose A Hauser

James Michael Forrester

Joseph T Stevenson

William Andrew Bailey

Robert Eugene Kraft

Jay L Cornell

Jeffrey Clayton Potter

Sean Joel Corrigan

William Charles Groll

Nelson Dirk Gibbens

James Edward Stoker

Eugene W Kreimer

Stephen M Bishop

A bleed duct is configured for bleeding fan air from the fan bypass duct in a turbofan aircraft engine. The bleed duct includes a tubular conduit having an inlet and outlet at opposite ends. The conduit is configured in flow area for recovering pressure from speeding fan air bled therethrough. A shroud extends forwardly from the duct inlet for suppressing dynamic pressure oscillations inside the conduit without degrading the pressure recovery.

Shrouded turbofan bleed duct

An airfoil for a gas turbine engine includes a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip, a first side wall that extends in radial span between an airfoil root and the tip, wherein the first side wall defines a first side of said airfoil, and a second side wall connected to the first side wall at the leading edge and the trailing edge, wherein the second side wall extends in radial span between the airfoil root and the tip, such that the second side wall defines a second side of the airfoil. The airfoil also includes a rib extending outwardly from at least one of the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the rib is configured to reduce airflow spillage past the tip.

Methods and apparatus for reducing flow across compressor airfoil tips

An airfoil for a gas turbine engine includes a leading edge, a trailing edge, a tip, a first side wall that extends in radial span between an airfoil root and the tip, wherein the first side wall defines a first side of said airfoil, and a second side wall connected to the first side wall at the leading edge and the trailing edge, wherein the second side wall extends in radial span between the airfoil root and the tip, such that the second side wall defines a second side of the airfoil. The airfoil also includes a rib that extends outwardly from at least one of the first side wall and the second side wall, such that a natural frequency of chordwise vibration of the airfoil is increased to a frequency that is not present within the gas turbine engine during engine operations.

Methods and apparatus for structurally supporting airfoil tips

A gas turbine engine rotor disk has a number of annular hubs circumscribed about a centerline and each of the hubs is connected to a disk rim by a web. A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart circular arc dovetail slots are disposed through the rim. Circumferentially extending annular burst slots extend radially through the rim into the dovetail slots between each adjacent pair of the webs. The fan blades have circular arc dovetail roots disposed within the circumferentially spaced apart circular arc dovetail slots. A one piece spinner attached to a forward extension of the disk at a location between a tip and an axially aft spinner end of the spinner. Non-integral platforms circumferentially disposed between the fan blades. A booster spool is connected to the rotor disk by a mounting plate therebetween and the platforms are radially retained to the disk and mounting plates by pins through holes in mounting lugs depending radially inwardly from the platforms. Pairs of circumferentially oppositely facing retaining slots have retainers disposed therein which extend across the dovetail slots to axially retain the dovetail roots in the dovetail slots.

Non-integral fan platform

There is provided by the present invention a brush seal including apparatus for reducing bristle vibrations, such as a damper, that engages the upstream side of the bristle pack of the brush seal so as to absorb vibrations and therefore reduce chamfering of the bristle pack.

Brush seal

There is provided by the present invention method and apparatus for damping vibrations or other unwanted motions of a brush seal, the apparatus including a damper having a plurality of individual plates that are bonded directly to the inlet rows of bristles of the seal. Methods for producing a damped brush seal in accord with the present invention contemplate brazing damping plates to the bristles, absorbing a melting point suppressor into the surface of the damping plates and then heating the damping plates until the treated surface melts and bonds with the bristles, or sintering a braze alloy to the bristles such that the braze alloy functions as a damping plate.

Method and apparatus for damping a brush seal

A brush seal is provided having a plurality of bristle layers sandwiched between a pair of circumferential plates with the upstream layers of bristles having a higher first fundamental vibration frequency than downstream seal layers. Such a seal has bristles in the upstream layer or layers that have a greater cross sectional area, a lesser lay angle, are shorter, or some combination of the foregoing.

An improved brush seal for reducing swirl, recirculation and turbulence of an approaching gas stream to reduce irregular bristle wear and operating costs. The brush real may include a baffle of the honeycomb type or circumferentially stacked plates type, positive or negative steps in the flow path approaching a seal stage, and recirculation breakers.

The present invention provides an axial blade to disk retaining assembly having a plurality of circumferentially disposed lugs arranged in a ring around an axial facing surface of the blade and disk assembly and a plurality of circumferentially disposed hooks arranged in a ring around the axial facing surface and in circumferential alternating positions with the hooks and radially spaced apart from and open towards the lugs. A split retaining ring is provided that is operable to be placed between said hooks and lugs to axially secure the blades on the disk. In the preferred embodiment each hook is disposed on a disk post between the blades and each lug is disposed on a blade root.

Single ring blade retaining assembly

An improved rotary labyrinth seal such as may be used in a gas turbine engine. The seal includes a rotor with at least one seal tooth and a stator with an abradable shroud and casing. The first and second members cooperate to inhibit the flow of fluid therebetween. The improvement comprises a conduit for conducting a portion of the fluid through the casing for heat transfer between the fluid and second member. In this manner, the thermal response of the stator is improved.

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Rolf R Hetico