General Electric Company

Rotex, Inc.

Stephen Craig Mitchell

Donald George LaChapelle

William E Lower

Ming Xie

Warren Rosal Ronk

Andrew J Brizgis

Donald George Lachapelle

Thomas Joseph Kelly

Harvey M Maclin

Charles Robert Wojciechowski

Gary D Mercer

Richard Ravenhall

Melvin A Schobert

Christopher Charles Glynn

David William Crall

Arthur P Adamson

Frank Worthoff

Donald Lee Gardner

Lee Alan Blanton

Edward Atwood Rainous

Gary D Roberts

Michael Braley

Richard Thomas Price

Brady P Ballman

Mullahalli Venkataramaniah Srinivas

Glen William Royal

Lewis J Stoffer

Ahmad P Zahedi

Max F Grandey

Jay Alan Benson

David Lance Pennekamp

Jeremy F Simpson

W Nash McCauley

Roger C Robins

Steven A Schmidt

Dale Hopkins

Jeff Pielage

Daniel Ferris

Anthony J Yanka

An assembly includes a unitary nacelle structure and an integrated fan housing for a gas turbine engine assembly. The unitary nacelle structure includes an inlet region and a fan cowl region, and is configured to at least partially circumscribe the integrated fan housing. The integrated fan housing comprises an integral composite structure and includes a fan case sized and configured for encircling a fan blade assembly of an associated gas turbine engine, a fan hub, and a plurality of fan outlet guide vanes. The unitary nacelle structure cooperates with the integrated fan housing to transfer static and dynamic loads directly to a support structure, rather than through the engine core, to minimize backbone bending.

Integrated nacelle assembly

Methods of making an article having at least one toughened region and at least one untoughened region involving providing a material, applying a toughening agent to a portion of the material, shaping the material to produce a preform, applying an untoughened resin to the preform, and curing the preform having the applied untoughened resin to produce the at least one toughened region and the at least one untoughened region wherein the toughened region comprises a toughened resin having a fracture toughness of at least about 1.0 MPa-m.

Methods of making articles having toughened and untoughened regions

Methods for making components having improved erosion resistance including providing a component having a surface, applying at least one layer of an erosion system to at least a portion of the surface of the component, each layer of the erosion system containing a support, and a toughened resin applied to the support, and co-molding the component having the applied erosion system to produce a coated component having from about a 50% increase to about a 400% increase in erosion resistance per layer of the erosion system.

Methods for making components having improved erosion resistance

Articles having a body including a composite material having at least one toughened region and at least one untoughened region, the toughened region containing a toughening agent selected from the group consisting of polymers, nano fibers, nano particles, and combinations thereof where the toughened region includes a toughened resin having a fracture toughness of at least about 1.0 MPa-m.

Articles made from composite materials having toughened and untoughened regions

Methods allowing for visual inspection of a coated component for erosion damage involving providing a component, and applying a plurality of layers of an erosion system to at least a portion of the component to produce the coated component where each layer of the erosion system comprises a different color that becomes visible as the layer is eroded.

Methods allowing for visual inspection of coated components for erosion damage

An erosion system including a toughened resin for improving erosion resistance, the toughened resin including a resin and a toughening agent, and a support for retaining the toughened resin where at least one layer of the erosion system is applied to a component to provide from about a 50% increase to about a 400% increase in erosion resistance to the component per layer of the erosion system.

Erosions systems and components comprising the same

An enclosure having at least one wall, the wall includes an inner panel comprising, in sequence outwardly from the enclosure hollow interior, an inner sheet comprising a plurality of perforations extending therethrough, a plurality of panel stiffening members coupled to the inner sheet, and at least one inner panel sound absorption member comprising non-metallic sound absorption material positioned between adjacent of the plurality of panel stiffening members, and an outer panel comprising in sequence inwardly from outside of the enclosure, an outer panel sandwich member comprising non-metallic composite material including spaced-apart first and second walls and a plurality of spaced-apart transverse walls extending between the first and second walls defining hollow chambers therebetween, the outer panel coupled to the inner panel such that an outer surface of the inner panel is substantially flush against an outer surface of the outer panel.

Thermal-acoustic enclosure

An enclosure for apparatus that, during operation, generates heat and/or sound energy comprises at least one wall defining at least a portion of the enclosure hollow interior. The wall comprises in sequence outwardly from the enclosure hollow interior an inner panel, an outer panel, a support frame between the inner and outer panels to hold the inner and outer panels spaced apart, and a vibrator isolator between the support frame and the panels. Panels or panel segments of the wall primarily are made of non-metallic composites to provide a structurally strong, lightweight enclosure that includes enhanced acoustic characteristics and reduced heat transfer through enclosure walls, along with fire protection and in-plane shear loading capabilities.

Thermal&#x2014;acoustic enclosure

A method for manufacturing a turbine engine component includes forming a component to include a first side and an opposite second side, positioning at least one capillary adjacent to an external surface of at least one of the first and second sides, and securing the at least one capillary to the component with at least one composite layer.

Methods and apparatus for gas turbine engines

A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fiber bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin. Each core layer includes a plurality of braided reinforcing fiber tows. The braids of reinforcing fiber tows are aligned in a circumferential direction with each fiber tow including a plurality of reinforcing fibers. The core also includes at least one additional fiber tow braided into at least one predetermined axial location to form at least one concentrated stiffening ring.

Composite containment case for turbine engines

A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine is provided includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fiber bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin. Each core layer includes a plurality of braided reinforcing fibers with the braids of reinforcing fibers aligned in a circumferential direction.

Composite fan containment case for turbine engines

A screening machine of the type used to separate or classify mixtures of solid particles of different sizes includes a fixed base and a perforate screen deck mounted for movement relative to the base during a screening operation. Leaf springs connect the tail end of the screen deck to the fixed base so that the leaf springs support the tail end of screen deck for movement relative to the base. The leaf springs are oriented horizontally to avoid introducing vertical movement to the screen deck as it moves to and from the head and tail ends. The leaf springs are offset or deflected when the machine is at rest or in the neutral mid-point of its stroke. This arrangement advantageously utilizes the bias of the leaf springs to accelerate, assist or enhance movement of the screen deck during portions of its stroke and likewise to decelerate, hinder or retard the movement during other portions of its stroke. With an appropriate offset, an increase in the effectiveness of the screening process (i.e., fewer defective particles passing through the screen deck) while a decrease in the screening time is attained.

Screening machine with acceleration modification

A coupling for directing a stream of particles falling from a feed spout through an opening on the top cover of the screen box of a screening machine. An upper diaphragm seals the feed spout within the mouth of a funnel. A lower diaphragm seals the funnel discharge opening within the top cover opening. Both diaphragms are flexible and permit the funnel to tilt axially and accommodate movement of the top cover opening with respect to the feed spout. Optionally, a gimble may support the funnel and diaphragms and thereby relieve the diaphragms from the weight of the coupling.

Coupling for connecting feed spout to screening machine

A stiffened composite is provided exhibiting multi-directional reinforcement with continuous long fibers. The composite has a substrate and serpentine stiffeners adhered thereto. The stiffeners merge toward, join with and diverge from adjacent stiffeners to provide a stiffener matrix on the substrate. The serpentine stiffener permit the matrix to exhibit multi-directional reinforcement with the continuous long fibers within the serpentine ribs. The composite structures are useful as aircraft bypass ducts, and as other composite products.

Stiffened composite structures and method of making thereof

A screening machine of the moving base type has an oscillating force reducer and a single counterbalance drive, with the weight of the drive counterbalance sized to underbalance the longitudinal reaction force exerted by the deck on the drive shaft, but to substantially overbalance the lateral reaction force exerted by the deck on the drive shaft. The weight of the force reducer, the spring constant of the spring which oscillates the force reducer, and overall cost are surprisingly reduced.

Growing community of inventors

West Chester, OH, United States of America

Stephen Craig Mitchell