United Technologies Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Rtx Corporation

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Stephen Karl Kramer

Zhongtao Dai

Steven Wayne Burd

James B Hoke

Lance L Smith

William Arthur Sowa

Albert K Cheung

John T Ols

Gabriel L Suciu

Tracy A Propheter-Hinckley

Mark F Zelesky

Timothy S Snyder

Wendell V Twelves

Ken Francis Blaney

Atul Kohli

Dustin Wayne Davis

Alexander W Williams

Daniel Bernard Kupratis

Brandon W Spangler

Joseph V Mantese

Jesse M Chandler

William K Ackermann

Gregory Boardman

Paul R Hanrahan

James W Norris

James D Hill

Kevin W Schlichting

Steven Bruce Gautschi

David C Jarmon

Anthony R Bifulco

David L Lincoln

Coy Bruce Wood

Dennis M Moura

Eric A Hudson

Brian S Tryon

Craig A Nordeen

Ricardo Trindade

Hoyt Y Chang

George J Kramer

Jose E Ruberte Sanchez

Anton G Banks

Dave J Hyland

Simon Pickford

Gary J Dillard

John H Mosley

Reid Dyer Curtis Smith

Benjamin Bellows

Wookyung Kim

Baris A Sen

Trevor Rudy

Shawn Siroka

Ivan Monge-Concepcion

Peter F Hauck

Eric DeShong

Brian Knisely

Ramesh Rajagopalan

Ryan Lundgreen

Andre M Ajami

Robin Prenter

Jessica L Serra

Gary D Jones

James E Jones

David J Hyland

Paul E Coderre

Kevin W White

Douglas A Thonebe

Dibesh D Joshi

Harvey L Klein

Bruce Bond

Christopher Dale Jones

Enzo Dibenedetto

Orin G Avidane

Sheree R Swenson-Dodge

Steven J Laporte

Nikolaos Napoli

Bradley C Sammann

Xiaolan Hu

Christopher L Kogstrom

Peter K Hauck

Amanda B Graves

Thomas Pritchard

Dae K Dempsey

Benjamin D Bellows

Tracy A Propheter-Hinkley

A gas turbine engine fuel system includes a fuel delivery system, an oil cooling subsystem, a fuel delivery conditioning system, and one or more optical coking sensors. The fuel delivery subsystem delivers fuel to a gas turbine engine and the oil cooling subsystem receives heated oil from the gas turbine engine. The fuel delivery conditioning system includes a fuel/oil cooler that is in fluid communication with the fuel delivery subsystem to receive the fuel and is in fluid communication with the oil cooling subsystem to receive the heated oil. The fuel/oil cooler transfers heat from the oil to the fuel to increase a temperature of the fuel, and the optical coking sensors output a signal indicating a thermal stress of the fuel that occurs with a changing temperature of the fuel. A controller receives the voltage signal determines an onset of coking in the fuel based on the signal.

Real-time optical coking sensor

A gas turbine engine fuel system includes a fuel delivery system, an oil cooling subsystem, and a fuel conditioning subsystem. The fuel delivery subsystem delivers fuel to a gas turbine engine, and the oil cooling subsystem receives heated oil from the gas turbine engine. The fuel conditioning subsystem includes a fuel/oil cooler that is in fluid communication with the fuel delivery subsystem to receive the fuel and is in fluid communication with the oil cooling subsystem to receive the heated oil, the fuel/oil cooler configured to transfer heat from the heated oil to the fuel. A thermal coking sensor is in fluid communication with the fuel and is configured to generate a signal in response to interacting with the fuel. A controller is configured to determine a coking temperature indicating an onset of coking in the fuel based on the signal.

Real-time thermal coking sensor

An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This assembly includes a turbine vane array and a cooling system. The turbine vane array includes an inner platform, an outer platform and a plurality of turbine vanes extending between and connected to the inner platform and the outer platform. The turbine vanes include a first turbine vane, and the first turbine vane includes a first passage and a second passage. The cooling system is configured to direct a first fluid into the first passage and a second fluid into the second passage. The first fluid includes air and steam during a first mode. The second fluid includes the air without the steam during the first mode.

Steam cooling turbine stator vane array

An assembly for a combustor for a gas turbine engine, including: a plurality of heat shield panels attached to at least one combustor liner, each one of the plurality of heat shield panels including a panel portion and a first forward rail and a second rearward rail each extending from an outer surface of the panel portion, the panel portion including an inner surface opposite of the outer surface, the panel portion also includes a forward end and a rearward end, the forward end of the panel portion is axially forward of the rearward end of an adjacent heat shield panel of the plurality of heat shield panels such that a gap is defined between the outer surface of the panel portion of one heat shield panel of the plurality of heat shield panels and an inner surface of the panel portion of an adjacent heat shield panel of the plurality of heat shield panels, the panel portion also includes a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surface to the inner surface; and a plurality of cooling pins extending upwardly and away from the outer surface towards a surface of the at least one combustor liner.

Reinforced film floatwall for a gas turbine engine

During a method, an aircraft powerplant is provided. The aircraft powerplant includes an injector and a fuel system configured to deliver fuel to the injector. The fuel system includes a first tank, a first circuit and a second circuit arranged in parallel with the first circuit between the first tank and the injector. The second circuit includes a second tank. The fuel is directed from the first tank to the injector during a first mode through the first circuit and independent of the second circuit. The fuel is directed from the second tank to the injector during a second mode through the second circuit and independent of the first circuit.

Aircraft fuel system with removable fuel tank

A fuel injector assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a swirler and a fuel nozzle. The swirler has an outer wall having a SOW inner wall surface, an inner wall having a SIW inner wall surface and a SIW outer wall surface, an outer passage, and an inner passage. The SIW inner wall surface includes first and second sections. The first section extends between a first airflow inlet and the second section, and the second section extends between the first section and an inner wall distal end. The first section tapers radially inward, and the second section extends parallel the center axis. The outer wall circumscribes the inner wall and extends axially along the center axis to a distal outer wall end, and the distal end wall is axially recessed within the swirler from the distal outer wall end. The fuel nozzle projects into the inner passage.

High shear swirler for gas turbine engine

A combustion assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a combustor, a monochromator, and a photodetector assembly. The combustor forms a combustion chamber. The monochromator is disposed outside the combustion chamber. The monochromator is configured to receive an optical input from the combustion chamber and direct an optical output. The optical input has a range of light wavelengths. The optical output has a subset of the range of light wavelengths. The photodetector assembly is disposed outside the combustion chamber. The photodetector assembly is configured to receive the optical output from the monochromator and generate an output signal representative of one or more optical characteristics of the optical output.

Optical detection system for a gas turbine engine combustion assembly

A main injector can include multiple sub-element mixers. A first sub-element mixer includes a first main air nozzle circumscribing a first main fuel nozzle. A second sub-element mixer includes a second main air nozzle circumscribing a second main fuel nozzle. An annular combustor can include a circumferential array of main injectors disposed proximate a pilot injector. Each main injector of the array of main injectors can be oriented with first sub-element mixers proximate to the pilot injector and second sub-element mixers spaced axially downstream relative to first sub-element mixers in a staged configuration.

Cluster of swirled mini-mixers for fuel-staged, axially staged combustion

An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This assembly includes a housing, a combustor and a fuel injector assembly. The housing includes a case and a diffuser plenum radially within the case. The case extends axially along and circumferentially about a centerline. The combustor is disposed within the diffuser plenum. The combustor includes a bulkhead, a hood, a combustion chamber and a hood cavity. The bulkhead is axially between the combustion chamber and the hood cavity. The hood is between the hood cavity and the diffuser plenum. The fuel injector assembly projects radially into the diffuser plenum from the case. The fuel injector assembly includes a fuel nozzle and a steam nozzle. The fuel nozzle is configured to inject fuel into the combustion chamber. The steam nozzle is configured to inject steam into the hood cavity.

Injecting steam into hood cavity of turbine engine combustor

An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This assembly includes a housing, a combustor and a steam injector. The housing includes an air plenum. The combustor is disposed within the air plenum. The combustor includes a combustor wall and a combustion chamber. The combustor wall is disposed between the combustion chamber and the air plenum. The combustor wall includes a quench aperture that extends through the combustor wall from the air plenum to the combustion chamber. The steam injector projects partially into or through the quench aperture.

Introducing steam with quench air into turbine engine combustor

An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This assembly includes a housing, a combustor and a steam system. The housing includes an air plenum. The combustor is disposed within the air plenum. The combustor includes a combustion chamber and a combustor wall between the combustion chamber and the air plenum. The steam system includes a steam injector arranged within the air plenum next to the combustor wall. The steam system is configured to inject steam out of the steam injector and into the air plenum to impinge against the combustor wall.

Steam cooling turbine engine combustor wall

An assembly is provided for a turbine engine. This assembly includes a fuel injector assembly, and the fuel injector assembly includes a fuel passage, an air passage and a steam passage. The fuel injector assembly is configured to direct fuel out of the fuel passage along an axis into a volume as a fuel flow. The fuel injector assembly is configured to direct air out of the air passage along the axis into the volume as an air flow, where the air flow circumscribes the fuel flow. The fuel injector assembly is configured to direct steam out of the steam passage along the axis into the volume as a steam flow, where the steam flow circumscribes the fuel flow and provides a radial buffer between the fuel flow and the air flow.

Fuel injector assembly for gas turbine engine with fuel, air and steam injection

A combustor with a centerline is provided that includes a support structure and a heat shield. The heat shield extends circumferentially about and axially along the centerline. The heat shield is configured from or otherwise includes ceramic material. The heat shield is mounted to the support structure by an interlocking joint connection. The interlocking joint connection includes a projection and a groove. The projection is configured with the support structure and includes a plurality of fingers arranged along and projecting into the groove. The groove is formed in the heat shield.

Mounting a ceramic component to a non-ceramic component in a gas turbine engine

Methods for manufacturing combustor panels of gas turbine engines and combustor panels are described. The methods include defining a particle deposit near-steady state for at least a portion of a combustor panel, the particle deposit near-steady state representative of a build-up of particles on the at least a portion of the combustor panel during use, generating a template based on the defined particle deposit near-steady state, wherein the template includes one or more augmentation elements based on the representative of build-up of particles, and forming a combustor panel based on the template, wherein the formed combustor panel includes one or more augmentation elements defined in the template.

Combustor panels for gas turbine engines

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Cromwell, CT, United States of America

Stephen Karl Kramer