General Electric Company

Thomas Robbins Tipton

Kelvin Rono Aaron

Jamie Dean Lumpkin

Jeremy Peter Latimer

Michael Ericson Friedman

Christopher Edward LaMaster

Nicholas Francis Martin

Eric Richard Bonini

Lynn Charles Gagne

Stephen Robert Prince

Mark Alan Newton

Gregory Thomas Foster

Michael James Dutka

Stephen Paul Wassynger

Bruce Clark Busbey

Matthew John McKeever

Bradley Taylor Boyer

Marc Edward Blohm

Robert Walter Coign

Lisa Anne Wichmann

Graham David Sherlock

Donald Joseph Kasperski

Dale Robert Lombardo

Paul Lawrence Kalmar

Aaron Gregory Winn

Brian Christopher Wheeler

Ya-Tien Chiu

Paul Griffin Delvernois

Govindarajan Rengarajan

Liming Xu

Venkata Siva Prasad Chaluvadi

Nick Martin

James Stewart Phillips

John Duong

Alexander David Shrum

Mark Roger Brown

Ravichandran Meenakshisundaram

San-Dar Gau

Niranjan Gokuldas Pai

Tushar S Desai

James Purdue Masso

Franco Monteleone

Christopher Robert Kelly

An article of manufacture includes a rotor blade configured for use with a turbomachine. The blade is configured for attachment to a rotor wheel. The blade is configured to substantially reduce the possibility of attachment with an undesired rotor wheel by modification of at least one characteristic of the blade, so that the modification of the characteristic is matched by a complementary characteristic of the rotor wheel. The characteristic of the blade is, neck width, platform length, platform angle, platform height, tang height, or circumferential width. The blade and the wheel comprise a first stage of the turbomachine. The undesired rotor wheel is in a second stage of the turbomachine, where the first stage is different from the second stage. The complementary characteristic of the wheel is, slot opening width, platform opening depth, slot neck width, slot neck angle, slot tang depth, or slot tang width.

Article of manufacture for turbomachine

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a gas turbine engine system. The system may include a rotor wheel having a number of blades mounted about a periphery of the rotor wheel. Further, the system may include a retention device. The retention device may include a number of projections extending from a radial surface of the rotor wheel to form a number of circumferential slots about the rotor wheel. The retention device may also include a number of elongated members positioned within the circumferential slots to impede axial movement of the blades.

Systems and methods to axially retain blades

An article of manufacture has a first component configured for use with a turbomachine. The first component is configured for attachment to a second component, and reduces the possibility of attachment with an undesired third component by modification of a characteristic of the first component. This modification is matched by a complementary characteristic of the second component. The first component has a nominal airfoil profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in a scalable table selected from the group consisting of TABLES 1-11. Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z are non-dimensional values convertible to dimensional distances by multiplying by a number. X and Y are coordinates which, when connected by continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each Z height. The airfoil profile sections at each Z height being joined with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.

Article of manufacture

The present application thus provides a turbine bucket. The turbine bucket may include a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform at an intersection thereof, and a core cavity extending within the platform and the airfoil. The core cavity may include a contoured turn about the intersection so as to reduce thermal stress therein.

Turbine bucket with a core cavity having a contoured turn

The present application provides an inner nozzle platform. The inner nozzle platform may include a platform cavity, an impingement plenum positioned within the platform cavity, a retention plate positioned on a first side of the impingement plenum, and a compliant seal positioned on a second side of the impingement plenum.

Turbine nozzle cooling assembly

Systems, methods, and apparatus for linking machine stators are provided. A bracket may be utilized to link adjacent stators within a machine, for example, a turbine. The bracket may include a body portion, a first plurality of extensions, and a second plurality of extensions. The body portion may include a first edge operable to align with a base of a first stator and a second edge opposite the first edge and operable to align with a base of a second stator. The first plurality of extensions may extend from the first edge and may be operable to align with at least one corresponding groove on the base of the first stator. The second plurality of extensions may extend from the second edge and may be operable to align with at least one corresponding groove on the base of the second stator. When utilized to link the first stator and the second stator, the bracket may facilitate a reduction of vibrations in the first stator and the second stator.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for linking machine stators

An axial retention system for restraining axial movement of a machine component having a dovetail within a complimentary-shaped dovetail slot includes: a first substantially T-shaped groove formed in a bottom surface of the dovetail slot; a second substantially T-shaped groove formed in a bottom surface of the dovetail, the first and second grooves in alignment when the dovetail is located within the dovetail slot to thereby form a closed periphery substantially T-shaped slot having a stem portion and a lateral cross portion at one end of the stem component, wherein the other end of the stem is open; and a compressible locking clip adapted for insertion within the substantially T-shaped slot, the locking clip having a pair of oppositely extending lugs receivable in opposite ends of the lateral cross portion.

Axial compressor blade retention

An article of manufacture having a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in TABLE A. X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z in inches. The profile sections at the Z distances can be joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.

Airfoil shape for a compressor blade

A rotating assembly. The rotating assembly may include a wheel, a slot positioned about the wheel with the slot having a staking recess positioned therein, a wheel attachment positioned within the slot, and a staking insert positioned within the staking recess. The staking recess axially retains the staking insert and the wheel attachment radially retains the staking insert.

Replaceable staking insert

An axial retention system for restraining axial movement of a first machine component having a dovetail within a complimentary-shaped dovetail slot in a second machine component that includes a first curved groove formed in a bottom surface of the dovetail slot and a second curved groove formed in a bottom surface of the dovetail. The first and second grooves are in alignment when the dovetail is located within the dovetail slot to thereby form a closed periphery aperture. A curved locking clip is received within the closed periphery aperture. An optional cover plate may be placed over the ends of the locking clip, with ends of the locking clip deformed by, for example, swaging.

Machine component retention

A method by which high temperature properties of a ductile iron alloy, including creep and LCF properties, can be increased for pressure-containing components that are subject to creep and low cycle fatigue. The method comprises modifying the ductile iron alloy to contain 0.4 to 0.8 weight percent molybdenum. A casting of the modified ductile iron alloy is produced and then annealed at a temperature of at least 725&#xb0; C. for not less than five hours to eliminate carbides and/or stabilize pearlite in the casting. The annealed casting of the modified ductile iron alloy exhibits improved creep resistance and low cycle fatigue properties in comparison to an identical casting of a ductile iron alloy that does not contain molybdenum.

Method for improving creep resistance and low cycle fatigue properties of pressure-containing components

A method for assembling a stator assembly for a turbine engine is provided. The method includes providing a blade with a base including an end wall having at least one hole defined therein and providing a shim having at least one aperture extending therethrough. The shim aperture is aligned with the end wall hole, and the shim is secured to the blade base end wall using a fastener. The fastener is inserted through the shim aperture in an interference fit within the end wall hole. The blade and the shim are coupled to a turbine casing.

Method and apparatus for assembling blade shims

A method is provided for attaching a shim to at least one of a base of a stator vane unit and a ring segment of a ring segment assembly in a gas turbine compressor. The method includes providing a shim shaped to conform to an engaging face of the base of the stator vane unit or the segment ring of the segment ring assembly, with a predetermined thickness dimension; boring at least one hole, normal to the face of the shim and extending fully through the thickness dimension of the shim; positioning the shim on the engaging face of the at least one of the base of the stator vane unit and the segment ring of the segment ring assembly; and welding the shim to the engaging face of the at least one of the base of the stator vane unit and the ring segment of the stator ring assembly.

Stator shim welding

Blades of increased blade angle may be retrofitted onto existing compressor rotor wheels as replacement blades whereby higher performance and efficiency without replacing the rotor wheel may be achieved. The base attachments of replacement blades are provided with lateral extensions or flanges and the rim of the compressor wheel is provided with recesses straddling the grooves to accommodate the flanges. The leading edge of the replacement blade is positioned circumferentially for support only by the platform extension thereby limiting the mean and vibratory stresses in the leading edge of the airfoil and maximizing damage tolerance.

Compressor blade platform extension and methods of retrofitting blades of different blade angles

A method of tuning a compressor stator blade having a base portion and an airfoil portion to achieve a desired natural frequency, includes a) identifying the natural frequency of the compressor stator blade; b) determining a different target natural frequency for the compressor stator blade; and c) removing material from the base portion of the compressor stator blade in an amount and in a configuration that achieves the target natural frequency. A frequency-tuned compressor stator blade includes an airfoil portion and a base portion, the base portion having a substantially solid rectangular shape; and a groove cut across a width dimension of the base portion, the groove having dimensions selected to obtain a predetermined natural frequency for the airfoil portion.

Growing community of inventors

Greer, SC, United States of America

Thomas Robbins Tipton