General Electric Company

William C Lippmeier

Robert M Ausdenmoore

Thomas Anthony Hauer

Keith A Williams

David Orus Fitts

Douglas Marti Fortuna

Richard E Stenger

David J Markstein

Martin A Clements

Malachi Lawrence, Jr

Todd T Wilkinson

Joseph S Alford

Jonathan M Wood

A nozzle failsafe nozzle actuating system for an aircraft gas turbine engine variable exhaust nozzle having a plurality of pivotal flaps circumferentially disposed about a nozzle centerline and bounding an exhaust gas flowpath in the nozzle is provided with a number of primary actuators which are operably connected to nozzle flaps for pivoting and setting an attitude of the flaps relative to the centerline and wherein each of the primary actuators is extendable between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position, and a failsafe nozzle actuating actuator for setting the attitude of each of the flaps to a failsafe attitude during a failsafe mode of the nozzle actuating system wherein the failsafe attitude is such that each of the primary actuators is at a partially retracted position between the fully extended and the fully retracted positions. A particular embodiment provides actuator assembly wherein a failsafe piston rod of the failsafe actuator is disposed concentrically about a primary rod of the primary actuator and a stop element is provided for the failsafe rod to engage the primary rod when the primary rod is being retracted and the failsafe rod is extended.

Hydraulic failsafe system and method for an axisymmetric vectoring nozzle

A variable area exhaust nozzle includes a divergent flap joined to an outer flap for allowing relative rotation and translation therebetween. An articulated fairing joins the aft ends of the divergent and outer flaps for providing aerodynamic streamlining. The fairing includes outer and inner shrouds, with the outer shroud being pivotally joined to the outer flap, and the inner shroud being fixedly joined to the divergent flap, and pivotally joined to the outer shroud for allowing relative rotation and translation therebetween.

Articulated exhaust nozzle fairing

A nozzle cooling system for selectively cooling longitudinally extending and circumferentially adjacent divergent exhaust flow confining elements bounding a hot exhaust gas flowpath in a divergent section of an aircraft gas turbine engine exhaust nozzle and providing pivoting capability for divergent flaps and seals in an axisymmetric vectoring nozzle. The apparatus includes axially adjacent forward and aft sections of at least one of the exhaust flow confining elements (typically referred to as flaps and seals), the adjacent forward and aft sections have forward and aft interior hot surfaces respectively, and mounting apparatus for mounting the aft section to the forward section in one of at least two positions. A first one of these two positions spaces apart the sections to form a gap (106) between the sections which allows cooling air (102) to flow onto the aft interior hot surface and a second one of these two positions places the sections in close abutting relationship so as to essentially prevent cooling air (102) from flowing onto the aft interior hot surface.

Convertible ejector selectively cooled thrust vectoring exhaust nozzle

A thrust vectoring axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzle having universally pivoting divergent flaps is provided with a surrounding thermal shield of overlapping outer flaps and seals generally disposed in an aftwards converging conical arrangement and having a means for changing its shape from axisymmetrical to asymmetrical. Additional thermal and cooling protection is provided by a series of ejector slots located on the divergent universally pivotal flaps and adjacent interflap seals of the nozzle to both cool and thermally shield the flaps and seals.

Axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzle thermal shield

A flap to seal retaining apparatus for providing retention between adjacent longitudinally extending seals and flaps in an aircraft gas turbine engine axisymmetric vectoring nozzle. The retaining apparatus provides a channel having transversely extending channel walls mounted on the flap. A retaining lug supported from the seal is disposed within the channel and a positioning device is provided to maintain the retaining lug within the channel when the adjacent seal and flap are skewed with respect to each other. The positioning device provides the lug with a two degree freedom (2DOF) of motion with respect to the flap within the channel.

Vectoring exhaust nozzle seal and flap retaining apparatus

The present invention provides support for a vectoring ring used to pivot flaps in a gas turbine engine thrust vectoring nozzle. The ring support transfers at least a portion of the side loads acting generated by a gas turbine engine thrust vectoring nozzle to a relatively stationary portion of the engine. The support includes apparatus that provides for allowing two degree of freedom (2 DOF) pivoting or gimballing motion and axial translation of the vectoring ring.

Support for a translating nozzle vectoring ring

A spring biased bearing is slidably mounted within a clevis joint so as to apply a frictional damping force to a flap of a jet engine exhaust nozzle. A forward hinge joint restrains the bearing against rotation with the flap while an aft hinge joint provides for both rotation and translation of the bearing about the flap. A tubular canister may be used with the hinge joint to preset the axial compression and biasing force generated by a coil spring enclosed within the canister.

Vibration damping hinge joints for variable area jet engine exhaust

An exhaust nozzle flap seal includes a seal plate, a support member, and structure for joining the support member to the seal plate which is effective for allowing the seal plate to slide relative to the support member for accommodating differential thermal movement therebetween. In a preferred, exemplary embodiment, the exhaust nozzle flap seal is disposed in combination with a vectorable, axisymmetric, variable area exhaust nozzle and is also effective for accommodating twist of the flap seal when the exhaust nozzle is positioned for vectoring thrust.

Exhaust nozzle flap seal

An interflap segmented seal is provided for use between adjacent flaps of an axisymmetric vectorable exhaust nozzle in order to minimize flow loss therebetween when the flaps are pivoted through different angles in order to turn the exhaust flow and vector the thrust. The overlapping seal segments are mounted to a backbone having an elliptical cross-section by a flange with a lobed hole in it through which the backbone passes. Spacers between the flanges axially position the individual segments from each other. Variable movement between adjacent flaps produces different angles between the sealing edges of the flaps which are often skewed with respect to each other and the flexibility afforded by the seals of the present invention allows the seals to minimize the leakage between the flaps and the seals.

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

William C Lippmeier