GAS TURBINE ENGINE WITH CABIN BLOWER SYSTEM
20220135234 · 2022-05-05
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F05D2220/76
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
B64D2013/0603
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Y02T50/40
GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
F02C7/20
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F02C7/32
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F02C6/06
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Y02T50/60
GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
International classification
Abstract
A gas turbine engine for mounting to an airframe of an aircraft comprises an engine core; a fan located upstream of the engine core; a bifurcation spanning a bypass duct defined between the engine core and a nacelle surrounding the gas turbine engine, the bifurcation comprising aerodynamically shaped fairings defining an interior space therebetween; and a cabin blower system arranged in the interior space of the upper bifurcation.
Claims
1. A gas turbine engine for mounting to an airframe of an aircraft comprising: an engine core comprising a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; a bifurcation spanning a bypass duct defined between the engine core and a nacelle surrounding the gas turbine engine, the bifurcation comprising aerodynamically shaped fairings defining an interior space therebetween; and a cabin blower system comprising: a cabin blower comprising an air inlet and an air outlet; an electric variator comprising a first electrical machine, a second electrical machine, and a power management system; and a summing gearbox; wherein the cabin blower system is arranged in the interior space of the bifurcation.
2. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, further comprising fan outlet guide vanes arranged downstream of the fan, wherein the bifurcation is arranged downstream of the outlet guide vanes, or is integrated therewith.
3. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the bifurcation is located at top of the core engine when mounted to the airframe.
4. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the gas turbine engine is an engine core front mounted gas turbine engine, or a fan case front mounted gas turbine engine.
5. The gas turbine engine of claim 4, further comprising a pylon for mounting the gas turbine engine to the airframe, the pylon extending across the interior space of the bifurcation.
6. The gas turbine engine of claim 5, wherein the cabin blower system is supported by the pylon.
7. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, comprising a mechanical power offtake configured to drive the cabin blower system.
8. The gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the mechanical power offtake is arranged in a range of +/−45° of top dead centre, or bottom dead centre of the engine core.
9. The gas turbine engine of claim 7, wherein the mechanical power offtake is arranged at 3 o'clock, or 9 o'clock of the engine core.
10. The gas turbine engine of claim 7, further comprising a main engine accessory gearbox, the mechanical power offtake comprising a shaft connected to, and driven by, the main accessory gearbox.
11. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanger to cool the electric variator, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged in the interior space of the bifurcation.
12. The gas turbine engine of claim 11, wherein the heat exchanger includes a surface cooler arranged on the bifurcation fairings, so as to be washed by a bypass airflow flowing in the bypass duct.
13. The gas turbine engine of claim 11, wherein the heat exchanger is a matrix heat exchanger.
14. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the bifurcation fairings comprise an aperture to supply fan bypass air to the cabin blower.
15. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, wherein the bifurcation has a leading edge, a trailing edge, and two axial sides extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge and defining the aerodynamically shaped fairings.
16. The gas turbine engine of claim 1, further comprising a pylon mounted gearbox (PMG) arranged in the interior space of the bifurcation, the cabin blower system being connected to, and driven by, the pylon mounted gearbox.
17. The gas turbine engine of claim 16, further comprising a pylon for mounting the gas turbine engine to the airframe, the pylon extending across the interior space of the bifurcation, wherein the gas turbine engine is an engine core front mounted gas turbine engine, or a fan case front mounted gas turbine engine, and wherein the pylon mounted gearbox is located radially externally to the pylon outside of a main core engine accessory bay.
18. The gas turbine engine of claim 16, further comprising a pylon for mounting the gas turbine engine to the airframe, the pylon extending across the interior space of the bifurcation, wherein the gas turbine engine is an engine core front mounted gas turbine engine, or a fan case front mounted gas turbine engine, and wherein the pylon mounted gearbox is located radially internally to the pylon outside of a main core engine accessory bay.
19. The gas turbine engine of claim 18, wherein the pylon mounted gearbox is encased and shielded from the main core engine accessory bay.
20. An aircraft comprising the gas turbine engine of claim 1.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0042] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the Figures, in which:
[0043]
[0044]
[0045]
[0046]
[0047]
[0048]
[0049]
[0050]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0051]
[0052] In use, the core airflow A is accelerated and compressed by the low pressure compressor 14 and directed into the high pressure compressor 15 where further compression takes place. The compressed air exhausted from the high pressure compressor 15 is directed into the combustion equipment 16 where it is mixed with fuel and the mixture is combusted. The resultant hot combustion products then expand through, and thereby drive, the high pressure and low pressure turbines 17, 19 before being exhausted through the nozzle 20 to provide some propulsive thrust. The high pressure turbine 17 drives the high pressure compressor 15 by a suitable interconnecting shaft 27. The fan 23 generally provides the majority of the propulsive thrust. The epicyclic gearbox 30 is a reduction gearbox.
[0053] An exemplary arrangement for a geared fan gas turbine engine 10 is shown in
[0054] Note that the terms “low pressure turbine” and “low pressure compressor” as used herein may be taken to mean the lowest pressure turbine stages and lowest pressure compressor stages (i.e. not including the fan 23) respectively and/or the turbine and compressor stages that are connected together by the core shaft 26 with the lowest rotational speed in the engine (i.e. not including the gearbox output shaft that drives the fan 23). In some literature, the “low pressure turbine” and “low pressure compressor” referred to herein may alternatively be known as the “intermediate pressure turbine” and “intermediate pressure compressor”. Where such alternative nomenclature is used, the fan 23 may be referred to as a first, or lowest pressure, compression stage.
[0055] The epicyclic gearbox 30 is shown by way of example in greater detail in
[0056] The epicyclic gearbox 30 illustrated by way of example in
[0057] It will be appreciated that the arrangement shown in
[0058] Accordingly, the present disclosure extends to a gas turbine engine having any arrangement of gearbox styles (for example star or planetary), support structures, input and output shaft arrangement, and bearing locations.
[0059] Optionally, the gearbox may drive additional and/or alternative components (e.g. the intermediate pressure compressor and/or a booster compressor).
[0060] Other gas turbine engines to which the present disclosure may be applied may have alternative configurations. For example, such engines may have an alternative number of compressors and/or turbines and/or an alternative number of interconnecting shafts. By way of further example, the gas turbine engine shown in
[0061] The geometry of the gas turbine engine 10, and components thereof, is defined by a conventional axis system, comprising an axial direction (which is aligned with the rotational axis 9), a radial direction (in the bottom-to-top direction in
[0062]
[0063] The cabin blower system 100 includes a cabin blower 102, an electric variator 104, and a differential gearbox 106.
[0064] The cabin blower 102 comprises a compressor 103, an air inlet 108 and an air outlet 110. Air from the engine, for example at least in part from the bypass duct of the engine, is fed to the compressor 103 of the cabin blower 102 through the air inlet 108, compressed by the compressor 103, which in turn feeds the compressed air to the cabin of the aircraft via the air outlet 110. The compressor 103 may be a blower, or an impeller, or a pair of impellers.
[0065] The electrical variator 104 includes a first electrical machine 112, a second electrical machine 114, and a power management system 116.
[0066] The first and second electrical machines 112, 114 are each configured to work as electric motor and/or power generators. The power management system 116 interconnects the first and second electrical machines 112, 114 and controls whether each of the first and second electrical machines 112, 114 work as electric motor or power generator to drive the cabin blower 102 within specific operating conditions regardless the operating point of the gas turbine engine.
[0067] It will be understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the described cabin blower system and any type and arrangement of cabin blower system has general applicability to the gas turbine engine of the disclosure. For example, the cabin blower system may be a single combined unit as illustrated, or the constituent parts could be distributed around the gearbox assembly.
[0068] The cabin blower system 100 is driven by a transfer shaft 120 of a mechanical power offtake 118. The transfer shaft 120 may connect the differential gearbox 106 and the first electrical machine 112, and may be seen as a first input of the differential gearbox 106. The differential gearbox 106 may comprise a second input, in the form of an additional shaft connected to the second electrical machine 114, not illustrated for sake of simplicity. The differential gearbox further comprises an output to drive the compressor 103 of the cabin blower 102, not illustrated for sake of simplicity.
[0069] The transfer shaft 120, as will be described in more detail with reference to
[0070]
[0071] Fan outlet guide vanes (FOGVs) 203 are arranged downstream of the fan 213 in the bypass duct 202. Downstream of the FOGVs there is arranged an upper bifurcation, or splitter, 204 that extends between the engine core 210 and the nacelle 221. In an alternative embodiment not illustrated, the upper bifurcation 204 may be formed at least in part by an FOGV 203 spanning the bypass duct 202, and integrated therewith.
[0072] The upper bifurcation 204 completely spans the bypass duct 202.
[0073] The upper bifurcation 204 is located at top of the engine 200 when underwing mounted. The upper bifurcation 204 may be described as being located/aligned top dead centre of the gas turbine engine 200 or the engine core 210 of the gas turbine engine 200.
[0074] The engine 200 may further comprise a non-illustrated lower bifurcation, or splitter, arranged diametrically opposite the upper bifurcation 204 and located at bottom of the engine when wing mounted.
[0075] As illustrated in
[0076] On the fairings 206, for example on one of the two axial side walls 234 there is achieved an aperture 233 to fluidly connect the cabin blower air inlet 108 and the bypass duct 202. The aperture 233 defines a flush fan air offtake 237 on the side wall 234, as illustrated, for the cabin blower 102. In alternative embodiments, the fan air offtake 237 may be a forward facing scoop on the splitter nose, or a forward facing scoop protruding from the side walls 234 or 236 into the fan stream.
[0077] A duct 235, represented in dotted line in
[0078] The gas turbine engine 200 is mounted to an airframe, e.g. under a wing, or to a fuselage, by a mounting pylon 205. The pylon 205 traverses the bypass duct 202 and connects the engine core 210 to the airframe, in the so-called core front mount arrangement. In
[0079] The pylon 205 is arranged within the upper bifurcation 204 in the interior space 208, and is encased by the fairings 206. According to the disclosure, also the cabin blower system 100 is arranged within the upper bifurcation 204 in the interior space 208. Advantageously, the pylon 205 may support the cabin blower system 100, as shown in
[0080] Additionally, provision for a precooler 238 is also shown arranged within the upper bifurcation 204 in the embodiment of
[0081] In some applications, the precooler 238 may not be necessary and may be omitted.
[0082] A heat exchanger 240 is also provided for cooling the cabin blower system 100, in particular for cooling oil used to lubricate and cool the cabin blower system 100, in particular the electric variator 104 and the summing gearbox 106. The heat exchanger 240 includes a surface cooler 242 arranged on one of the two axial sides 234 of the upper bifurcation 204. In other words the surface cooler 242 is arranged on the fairings 206 and may be seen as defining a portion of the external surface of the upper bifurcation 204. In use the surface cooler 242 is washed by the bypass airflow to provide oil cooling for the cabin blower system 100. The surface cooler 242 may be designed to provide sufficient cooling just for the cabin blower system 100 or in addition to other components and/or systems of the engine, such as for example an aircraft electrical generator.
[0083] It should be noted that having the heat exchanger 240 in the upper bifurcation 204 and therefore particularly close to the heat source (the cabin blower system 100) allows for improved cooling efficiency and simplified cooling circuits, installation, and maintenance.
[0084] The cabin blower system 100 is driven by the mechanical power offtake 118 of the core engine 210. In the embodiment illustrated in
[0085] The offtake shaft 244 is connected to, and driven by, the core shaft 26, or the interconnecting shaft 27 of the engine core 210; or where the gas turbine engine has a different architecture with a different number of shafts, for example one or three shafts, the offtake shaft 244 is connected to, and driven by, said one shaft or one of said three shafts. The offtake shaft 244 could also be from a conventional core mounted engine accessory gearbox.
[0086] The offtake shaft 244 is arranged in a range of +/−45°, for example +/−30°, or +/−15°, or +/−10° of top dead centre of the engine core 210, when in use. The closer the offtake shaft 244 is arranged to the top dead centre of the engine core 210, the shorter, and therefore lighter, the same offtake shaft 244 and/or transfer shaft 220 is/are.
[0087] Ideally, if installation allows, the offtake shaft 244 is arranged at top dead centre of the engine core 210 as this would allow the offtake shaft 244 to be as close as possible to the cabin blower system 100. It also provides for a simple (e.g. bolted or splined) interface for ease of vertical engine installation and removal.
[0088] The offtake shaft 244 provides an input to the step-aside gearbox 246, which in turn outputs drive to the transfer shaft 220. The step-aside gearbox 246 provides a suitable gear ratio between the core shaft 244 and the transfer shaft 220 to ultimately drive the summing gearbox 106, and therefore the compressor 103, within acceptable speed limits.
[0089] Moreover the step-aside gearbox 246 may be an angled drive gearbox to allow connecting the offtake shaft 244 and the transfer shaft 220 when arranged on different axes.
[0090] In alternative, not illustrated embodiments the step-aside gearbox 246 may be replaced by a power offtake shaft from a conventional accessory gearbox, running in a direction tangentially around the core casing, towards a bevel gearset at 12 o'clock to then transfer the drive vertically upwards towards the cabin blower system.
[0091] If required by the engine geometry, the mechanical power offtake 118 may comprise a different number of shafts to connect the engine core 210 to the cabin blower system 100. For example, two or more transfer shafts 220, for example arranged in series, may be provided. Consequently, additional gearbox and/or gears may be provided to connect the two or more transfer shafts 220.
[0092] In a non-illustrated embodiment, the offtake shaft 244 is arranged at the top dead centre of the engine core 210. and the step-aside gearbox 246 and the transfer shaft 220 are omitted. In such an embodiment, the offtake shaft 244 directly connects to the summing gearbox 106 to drive the cabin blower system 100.
[0093] The transfer shaft 220 (and the offtake shaft 244 in the embodiment wherein the transfer shaft 220 is omitted) is at least in part arranged within, and encased by, the upper bifurcation 204. In other words, the transfer shaft 220 (and the offtake shaft 244 in the embodiment wherein the transfer shaft 220 is omitted), crosses the engine core casing 223 through a suitable aperture and is housed, at least in part, in the interior space 208 of the upper bifurcation 204.
[0094] The transfer shaft 220 may also be configured with suitable joints to allow articulation of the shaft over its length, in order to accommodate any thermal or mechanical deflections and build tolerances in the system.
[0095]
[0096] Like features between
[0097] The gas turbine engine 200′ includes a cabin blower system 100 connected to, and driven by, the PMG 250. Additionally, airframe electrical generator(s) 251 and Airframe hydraulic pump(s) 260 are also part of the PMG 250. The PMG 250 can be configured, depending on available space to accommodate the cabin blower with any combination of the airframe hydraulic, and electrical systems.
[0098] The PMG 250 is located radially externally to the pylon 205 outside of a main core engine accessory bay. The cabin blower system 100, the airframe electrical generator(s) 251 and Airframe hydraulic pump(s) 260 are also arranged radially externally to the pylon 205 outside of the main core engine accessory bay.
[0099] The PMG 250 is connected to, and driven by, a mechanical power offtake 118′ comprising an offtake shaft 244′, a step-aside gearbox 246′, a first transfer shaft 252 and a second transfer shaft 253 connected to, and driven by, the first transfer shaft 252 by means of gears 254, for example bevel gears, which allow the first transfer shaft 252 and the second transfer shaft 253 to be connected even if arranged on different axes.
[0100] In detail, the offtake shaft 244′ is driven by a shaft of the engine core. The step-aside gearbox 246′ receives an input from the offtake shaft 244′ and provides an output to the first transfer shaft 252. The first transfer shaft 252 is then connected to the second transfer shaft 253 by means of the gears 254. The step-aside gearbox 246′ and the gears 254 provide a suitable overall gear ratio between the core shaft 244′ and the second transfer shaft 253 to ultimately drive the PMG 250 within acceptable speed limits.
[0101] Airframe hydraulic pumps 260 may also be present within the upper bifurcation and connected to the PMG 250.
[0102]
[0103] Like features between
[0104] The gas turbine 200″ is adapted to be mounted to an airframe (under a wing, in the illustrated embodiment) by a mounting pylon 205″. The pylon 205 traverses the bypass duct 202 and connects the fan case 216 to the airframe. 1o The gas turbine engine 200″ includes a cabin blower system 100 connected to, and driven by, a pylon mounted gearbox (PMG) 250′. Airframe hydraulic pump(s) 260 are also connected to, and driven by, the pylon mounted gearbox 250′. The PMG 250′ is driven by a shaft 244″ of a mechanical power offtake 118″. The shaft 244″ is arranged at 12 o'clock and is connected to, and drives, the PMG 250′.
[0105] The cabin blower system 100, the PMG 250′, and the airframe hydraulic pumps(s) 260 are arranged in the interior space 208 of the upper bifurcation 204, radially internally to the mounting pylon 205″.
[0106] Additionally, provision for a precooler 238 is also shown arranged within the upper bifurcation 204 to cool high pressure hot bleed air from the cabin blower system 100. Once the temperature has been lowered, the bleed air from the cabin blower system 100 is fed to the aircraft cabin via the outlet duct 231. In some application, where the cabin blower outlet temperature is within the airframe temperature requirements, the precooler 238 may not be necessary and may be omitted.
[0107] The gas turbine engine 200″ further comprises a pylon mounted fire wall 270, which creates a separate zone for the cabin blower system 100, the airframe hydraulic pumps(s) 260, and other not illustrated aircraft systems.
[0108] It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments above-described and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Except where mutually exclusive, any of the features may be employed separately or in combination with any other features and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.