Patents by Inventor Brett Barker

Brett Barker has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11859511
    Abstract: Airfoils and methods of cooling an airfoil are provided. The airfoil may comprise a spar; a coversheet on the spar; and a dual feed circuit between the spar and the coversheet. The dual feed circuit may include a first dam, a second dam spaced apart from the first dam along the chord axis of the spar, a first inlet disposed adjacent to the first dam, a second inlet disposed adjacent to the second dam, a circuit outlet disposed between the first inlet and the second inlet, and a plurality of diamond and/or hexagonal pedestals disposed on an outer surface of the spar. The diamond and/or hexagonal pedestals may form a plurality of cooling channels between the first inlet, the second inlet, and the circuit outlet. There may be no other circuit inlets are located between the first inlet and the second inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC., ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig, Jerry Layne, Jeffrey F. Rhodes
  • Patent number: 11834961
    Abstract: A dual-wall airfoil configured for coolant transfer includes a spar having a pressure side wall and a suction side wall each including raised features on an outer surface thereof. An interior of the spar includes coolant cavities. An inner surface of a pressure side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the pressure side wall so as to define pressure side flow pathways between the pressure side wall and the pressure side coversheet, and an inner surface of a suction side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the suction side wall so as to define suction side flow pathways between the suction side wall and the suction side coversheet. The pressure side flow pathways and/or the suction side flow pathways include cooling circuit(s) configured to transfer coolant between the coolant cavities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Brett Barker
  • Patent number: 11773728
    Abstract: An airfoil, such as a vane or a blade for a gas turbine engine, may be provided. The airfoil may include a platform; a spar; a fillet; and a coversheet. The spar may include a passageway inside of the spar for a cooling fluid, a pedestal on an outer surface of the spar, and a spar hole configured to direct the cooling fluid from the passageway to the outer surface of the spar. The fillet may be located at the intersection of the platform and the spar, and may couple the spar to the platform. The fillet and/or the coversheet may include a protrusion extending along the edge of the coversheet. The protrusion, along with the pedestal and the outer surface of the spar, may define a purge groove. The purge groove and a purge groove outlet may form a cooling path for cooling fluid to flow onto the platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig
  • Publication number: 20230175403
    Abstract: A dual-wall airfoil configured for coolant transfer includes a spar having a pressure side wall and a suction side wall each including raised features on an outer surface thereof. An interior of the spar includes coolant cavities. An inner surface of a pressure side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the pressure side wall so as to define pressure side flow pathways between the pressure side wall and the pressure side coversheet, and an inner surface of a suction side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the suction side wall so as to define suction side flow pathways between the suction side wall and the suction side coversheet. The pressure side flow pathways and/or the suction side flow pathways include cooling circuit(s) configured to transfer coolant between the coolant cavities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2023
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventor: Brett Barker
  • Publication number: 20230167743
    Abstract: An airfoil, such as a vane or a blade for a gas turbine engine, may be provided, where the airfoil comprises: a platform; a spar; a fillet; and a coversheet. The spar may include a passageway inside of the spar for a cooling fluid, a pedestal on an outer surface of the spar, and a spar hole configured to direct the cooling fluid from the passageway to the outer surface of the spar. The spar may be coupled or integral to the platform by the fillet located at the intersection of the platform and the spar. An inner surface of the coversheet may be positioned on the pedestal of the spar. The fillet and/or the coversheet includes a protrusion extending along the edge of the coversheet. The protrusion, along with the pedestal and the outer surface of the spar, define a purge groove. The purge groove includes a purge groove outlet and the purge groove and the purge groove outlet together form a cooling path for cooling fluid to flow onto the platform.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Applicant: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig
  • Publication number: 20230141484
    Abstract: Airfoils and methods of cooling an airfoil are provided. The airfoil may comprise a spar; a coversheet on the spar; and a dual feed circuit between the spar and the coversheet. The dual feed circuit may include a first dam, a second dam spaced apart from the first dam along the chord axis of the spar, a first inlet disposed adjacent to the first dam, a second inlet disposed adjacent to the second dam, a circuit outlet disposed between the first inlet and the second inlet, and a plurality of diamond and/or hexagonal pedestals disposed on an outer surface of the spar. The diamond and/or hexagonal pedestals may form a plurality of cooling channels between the first inlet, the second inlet, and the circuit outlet. There may be no other circuit inlets are located between the first inlet and the second inlet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Publication date: May 11, 2023
    Applicants: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig, Jerry Layne, Jeffrey F. Rhodes
  • Patent number: 11635000
    Abstract: An endwall may be disposed at one end of a vane assembly. The endwall may comprise an endwall spar and a coversheet on the hot surface of the endwall spar. The endwall may further comprise a cooling fluid channel between the hot surface of the endwall spar and the cold surface of the coversheet. The cooling fluid channel may include a cooling fluid inlet disposed in the endwall spar, and a cooling fluid outlet. The cooling fluid outlet may be formed at an angle with the axis of the endwall spar. A plurality of pedestals may be disposed on the hot surface of the endwall spar extending into the cooling channel. The pedestals may be formed at an angle with the axis of the endwall spar to direct a cooling fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION, ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC.
    Inventors: Jack Moody, Jerry Layne, Jeffrey F. Rhodes, Brett Barker, Eric Koenig
  • Patent number: 11598215
    Abstract: A dual-wall airfoil configured for coolant transfer includes a spar having a pressure side wall and a suction side wall each including raised features on an outer surface thereof. An interior of the spar includes coolant cavities. An inner surface of a pressure side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the pressure side wall so as to define pressure side flow pathways between the pressure side wall and the pressure side coversheet, and an inner surface of a suction side coversheet is in contact with the raised features on the outer surface of the suction side wall so as to define suction side flow pathways between the suction side wall and the suction side coversheet. The pressure side flow pathways and/or the suction side flow pathways include cooling circuit(s) configured to transfer coolant between the coolant cavities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Brett Barker
  • Patent number: 11536143
    Abstract: An endwall assembly disposed at one end of a vane assembly may comprise an endwall spar that includes an cold side, an hot side, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and an axis extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge perpendicular to the leading edge. The endwall assembly may include a coversheet on the hot side of the endwall spar and a cooling channel that includes a cooling fluid inlet disposed in the endwall spar, and a cooling fluid outlet. The endwall assembly may include a structure protruding from the cold side of the endwall spar, wherein the structure is located between the cooling fluid inlet and the cooling fluid outlet along the axis; and a cooling fluid source cavity on the cold side of the wall, the cooling fluid source cavity in fluid communication with the cooling fluid channel via the cooling fluid inlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE NORTH AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC., ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jack Moody, Jerry Layne, Jeffrey F. Rhodes, Brett Barker, Eric Koenig
  • Patent number: 11459901
    Abstract: An airfoil with dual-wall cooling for a gas turbine engine comprises a spar having a pressure side wall and a suction side wall meeting at a leading edge and a trailing edge of the airfoil. An interior of the spar comprises a coolant cavity. The suction side wall includes an arrangement of rails on an outer surface thereof, where each rail extends along a non-chordal direction and terminates at or near the trailing edge. The airfoil also comprises a suction side coversheet overlying the suction side wall, where an inner surface of the suction side coversheet is in contact with the arrangement of rails so as to define a plurality of angled channels between the suction side wall and the suction side coversheet. The suction side wall also comprises inlet holes in fluid communication with the coolant cavity for feeding coolant to the angled channels, and the arrangement of rails is configured to direct the coolant through the angled channels and toward the trailing edge of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig, Bruce Varney, Kyle Uhlenhake
  • Publication number: 20220236408
    Abstract: A measuring device is provided, having a housing having a circuit board and processor; a first transducer arranged on a surface of the housing and configured to transmit an ultrasonic pulse towards a target surface; a second transducer adjacent to the first transducer configured to receive a reflection of the ultrasonic pulse off of the target surface; and a thermistor on the surface of the housing adjacent to the first and second transducers and configured to measure air temperature surrounding the device. The processor of the device is configured to measure a time duration between transmitting the ultrasonic pulse by the first transducer and receiving the reflection of the ultrasonic pulse by the second transducer, and to determine a distance between a ground surface upon which the device is resting and the target surface based at least upon the measured time duration and the measured air temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2022
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Don BARKER, Brett BARKER, Elik Dvorkin
  • Patent number: 11294051
    Abstract: A measuring device is provided, having a housing having a circuit board and processor; a first transducer arranged on a surface of the housing and configured to transmit an ultrasonic pulse towards a target surface; a second transducer adjacent to the first transducer configured to receive a reflection of the ultrasonic pulse off of the target surface; and a thermistor on the surface of the housing adjacent to the first and second transducers and configured to measure air temperature surrounding the device. The processor of the device is configured to measure a time duration between transmitting the ultrasonic pulse by the first transducer and receiving the reflection of the ultrasonic pulse by the second transducer, and to determine a distance between a ground surface upon which the device is resting and the target surface based at least upon the measured time duration and the measured air temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: CREATIVE RACING PRODUCTS, LLC
    Inventors: Don Barker, Brett Barker, Elik Dvorkin
  • Patent number: 11225873
    Abstract: A system includes an air foil positionable in a combustion flow path of a combustion turbine. A shank may be integrally formed with the air foil, and the platform may be integrally formed with the shank. The platform includes linear fluid passageways, access ducts penetrating a wedge face surface of the platform, and outlet apertures formed in a radially outward surface of the platform. The outlet apertures are in fluid communication with respective linear fluid passageways such that fluid flowing through the respective linear fluid passageways is discharged from the outlet apertures into the combustion flow path. The platform also includes plugs is disposed in respective access ducts to form a fluid tight seal and be positioned in at least one of the respective linear fluid passageways. Fluid flowing through the respective linear fluid passageways flows away from a respective plug for discharge from a respective outlet aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Eric Koenig, Brett Barker
  • Patent number: 11162370
    Abstract: An actively cooled component can be an airfoil, such as an air foil in a jet turbine engine. The component may have a body comprising at least one internal channel adapted for a flow of a cooling media therein. The channel may have two side walls separating a cold inner surface and a hot inner surface. The cold inner surface may have two impingement holes in fluid communication with a cooling media source, allowing for ingress of the cooling media into the internal channel. The hot inner surface may have one angled film hole in fluid communication with a hot outer surface, allowing for egress of the cooling media out of the internal channel. The first and second side walls may enclose a length of the internal channel along which the angled film hole is located between the two impingement holes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Jim Sellhorn, Brett Barker, Jeff Rhodes
  • Publication number: 20210215051
    Abstract: A system includes an air foil positionable in a combustion flow path of a combustion turbine. A shank may be integrally formed with the air foil, and the platform may be integrally formed with the shank. The platform includes linear fluid passageways, access ducts penetrating a wedge face surface of the platform, and outlet apertures formed in a radially outward surface of the platform. The outlet apertures are in fluid communication with respective linear fluid passageways such that fluid flowing through the respective linear fluid passageways is discharged from the outlet apertures into the combustion flow path. The platform also includes plugs is disposed in respective access ducts to form a fluid tight seal and be positioned in at least one of the respective linear fluid passageways. Fluid flowing through the respective linear fluid passageways flows away from a respective plug for discharge from a respective outlet aperture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2020
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Applicant: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Eric Koenig, Brett Barker
  • Patent number: 10996140
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine probe comprises a housing mounted in a borescope port of the engine. The housing includes at least one coolant passage that conducts coolant through the housing. The probe develops an indication of an engine condition, such as blockage in the engine due to sand and/or other debris.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig, Tyler Gillen
  • Patent number: 10837314
    Abstract: A system for a hot section dual wall component in a gas turbine engine is used to avoid blockage by minimizing particulate deposits. The system includes impingement apertures formed in first wall of a cooling passageway of the dual wall component, and posts included on a second wall of the cooling passageway. The impingement apertures and the posts are respectively aligned opposite each other in the cooling passageway in operative cooperation so that working fluid exhausting into the cooling passageway from the impingement apertures in a first direction is directed to flow in a second direction along the cooling passageway to provide a laminar flow of the working fluid through the cooling passageway in order to minimize deposition of particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Bruce E. Varney, Brett Barker
  • Publication number: 20200284693
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine probe comprises a housing mounted in a borescope port of the engine. The housing includes at least one coolant passage that conducts coolant through the housing. The probe develops an indication of an engine condition, such as blockage in the engine due to sand and/or other debris.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Eric Koenig, Tyler Gillen
  • Patent number: 10626731
    Abstract: An airfoil cooling system may be provided. An airfoil may have a pressure side and a suction side that are separated by a leading edge. The leading edge may pass through a stagnation point of the airfoil. A spar may have an outer surface comprising standoffs. The standoffs may define a cooling channel that extends across the leading edge on the outer surface of the spar, from the pressure side to the suction side. The cooling channel may have a first portion and a second portion defined by the standoffs. The first portion may be located closer to a base or a tip of the airfoil than the second portion. The spar may further comprise an inlet on the pressure side or the suction side. The inlet may be configured to convey a cooling fluid from a passageway located inside of the spar to the cooling channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2020
    Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Bruce Varney, Brian Shoemaker, Charles Bulgrin
  • Publication number: 20200080426
    Abstract: An airfoil cooling system may be provided. An airfoil may have a pressure side and a suction side that are separated by a leading edge. The leading edge may pass through a stagnation point of the airfoil. A spar may have an outer surface comprising standoffs. The standoffs may define a cooling channel that extends across the leading edge on the outer surface of the spar, from the pressure side to the suction side. The cooling channel may have a first portion and a second portion defined by the standoffs. The first portion may be located closer to a base or a tip of the airfoil than the second portion. The spar may further comprise an inlet on the pressure side or the suction side. The inlet may be configured to convey a cooling fluid from a passageway located inside of the spar to the cooling channel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Brett Barker, Bruce Varney, Brian Shoemaker, Charles Bulgrin