Patents by Inventor Richard William Albrecht

Richard William Albrecht 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).

  • Publication number: 20100074745
    Abstract: A turbine shroud includes a shroud hanger having an arcuate panel from which three inner hooks extend inwardly, and from which two outer hooks extend outwardly therefrom. The two outer hooks effect a statically determinate configuration of the shroud.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2008
    Publication date: March 25, 2010
    Inventors: Daniel Vern Jones, James Harvey Laflen, Richard William Albrecht, Dustin Alfred Placke, Ching-Pang Lee
  • Patent number: 7458774
    Abstract: A first stage turbine disk section for a gas turbine engine, including a centrally disposed disk hub having an integrally-formed, radially outwardly extending web terminating at an outer end. The disk hub has a convex, curved hub surface exposed to high pressure, high temperature compressor bleed and discharge gases during engine operation, and the convex, curved hub surface acts to reduce the axial constraint at the location of peak axial stress, thereby mitigating the formation of undesirable axial stress in the disk hub and allows separation of the peak axial and hoop stresses, thereby reducing the magnitude of the peak hub surface effective stress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Richard William Albrecht, Jr., Craig William Higgins
  • Patent number: 7431561
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for cooling gas turbine rotor blades is provided. The blade includes an airfoil having an internal three pass serpentine cooling circuit having radially extending first, second, and third serpentine cooling cavities partially separated by, in axially aft succession, a first radially extending internal rib and a second radially extending internal rib. The serpentine cooling circuit includes a first inlet in flow communication with the first cavity and a second inlet in flow communication with at least one of the second and third cavities wherein the first and second inlets are formed during casting of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Tyler F. Hooper, Bhanu Reddy, Gaoqiu Zhu, Richard William Albrecht, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7008181
    Abstract: An annular air baffle disposed in a cavity of a rotatable gas turbine engine part includes an annular split ring supporting a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart fins. The cavity is closed at a radially outer diameter and open at a radially inner diameter of the part. The ring and the fins may be integrally formed in one piece. The fins may have common surfaces with the ring and the common surfaces may be circular cross-sectional surfaces of the ring and radially outer rounded corners of the fins. The fins may have triangular cross-sectional shapes with first, second, and third sides, rounded first radially inner corners between the first and second sides, rounded second radially inner corners between the second and third sides, and the radially outer rounded corners between the first and third sides. The fins may extend radially inwardly from the annular split ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: General Electric Co.
    Inventors: Robert Paul Czachor, Michael Charles Eckert, Richard William Albrecht, Steven Alan Ross
  • Patent number: 6715988
    Abstract: A hollow cooled turbine airfoil is provided having pressure and suction side walls and a plurality of trailing edge cooling passages that feed cooling air bleed slots at the trailing edge. The suction side wall has a selectively reduced thickness, which allows shortened trailing edge slots, improving trailing edge cooling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2004
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene Mc Rae, Jr., Richard William Albrecht, Jr., David Alan Frey
  • Patent number: 6652226
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a non-rotatable member that includes a honeycomb seal that reduces wear to rotor seal teeth disposed within the gas turbine engine. The gas turbine engine also includes a rotatable annular member including a sealing assembly disposed between rotor and stator components. The rotatable annular member includes seal teeth that extend radially outward from the rotatable annular member. The stator components include a non-rotatable member that includes a honeycomb seal that extends radially inward. The honeycomb seal is fabricated from a material that has a melting temperature less than approximately 2000° F.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Co.
    Inventors: Richard William Albrecht, Jr., Joseph Charles Kulesa, Robert Paul Czachor, Shesh Krishna Srivatsa, Daniel Edward Wines, Thomas Tracy Wallace
  • Patent number: 6592330
    Abstract: A dovetail assembly including non-parallel relief faces that facilitates reduced pressure face brinelling in turbine engines. The assembly includes a plurality of rotor blades, each including a dovetail. Each dovetail includes at least a pair of blade tangs including blade relief faces. The dovetail assembly also includes a rotor disk including a plurality of dovetail slots, each sized to receive a dovetail. Each dovetail slot is defined by at least one pair of opposing disk tangs including disk relief faces. The disk relief faces are non-parallel to the blade relief faces when the dovetail is mounted in the dovetail slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene Mc Rae, Jr., Robert Ingram Ackerman, Richard William Albrecht, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6551062
    Abstract: A hollow cooled turbine airfoil is provided having pressure and suction side walls and a plurality of trailing edge cooling passages that feed cooling air bleed slots at the trailing edge. The suction side wall has a selectively reduced thickness, which allows shortened trailing edge slots, improving trailing edge cooling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene McRae, Jr., Richard William Albrecht, Jr., David Alan Frey
  • Publication number: 20030044275
    Abstract: A hollow cooled turbine airfoil is provided having pressure and suction side walls and a plurality of trailing edge cooling passages that feed cooling air bleed slots at the trailing edge. The suction side wall has a selectively reduced thickness, which allows shortened trailing edge slots, improving trailing edge cooling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2001
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene McRae, Richard William Albrecht, David Alan Frey
  • Publication number: 20030044284
    Abstract: A dovetail assembly including non-parallel relief faces that facilitates reduced pressure face brinelling in turbine engines. The assembly includes a plurality of rotor blades, each including a dovetail. Each dovetail includes at least a pair of blade tangs including blade relief faces. The dovetail assembly also includes a rotor disk including a plurality of dovetail slots, each sized to receive a dovetail. Each dovetail slot is defined by at least one pair of opposing disk tangs including disk relief faces. The disk relief faces are non-parallel to the blade relief faces when the dovetail is mounted in the dovetail slot.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2001
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene Mc Rae, Robert Ingram Ackerman, Richard William Albrecht
  • Publication number: 20030044279
    Abstract: A hollow cooled turbine airfoil is provided having pressure and suction side walls and a plurality of trailing edge cooling passages that feed cooling air bleed slots at the trailing edge. The suction side wall has a selectively reduced thickness, which allows shortened trailing edge slots, improving trailing edge cooling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2002
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Leslie Eugene Leeke, Sean Robert Keith, Ronald Eugene McRae, Richard William Albrecht, David Alan Frey
  • Patent number: 6464453
    Abstract: A unitary interstage sealing ring for bridging and sealing the space between the blade shanks of adjacent turbine rotors in a multi-stage turbine. The sealing ring serves to confine relatively cool air conveyed to the turbine so the cooling air flows into the turbine blades for maintaining the blades at a desired temperature. The sealing ring includes a disk-shaped body member that includes a pair of axially-spaced, radially-extending arms that terminate in respective seal teeth for engagement with a stationary annular sealing member. Each of the radial arms includes an outwardly-extending axial arm that terminates in a disk engagement member for sealing engagement with the face of an adjacent turbine disk to confine cooling air within the space between the adjacent turbine disks. Additionally, one of the disk engagement members includes at least one, projection that contacts a respective turbine rotor to limit relative rotation between the sealing ring and the turbine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Milo Toborg, Dennis Eugene Moore, Richard William Albrecht, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20020110451
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a non-rotatable member that includes a honeycomb seal that reduces wear to rotor seal teeth disposed within the gas turbine engine. The gas turbine engine also includes a rotatable annular member including a sealing assembly disposed between rotor and stator components. The rotatable annular member includes seal teeth that extend radially outward from the rotatable annular member. The stator components include a non-rotatable member that includes a honeycomb seal that extends radially inward. The honeycomb seal is fabricated from a material that has a melting temperature less than approximately 2000° F.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2001
    Publication date: August 15, 2002
    Inventors: Richard William Albrecht, Joseph Charles Kulesa, Robert Paul Czachor, Shesh Krishna Srivatsa, Daniel Edward Wines, Thomas Tracy Wallace
  • Publication number: 20020067987
    Abstract: A unitary interstage sealing ring for bridging and sealing the space between the blade shanks of adjacent turbine rotors in a multistage turbine. The sealing ring serves to confine relatively cool air conveyed to the turbine so the cooling air flows into the turbine blades for maintaining the blades at a desired temperature. The sealing ring includes a disk-shaped body member that includes a pair of axially-spaced, radially-extending arms that terminate in respective seal teeth for engagement with a stationary annular sealing member. Each of the radial arms includes an outwardly-extending axial arm that terminates in a disk engagement member for sealing engagement with the face of an adjacent turbine disk to confine cooling air within the space between the adjacent turbine disks. Additionally, one of the disk engagement members includes at least one projection that contacts a respective turbine rotor to limit relative rotation between the sealing ring and the turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2000
    Publication date: June 6, 2002
    Inventors: Steven Milo Toborg, Dennis Eugene Moore, Richard William Albrecht,