Patents by Inventor Willy Heinz Hofmann

Willy Heinz Hofmann 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: 11555411
    Abstract: The present technique presents a blade 1 for a gas turbine 10. The blade 1 includes an airfoil 100 having an airfoil tip part 100a and a pressure side 102 and a suction side 104 meeting at a leading edge 106 and a trailing edge 108 and defining an internal space 100s of the airfoil 100. A squealer tip 80, 90 is arranged at the airfoil tip part 100a. The squealer tip 80, 90 comprises a suction side rail 90. The suction side rail 90 comprises a chamfer part 90x and at least one squealer tip cooling hole 99. The chamfer part 90x comprises a chamfer surface 9. An outlet 99a of the at least one squealer tip cooling hole 99 is disposed at the chamfer surface 9.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: DOOSAN ENERBILITY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Herbert Brandl, Joerg Krueckels, Ulrich Rathmann, Willy Heinz Hofmann
  • Patent number: 11506062
    Abstract: A turbine blade that allows an improvement in torque and power, and a turbine and gas turbine including the same are provided. The turbine blade includes an airfoil having a suction side and a pressure side, a platform coupled to a bottom of the airfoil, and a root protruding downward from the platform and coupled to a rotor disk, wherein the airfoil includes a cooling passage formed therein and a discharge hole connected to an upper portion of the cooling passage to discharge cooling air, and the discharge hole is inclined toward a tip of the turbine blade while extending from an inside to an outside thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Inventors: Kwang Il Kim, Jin Woo Song, Willy Heinz Hofmann, Herbert Brandl
  • Publication number: 20220098986
    Abstract: A turbine blade that allows an improvement in torque and power, and a turbine and gas turbine including the same are provided. The turbine blade includes an airfoil having a suction side and a pressure side, a platform coupled to a bottom of the airfoil, and a root protruding downward from the platform and coupled to a rotor disk, wherein the airfoil includes a cooling passage formed therein and a discharge hole connected to an upper portion of the cooling passage to discharge cooling air, and the discharge hole is inclined toward a tip of the turbine blade while extending from an inside to an outside thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Publication date: March 31, 2022
    Inventors: Kwang Il KIM, Jin Woo SONG, Willy Heinz HOFMANN, Herbert BRANDL
  • Publication number: 20220090511
    Abstract: The present technique presents a blade 1 for a gas turbine 10. The blade 1 includes an airfoil 100 having an airfoil tip part 100a and a pressure side 102 and a suction side 104 meeting at a leading edge 106 and a trailing edge 108 and defining an internal space 100s of the airfoil 100. A squealer tip 80, 90 is arranged at the airfoil tip part 100a. The squealer tip 80, 90 comprises a suction side rail 90. The suction side rail 90 comprises a chamfer part 90x and at least one squealer tip cooling hole 99. The chamfer part 90x comprises a chamfer surface 9. An outlet 99a of the at least one squealer tip cooling hole 99 is disposed at the chamfer surface 9.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Inventors: Herbert BRANDL, Joerg Krueckels, Ulrich Rathmann, Willy Heinz Hofmann
  • Patent number: 10006309
    Abstract: An exhaust diffuser for a gas turbine includes an annular duct. A row of struts is arranged in the duct. In a region downstream of the trailing edges of the struts, the cross-sectional area of the duct decreases to a local minimum and then increases again towards the outlet end of the duct. Thereby the gas flow is locally accelerated downstream of the struts. This stabilizes the boundary layer of the flow in this region and leads to a marked increase in pressure recovery for a wide range of operating conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: ANSALDO ENERGIA IP UK LIMITED
    Inventors: Willy Heinz Hofmann, Philipp Schaefer
  • Patent number: 9765626
    Abstract: The invention refers to a gas turbine blade including an airfoil extending in radial direction from a blade root to a blade tip, defining a span ranging from 0% at the blade root to 100% at the blade tip, and extending in axial direction from a leading edge to a trailing edge, which limit a chord with an axial chord length defined by an axial length of a straight line connecting the leading edge and trailing edge of the airfoil depending on the span. The axial chord length increases at least from 80% span to 100% span.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: ANSALDO ENERGIA SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Fabian Neubrand, Willy Heinz Hofmann
  • Patent number: 9377029
    Abstract: A blade of a turbomachine or a flying machine includes a blade airfoil extending in a radial direction from a blade root to a blade tip. The blade airfoil has an inflow-side leading edge, an outflow-side trailing edge, a pressure side and a suction side. A surface of each of the pressure side and the suction side extends between the inflow-side leading edge and the outflow-side trailing edge. The blade tip has an end face with a camber line that extends from the inflow-side leading edge to the outflow-side trailing edge. At least one tip-side recess forms a depression from the end face into the blade airfoil, the depression extending continuously from the pressure side to the suction side and having a partial length of the camber line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY GMBH
    Inventors: Willy Heinz Hofmann, Josef Ballmann
  • Publication number: 20150345297
    Abstract: The invention refers to a gas turbine blade including an airfoil extending in radial direction from a blade root to a blade tip, defining a span ranging from 0% at the blade root to 100% at the blade tip, and extending in axial direction from a leading edge to a trailing edge, which limit a chord with an axial chord length defined by an axial length of a straight line connecting the leading edge and trailing edge of the airfoil depending on the span. The axial chord length increases at least from 80% span to 100% span.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Publication date: December 3, 2015
    Inventors: Fabian NEUBRAND, Willy Heinz HOFMANN
  • Publication number: 20150016982
    Abstract: An exhaust diffuser for a gas turbine includes an annular duct. A row of struts is arranged in the duct. In a region downstream of the trailing edges of the struts, the cross-sectional area of the duct decreases to a local minimum and then increases again towards the outlet end of the duct. Thereby the gas flow is locally accelerated downstream of the struts. This stabilizes the boundary layer of the flow in this region and leads to a marked increase in pressure recovery for a wide range of operating conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventors: Willy Heinz Hofmann, Philipp Schaefer
  • Patent number: 8720207
    Abstract: A gas turbine is disclosed which includes an annular combustion chamber defined by an inner wall and an outer wall. A stator airfoil row can be defined by an annular inner stator wall and an annular outer stator wall housing a plurality of stator airfoils, and at least a rotor airfoil row defined by an annular inner rotor wall and an annular outer rotor wall housing a plurality of rotor airfoils. A gap is arranged, for example, between at least one of the inner stator wall and the inner combustion chamber wall, and the outer stator wall and the outer combustion chamber wall, upstream of said stator airfoil row. A border of at least one of the inner and outer stator wall facing the gap can be axisymmetric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Frank Gersbach, Christian Sommer, Willy Heinz Hofmann, Ulrich Steiger
  • Patent number: 8459934
    Abstract: A guide blade for a gas turbine includes an inner and an outer platform, an airfoil extending in a radial direction between the inner and the outer platforms and having a height in the radial direction, and at least one cooling channel disposed in an interior of the airfoil and configured to receive a cooling medium flowing through the at least one cooling channel configured to cool the guide blade, wherein a cross-sectional area of a blade material of the airfoil varies over the height.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Alstom Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Willy Heinz Hofmann, Roland Dueckershoff, Brian Kenneth Wardle
  • Publication number: 20120328447
    Abstract: A blade of a turbomachine or a flying machine includes a blade airfoil extending in a radial direction from a blade root to a blade tip. The blade airfoil has an inflow-side leading edge, an outflow-side trailing edge, a pressure side and a suction side. A surface of each of the pressure side and the suction side extends between the inflow-side leading edge and the outflow-side trailing edge. The blade tip has an end face with a camber line that extends from the inflow-side leading edge to the outflow-side trailing edge. At least one tip-side recess forms a depression from the end face into the blade airfoil, the depression extending continuously from the pressure side to the suction side and having a partial length of the camber line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2012
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Applicant: ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY LTD
    Inventors: Willy Heinz Hofmann, Josef Ballmann
  • Patent number: 8132417
    Abstract: A gas turbine system includes a combustion chamber (2), a turbine (3), a radially inward and/or radially outward axial gap (4; 16, 17) between the combustion chamber (2) and the turbine (3), at which gap inner and/or outer combustion chamber walls (7, 8) and inner and/or outer turbine walls (11, 12) end, and a cooling gas supply (5), which via the gap (4; 16, 17) introduces a cooling gas into the turbine gas path (13) and/or into the combustion chamber gas path (9). An end section (21, 22, 23, 24) of the respective turbine wall (11, 12) and/or of the respective chamber wall (7, 8) adjoining the gap (4; 16, 17) is radially inwardly and/or radially outwardly, alternatingly formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: ALSTOM Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Ulrich Steiger, Willy Heinz Hofmann
  • Publication number: 20110076155
    Abstract: A guide blade for a gas turbine includes an inner and an outer platform, an airfoil extending in a radial direction between the inner and the outer platforms and having a height in the radial direction, and at least one cooling channel disposed in an interior of the airfoil and configured to receive a cooling medium flowing through the at least one cooling channel configured to cool the guide blade, wherein a cross-sectional area of a blade material of the airfoil varies over the height.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Applicant: ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY LTD.
    Inventors: Willy Heinz HOFMANN, Roland DUECKERSHOFF, Brian Kenneth WARDLE
  • Publication number: 20110038733
    Abstract: A blade for a rotating thermal machine, such as a stator blade for a low-pressure turbine of a gas turbine with sequential combustion, includes a blade airfoil which extends essentially in the radial direction, is exposed to circumflow by an operating medium in a flow direction, and is delimited by a leading edge and a trailing edge in the flow direction. The concurring fluidic and constructional demands on the blade with sharp inclination of the flow are met by the blade airfoil being structured in such a way that an angle which the flow lines form with the trailing edge of the blade airfoil deviates from a right angle within a limited range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2010
    Publication date: February 17, 2011
    Applicant: ALSTOM Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Willy Heinz HOFMANN, Michael HUBER
  • Publication number: 20100278644
    Abstract: A gas turbine is disclosed which includes an annular combustion chamber defined by an inner wall and an outer wall. A stator airfoil row can be defined by an annular inner stator wall and an annular outer stator wall housing a plurality of stator airfoils, and at least a rotor airfoil row defined by an annular inner rotor wall and an annular outer rotor wall housing a plurality of rotor airfoils. A gap is arranged, for example, between at least one of the inner stator wall and the inner combustion chamber wall, and the outer stator wall and the outer combustion chamber wall, upstream of said stator airfoil row. A border of at least one of the inner and outer stator wall facing the gap can be axisymmetric.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Publication date: November 4, 2010
    Applicant: ALSTOM Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Frank GERSBACH, Christian Sommer, Willy Heinz Hofmann, Ulrich Steiger
  • Publication number: 20100146988
    Abstract: A gas turbine system, in particular for a utility power plant, includes a combustion chamber (2), which at least in an annular outlet region (6) having a chamber inner wall (7) and a chamber outer wall (8), radially delimits a combustion chamber gas path (9), a turbine (3), which at least in a stationary annular inlet region (10) having a turbine inner wall (11) and a turbine outer wall (12), radially delimits a turbine gas path (13), a radially inward and/or radially outward axial gap (4; 16, 17) between the combustion chamber (2) and the turbine (3), at which gap the inner and/or outer chamber wall (7, 8) and the inner and/or outer turbine wall (11, 12) end, and a cooling gas supply (5), which via the gap (4; 16, 17) introduces a cooling gas into the turbine gas path (13) and/or into the combustion chamber gas path (9).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Inventors: Ulrich Steiger, Willy Heinz Hofmann