Working Fluid On At Least One Side Of Heat Exchange Wall Patents (Class 415/178)
  • Patent number: 8215928
    Abstract: This invention provides a blower design capable of high temperature operation due to use of a self-sustaining cooling scheme through a sealed motor housing in which a cooling circuit can be created, and the use of a thermal barrier across which a temperature gradient may be formed. The thermal barrier may be formed by a thermal choke plate assembly positioned between a hot side and a cold side of the blower to dissipate heat conducted from the hot side. Alternatively, the thermal barrier may be formed by an internal fan ring provided with the blower's rotating assembly to dissipate heat conducted from the blower's impeller. The thermal choke plate assembly and the fan ring may further be used in combination to block heat transfer by all modes between a hot side and a cold side of the blower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: R&D Dynamics Corporation
    Inventors: Giridhari L. Agrawal, Charles William Buckley, Ali Shakil
  • Patent number: 8210802
    Abstract: The turbine casing as described herein may include a first section flange, a second section flange, the first section flange and the second section flange meeting at a joint, and a heat sink positioned about the joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Andrew R. Kneeland, Stephen C. Chieco, George Frey, Christopher Cox
  • Patent number: 8206079
    Abstract: An apparatus for controlling the temperature of a component, which is situated in use in a gas stream, provides a nozzle to create a jet of air at an angle to the gas stream, the jet being directed into the region of the stagnation point of the component so as to control the temperature of the component. The invention is particularly suited to preventing or reducing the formation of ice on vanes of gas turbine engines, but may also be applied to other components, and may equally be used in situations where a component is to be cooled rather than heated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Rolls Royce PLC
    Inventors: Adam MacGregor Bagnall, Clive Lockwood
  • Patent number: 8202045
    Abstract: According to some embodiments, a method and system are provided to receive an airflow at a blower fan via an axial fan, and expel the airflow via a blower fan. The blower fan comprises a hub associated with an axis of rotation, and the axial fan comprises the hub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Gavin D. Stanley, Michael T. Crocker
  • Patent number: 8192144
    Abstract: A centrifugal turbocompressor including an open-type impeller and a casing compresses a gaseous body that condenses into a liquid. The compressor suppresses erosion due to accumulation of a liquid on a casing surface in the compressor. Such accumulation is possible during the starting time of the compressor, if the gaseous body that has come into contact with the casing condenses on the surface of the casing and changes into liquid droplets, centrifugal force may cause the droplets to accumulate on the surface of the casing positioned outside an impeller, and thus to grow into coarser and larger droplets or a liquid film. If the blade tips of the impeller rotating at high speed scrape the droplets or the film upward, erosion of the blade tips is liable to result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Takanori Shibata
  • Publication number: 20120134788
    Abstract: The invention relates to a low pressure turbine (1) of a turbomachine comprising a nozzle (62) belonging to an upstream stage (20B) and a nozzle (162) belonging to a downstream stage (20C), the nozzle (62) forming segments (62a) having an external structure (66) comprising: a tab (76) bearing radially on a hook (79) fixed to the case, a tab (85) bearing radially on a reaming (87) in the case, the tabs (76, 85) delimiting an annular upstream cooling air circulation cavity (91), a contact surface (84) extending in the downstream direction from the tab (85) and lined with an abradable element (86) on the inside, the contact surface comprising a downstream end (92) bearing axially on the nozzle (162) and bearing radially on a stop (93) of the case, the contact surfaces (84) delimiting an annular downstream cooling air circulation cavity (94) communicating with cavity (91).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2011
    Publication date: May 31, 2012
    Applicant: SNECMA
    Inventors: Jean-Claude Christian TAILLANT, Alain Dominique Gendraud
  • Publication number: 20120128463
    Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a system that enables one to both: (i) address various thermal management issues (e.g., inlet air cooling) in gas turbines, gas turbine engines, industrial process equipment and/or internal combustion engines; and (ii) yield a supercritical fluid-based heat engine. In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes at least one working fluid selected from ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or other suitable working fluid medium. In another embodiment, the present invention utilizes carbon dioxide or ammonia as a working fluid to achieve a system that enables one to address inlet cooling issues in a gas turbine, internal combustion engine or other industrial application while also yielding a supercritical fluid based heat engine as a second cycle using the waste heat from the gas turbine and/or internal combustion engine to create a combined power cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2010
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Applicant: ECHOGEN POWER SYSTEMS, LLC
    Inventor: Timothy James Held
  • Publication number: 20120128472
    Abstract: A turbomachine nozzle segment includes a vane having a first end extending to a second end through an airfoil portion. An outer member is positioned at the first end of the vane. The outer member includes a mounting element configured and disposed to secure the turbomachine nozzle segment to a turbomachine. An inner member is positioned at the second end of the vane. The inner member includes an upstream section and a downstream section. An upstream diaphragm member extends substantially radially outwardly from the inner member at the upstream section, and a downstream diaphragm member extends substantially radially outwardly from the inner member at the downstream section. Each of the upstream diaphragm member and down stream member includes an outer surface and an inner surface. One of the outer surface and inner surface of each of the upstream diaphragm member and downstream diaphragm member includes a cartridge mounting member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2010
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Anshuman Singh, Glen Arthur MacMillan, Charles Andrew Malinowski, Frederic Woodrow Roberts, JR.
  • Publication number: 20120114468
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for a gas turbine engine is provided by a structure including an enclosed fluid cavity. The structure has opposing sides, and a set of fins is supported on one of the sides and arranged outside the cavity. The set of fins includes rows of discrete chevron fins separated by periodic gaps. In one application, the heat exchanger is arranged in a gas turbine engine. A core is supported relative to a fan case by structure. A fan duct is provided between a core nacelle and a fan case. The core includes a compressor section and a bleed cavity is provided within the core and is in fluid communication with the compressor section. The heat exchanger includes first and second sides opposite one another. The second side includes the set of rows of fins with the periodic gaps exposed to the bleed cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2010
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Inventor: James S. Elder
  • Publication number: 20120114467
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for a gas turbine engine includes first and second opposing sides enclosing a cavity. A first set of fins is supported on the first side and arranged outside the cavity. The fins have leading and trailing edges respectively including first and second heights. The first height is less than the second height. In one application, the heat exchanger is arranged in a gas turbine engine. A core is supported relative to a fan case. The core includes a core nacelle and a fan case. A fan duct is provided between the core nacelle and the fan case. A heat exchanger includes fins arranged in a fan duct. The fins are oriented such that the shorter leading edge faces into the airflow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2010
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Inventor: James S. Elder
  • Publication number: 20120099974
    Abstract: A method for cooling a carrier fluid is provided. The carrier fluid is used to drive a turbine in an electric power plant. According to a first embodiment, at least part of a cooling process is performed by leading the carrier fluid and/or a cooling fluid for cooling the carrier fluid underground a soil to a depth in which the soil is substantially cooler than the ambient air. According to a second embodiment, at least part of a cooling process is performed by supplying at least some of the carrier fluid, and/or at least some of a cooling fluid used to cool the carrier fluid, from a cold storage which stores fluid at a significantly lower temperature than the temperature of the carrier fluid in the turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2011
    Publication date: April 26, 2012
    Inventor: Erik Wolf
  • Publication number: 20120087782
    Abstract: A gas turbine includes a rotor having a rotor groove and a rotor bore extending through the rotor, the rotor bore having a diffuser-shaped rotor bore exit. A blade is attached to the rotor and includes a blade tip having at least one dust hole. An airfoil has a leading edge and a trailing edge extending along a longitudinal axis of the blade between a lower end of the airfoil and the blade tip. A blade root is disposed at the lower end of the airfoil and is configured to be removably disposed in the rotor groove. The blade root includes a blade inlet having a cross sectional area that exceeds a cross sectional area of the rotor bore in at least one direction. A hollow blade core is disposed in the airfoil and extends along the longitudinal axis of the blade between the blade root and the blade tip.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: April 12, 2012
    Applicant: ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY LTD
    Inventors: Ruben Valiente, Shailendra Naik, Andre Saxer
  • Publication number: 20120076644
    Abstract: A component wall in a turbine engine includes a substrate, a diffusion section, and at least one cooling passage. The diffusion section is located in a surface of the substrate and is defined by a first sidewall and a second sidewall. The cooling passage(s) include an outlet portion through which cooling air exits in a direction toward the first sidewall. The outlet portion includes a rear section, a front section, and an inner wall having proximal and distal ends. The rear section is located between the first and second sidewalls. The front section extends between the first sidewall and the distal end of the inner wall. The first sidewall extends into the outlet portion of the cooling passage(s) to the inner wall and extends from the first lateral wall to the second lateral wall so as to block the front section of the outlet portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2010
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Inventors: Humberto A. Zuniga, Ching-Pang Lee, Michael E. Crawford
  • Publication number: 20120063882
    Abstract: An internally-cooled centrifugal compressor (10) having a shaped casing (26) a diaphragm (32) disposed within said shaped casing (26) having a gas side and a coolant side so that heat from a gas flowing though the gas side is extracted via the coolant side. An impeller (28) disposed within the diaphragm (32) has a stage inlet (22) on one side and an stage outlet (24) for delivering a pressurized gas to a downstream connection through the stage outlet coupling (14). The coolant side of said diaphragm (32) includes at least one passageway for directing a coolant in a substantially counter-flow direction from the flow of gas through the gas side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2011
    Publication date: March 15, 2012
    Applicant: Southwest Research Institute
    Inventors: James J. Moore, Andrew H. Lerche, Brian S. Moreland
  • Publication number: 20120063891
    Abstract: A cooled component for a gas turbine is disclosed, which by an outer side of a wall delimits hot gas passage of the gas turbine and on an inner side has a device for impingement cooling. The impingement cooling device can include a multiplicity of impingement cooling chambers which are arranged next to each other, operate in parallel, are covered by impingement cooling plates which are equipped with impingement cooling holes, and are impinged upon by cooling air during operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2011
    Publication date: March 15, 2012
    Applicant: ALSTOM Technology Ltd
    Inventors: Jörg Krückels, Tanguy Arzel, Jose Anguisola Mcfeat, Martin Schnieder
  • Publication number: 20120057968
    Abstract: A ring segment for a gas turbine engine includes a panel and a cooling system. The cooling system receives cooling fluid from an outer side of the panel for cooling the panel and includes at least one cooling fluid supply passage, at least one serpentine cooling passage, and at least one cooling fluid discharge passage. The cooling fluid supply passage(s) receive the cooling fluid from the outer side of the panel and deliver the cooling fluid to a first cooling fluid chamber within the panel. The serpentine cooling passage(s) receive the cooling fluid from the first cooling fluid chamber, wherein the cooling fluid provides convective cooling to the panel as it passes through the serpentine cooling passage(s). The cooling fluid discharge passage(s) discharge the cooling fluid from the cooling system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Inventors: Ching-Pang Lee, Eric C. Berrong
  • Publication number: 20120057967
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a diffuser section supplying cooling fluid, a rotatable shaft, shaft cover structure disposed about the rotatable shaft, support structure, and a cooling fluid channel between the shaft cover structure and the support structure. The support structure provides structural support for the shaft cover structure and receives cooling fluid from the diffuser section. One of the diffuser section and the support structure comprises a plurality of apertures through which at least a portion of the cooling fluid passes. The cooling fluid channel is in fluid communication with the apertures in the one of the diffuser section and the support structure for supplying cooling fluid to a blade disc structure located in a turbine section of the engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2010
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Inventors: Vincent P. Laurello, Keith D. Kimmel, John Orosa
  • Publication number: 20120039708
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including a stator vane directing hot combustion gases onto rotor blades is provided. The stator vane includes a platform disposed at the side of the vane radially inward/outward with respect to the axis of rotation of the engine, the platform having a trailing edge portion downstream with respect to the flow of gases past the stator vane. A support and cooling arrangement is included for directing a cooling fluid to an upstream end of a radially inwardly/outwardly facing side of the trailing edge portion of the platform, the arrangement also directing the cooling fluid to flow over the side in a generally axial direction to a downstream end of the side, the cooling fluid cooling the trailing edge portion as it flows over the side, wherein turbulators are included to increase heat transfer from the trailing edge portion as the cooling fluid flows over the side.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Applicant: SIEMENS AKTIENGESELISCHAFT
    Inventor: Jonathan Mugglestone
  • Publication number: 20120034075
    Abstract: A cooled component wall (52) with a combustion gas (36) on one side (56) and a coolant gas (48) with higher pressure on the other side (58). The wall includes a cooling chamber (60) with an impingement cooling zone (62), a convective cooling zone (64), and a film cooling zone (66). Impingement holes (70) admit and direct jets (72) of coolant against the wall, thence the coolant passes among heat transfer elements such as channels (76) and fins (78) to the film cooling zone (66) where it passes through holes in the wall that direct a film of the coolant along the combustion side of the wall. The chamber may be oriented with the impingement zone (62) downstream and the film cooling zone (66) upstream, relative to the combustion gas flow (36). This provides two passes of the coolant (84, 79) in opposite directions over the respective opposite sides of the wall (56, 58).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2010
    Publication date: February 9, 2012
    Inventors: Johan Hsu, Jay A. Morrison
  • Patent number: 8112170
    Abstract: A method and system for controlling machining processes are provided. The system includes a computer system communicatively coupled to a database. The computer system is configured to receive data relating to manufactured part processes, identify at least one machining process used to manufacture a part and a parameter of the at least one machining process, receive survey data relating to the manufacturing process parameters used during the at least one machining process, and receive identification data for the manufactured part. The computer is further configured to receive data relating to a design of experiment (DOE), determine an low cycle fatigue (LCF) life distribution, identify process parameters that affect the LCF, and determine an allowable range for each identified process parameters for safe operation. The computer system is further configured to output the process window embodied in a specification associated with at least one of the part and the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: John Pfeiffer, Paul A. Domas, Richard G. Menzies, Joseph C. Kulesa, James A. Worachek, Walter Douglas Howard
  • Publication number: 20120023945
    Abstract: In a steam turbine 40 of opposed-current single-casing type in which a high pressure turbine part 31a and an intermediate-pressure turbine part 32a are housed in a single casing, a dummy ring 10 partitions the high-pressure turbine part 31a and the intermediate-pressure part 32a and a cooling steam supply path 101 and a cooling steam discharge path 103 are formed in the dummy ring 10 in the radial direction. Extraction steam or discharge steam s1 of the high-pressure turbine part 31a whose temperature is not less than that of the steam having passed through a first-stage stator blade 8a1, is supplied to the cooling steam supply path 101. The cooling steam s1 is fed throughout the clearance 721 and 723 to improve the cooling effect of the dummy ring 10 and a turbine rotor 7. The cooling steam s1 is then discharged through the cooling steam discharge path 103 to a discharge steam pipe 44 which supplies the steam to a subsequent steam turbine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2009
    Publication date: February 2, 2012
    Inventors: Junichi Ishiguro, Tatsuaki Fujikawa, Yoshinori Tanaka, Naoto Tochitani, Shin Nishimoto
  • Patent number: 8107239
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus is provided with a housing, a circuit board in the housing, fan blades configured to rotate and blow air in a centrifugal direction, and a casing which contains the fan blades. The casing includes an exhaust port and a cut portion which opens in a centrifugal direction different from a direction in which the exhaust port opens, from a perspective of a rotation center of the fan blades, and into which a part of the circuit board is inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Nobuto Fujiwara
  • Patent number: 8096748
    Abstract: A method of cooling a double flow steam turbine includes supplying steam flow to each nozzle of the sections of the turbine; reversing a portion of each steam flow to provide a reverse steam flow from an aft side to a forward side of each section. Each reverse steam flow is directed to an annular space between a rotor and a tub. The method further includes removing the reverse steam flows through a pipe, the pipe having a first end at the annular space at a first pressure and a second end at a second pressure that is lower than the first pressure. A double flow steam turbine, includes a pair of nozzles, each nozzle being provided at a section of the turbine; a rotor supporting buckets of the sections; a tub supporting the pair of nozzles; and a pipe extending from an annular space between the tub and the rotor. The pipe has a first end at the annular space and second end. A pressure at the first end of the pipe is greater than a pressure at the second end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Flor Del Carmen Rivas, Nestor Hernandez
  • Patent number: 8092153
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine has a plurality of radial struts in a bypass duct. At least one strut has a scoop incorporated with the fairing of the strut and in communication with an air passage of an engine secondary air system. The scoop faces a bypass air flow to scoop a portion of the bypass air flow using available dynamic pressure in the bypass duct. Scooped air may be provided, for example, to an active tip clearance control apparatus in a long duct turbofan engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
    Inventors: Steven Strecker, Hong-Wei Hui
  • Patent number: 8092160
    Abstract: A shroud suitable for use in a gas turbine engine exhibits substantially uniform thermal growth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Jun Shi, Kevin E. Green, Shaoluo L. Butler, Gajawalli V. Srinivasan, Glenn N. Levasseur
  • Publication number: 20110305560
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cooling device for cooling the slots of a turbomachine rotor disk, the turbomachine comprising an upstream rotor disk having a fastener flange with a periphery that is festooned, a downstream rotor disk, an endplate for holding blades and arranged around the ring of the downstream disk and co-operating therewith to form an air diffusion cavity, a cone for driving disks in rotation, the cone having a fastener flange with a periphery that is festooned, and a plurality of bolted connections passing from upstream to downstream through the solid portions of the fastener flanges of the upstream disk and of the cone, the fastener flange of the endplate, and the fastener flange of the downstream disk. The fastener flange of the endplate is pierced by ventilation orifices opening out into the air diffusion cavity in order to feed it with cooling air, said cavity opening out into the slots of the downstream disk at their upstream ends in order to cool them.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2011
    Publication date: December 15, 2011
    Applicant: SNECMA
    Inventors: Olivier Belmonte, Stevan Le Goff, Paul Rodrigues
  • Publication number: 20110274536
    Abstract: A plurality of blades are studded in a rotor disc integrated with the rotor along the circumferential direction of the rotor, a plurality of vanes are attached to a casing covering the rotor along the circumferential direction of the rotor, and an internal diaphragm disposed on rotor-side surfaces of the vanes in such a way that the internal diaphragm faces the rotor disc. The vanes and the blades adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the rotor form a turbine stage. A rotor-side cooling path is formed through the rotor disc in the axial direction of the rotor, and a diaphragm-side cooling path is formed through the internal diaphragm in the axial direction of the rotor, and a cooling medium flowing through the rotor-side cooling path diverts into the diaphragm-side cooling path and a labyrinth flow path provided between the internal diaphragm and the rotor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2010
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Inventors: Asako Inomata, Katsuya Yamashita, Kazuhiro Saito, Takao Inukai, Kazutaka Ikeda
  • Patent number: 8052383
    Abstract: A wind turbine includes a first temperature control system including fluid transporting heat to or from one or more components of the wind turbine. The wind turbine further includes a mechanism for exchanging heat between the first temperature control system and at least one further temperature control system of the wind turbine, wherein a temperature controlled mechanism enables the heat exchange between the first temperature control system and the at least one further temperature control system. A method for controlling or regulating the temperature of fluid flowing in a first temperature control system of a wind turbine and a use hereof is also contemplated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
    Inventor: Poul Spaerhage Frokjaer
  • Patent number: 8052377
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including a bypass duct defined by radially outer and inner walls, the radially inner wall defined by acoustic panels. The acoustic panels define the outer wall of a heated fire zone. In conventional engines an insulating blanket is attached to the panels, however, this is heavy and costly. Cooling film means are configured to pass bypass air through and over an internal surface of the panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce PLC.
    Inventors: Michael H. Coney, Andrew J. Mullender, Brian A. Handley, David M. Parkin
  • Patent number: 8047774
    Abstract: A heating and cooling system for a wind turbine is provided and includes a gearbox, gearbox heat exchanger, generator, generator heat exchanger, and a cooling duct. The cooling duct is connected to the gearbox and generator heat exchangers, and is used to transport air across both heat exchangers to cool the gearbox and generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Bharat S. Bagepalli
  • Patent number: 8047763
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for improving a turbine's thermal response during transient and steady state operating conditions in which the flow of cooling fluid in the turbine's casing is caused to be asymmetrical relative to the horizontal and vertical symmetry planes of the casing so that the turbine's cooling symmetry planes are rotated relative to its geometric symmetry planes and thereby the heat transfer at locations in the casing with increased mass is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Kenneth Damon Black
  • Patent number: 8049147
    Abstract: A system includes a first heater located at the leading edge of a gas turbine structural member, a second heater located aft of the first heater, and a third heater located aft of the second heater. The first, second and third heaters are electrically-powered to prevent icing of the gas turbine structural member. Each of the heaters has a Watt density, and the Watt densities of the heaters differ from one another as a function of a magnitude of a cooling coefficient for airflow passing the vicinity of each heater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Isaac Jon Hogate
  • Patent number: 8021109
    Abstract: A turbine casing may include an outer surface with a false flange and an inner surface with a heat sink positioned adjacent to the false flange.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Andrew R. Kneeland, Stephen C. Chieco, George Frey, Christopher Cox
  • Patent number: 8015788
    Abstract: A heat transfer system is provided for a turbine engine of the type including an annular inlet cowling. The heat transfer system includes at least one heat pipe disposed in contact with an interior of the casing. The heat pipe is thermally coupled to a heat source, such that heat from the heat source can be transferred through the heat pipe and into the inlet cowling.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Justin P. Stephenson, Thomas Ory Moniz, Kattalaicheri Srinivasan Venkataramani
  • Patent number: 8016555
    Abstract: A turbomachine is provided. The turbomachine includes a rotor, a stator and a plurality of blade discs mounted on the rotor. The rotor includes a turbulator cylinder where a plurality of turbulators are provided on a curved surface of the turbulator cylinder and the stator includes an annular shroud extending around the turbulator cylinder. The plurality of turbulators increase a heat transfer to a coolant flowing between the adjacent opposed surfaces of the turbulator cylinder and the annular shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: John David Maltson
  • Patent number: 8001792
    Abstract: Apparatus for channeling combustion gases to a turbine in a gas turbine engine. The engine has a compressor for providing compressed air, a combustor for combusting fuel with the compressed air to provide combustion gases, and a radial inflow turbine having an inlet configured to receive the combustion gases. The turbine is rotatable about an axis for expanding the combustion gases to produce work. The apparatus includes a subassembly of plurality of nozzle guide vanes fixed between a pair of spaced apart, ring-shaped sidewalls. A pair of spaced apart supports is configured to position the subassembly therebetween, concentric with the axis, and adjacent the turbine inlet. The apparatus further includes a plurality of bolt assemblies extending axially through the pair of supports, apertures in the sidewalls, and holes in the guide vanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: OPRA Technologies B.V.
    Inventors: Marek Dvorak, R. Jan Mowill
  • Patent number: 7997856
    Abstract: A stator heat shield (6) for a gas turbine (1) includes an outside (11) which in the installed state faces a hot gas path (9) of the gas turbine (1), and an inside (12) facing away from the outside (11). A plurality of ribs (13) are formed on the inside (12) and extend axially in the installed state with regard to an axis of rotation (8) of a rotor (3) of the gas turbine (1) and, in the circumferential direction, are spaced a distance apart from one another. At least one baffle plate (14) is arranged on the inside (12) and is in contact with the ribs (13). At least one groove (16) is designed in an end face (15) bordering the stator heat shield (6) in the circumferential direction, into which at least one sealing element (18) can be inserted. A plurality of bores (19) are included, each opening at a distance from the groove (16) in the direction of the outside (11) at the inside (12) at one end and on the end face (15) at the other end and arranged a distance apart from one another in the axial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: ALSTOM Technology Ltd.
    Inventors: Alexander Khanin, Edouard Sloutski, Sergey Vorontsov, Anton Sumin
  • Patent number: 7997855
    Abstract: A wind turbine is provided having a gearbox containing a lubrication medium, a pump for circulating the lubrication medium, and a gearbox lubrication suction pipe for transporting the lubrication medium from the gearbox to the pump. A heater is in thermal connection to, at least a portion of, the gearbox lubrication suction pipe. This heater is used to heat the lubrication medium contained within the gearbox lubrication suction pipe to a temperature where damage to the pump is avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Bharat S. Bagepalli, Edwin Hidding, Stephan Klümper, Eric A. Baker, Holger Grünwaldt, Michael J. Burkett
  • Publication number: 20110189000
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a system for regulating a cooling fluid within a turbomachine. The system may include a plurality of bypass chambers, wherein each of the plurality of bypass chambers allows for the cooling fluid to pass from the compressor section to a wheelspace area. The system includes a plurality of angular passages that aid in the mixing of a cooling fluid with a working fluid in the wheelspace area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2011
    Publication date: August 4, 2011
    Inventors: Sivaraman Vedhagiri, Don Conrad Johnson
  • Patent number: 7988410
    Abstract: A blade tip shroud segment for a gas turbine engine in which the shroud segment is cooled and sealed using a combination of vortex cooling air flow and cooling air discharge film cooling. The shroud segment includes a row of vortex chambers formed within the shroud segment and a row of circumferential circular grooves formed on the hot gas flow surface of the shroud segment, where each groove is connected to a vortex chamber through a slot. Cooling air is to the vortex chambers from individual cooling air feed slots or through inter-linking channels connecting adjacent vortex chambers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: George Liang
  • Publication number: 20110182723
    Abstract: The invention relates to an aircraft propeller (1) comprising a turbomachine (8) housed in a nacelle (10) and a cooler (14) capable of being traversed by a hot fluid, which is to be cooled by thermal exchange with cold air external to the cooler. The propeller (1) comprises an air vein (13) (13b) capable of directing pressurized air towards an air duct (20) realized between an outer wall (6) and an inner wall (60) of the nacelle (10). The cooler (14) comprises a first cooling means, called first surface cooling means (145), on a first surface (141), arranged at the outer wall (6) of the propeller nacelle (10) and a second surface cooling means (146), on a second surface (142) arranged at a wall (23) of the air duct (20). The invention also concerns an aircraft equipped with such a propeller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2011
    Publication date: July 28, 2011
    Applicant: AIRBUS OPERATIONS (S.A.S)
    Inventors: Christelle RINJONNEAU, Pierre GUILLAUME
  • Patent number: 7985045
    Abstract: A steam turbine comprises a rotor with moving blades attached thereto; diaphragms which surround the rotor from an outer periphery side of the rotor; a casing which encloses the diaphragms and the rotor and has an upper half and a lower half clamped together through respective flanges; a displacement detector for measuring a difference d in thermal expansion in the rotor axis direction between the casing and the rotor; heating/cooling devices attached to the flanges respectively to heat and cool the flanges; and a controller which makes control so that the flanges are heated or cooled by the heating/cooling devices until a measured value obtained by the displacement detector reaches a preset value M or S in unsteady operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2011
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenjiro Narita, Takeshi Kudo
  • Patent number: 7972106
    Abstract: Protection device (10) for a stator of a gas turbine of the type comprising a series of sectors (12) constrained to each other by connection means, each sector (12) has at least one cavity (14) having a bottom (15), in correspondence with at least one cavity (14), a corresponding sheet (20) equipped with a series of pass-through holes (21) and suitable for covering at least one cavity (14) is fixed on an outer surface of the relative sector (12), each sector (12) is cooled by means of a stream of air coming from the pass-through holes (21) of the corresponding sheet (20) which is passed on the bottom (15) and discharged from at least one outlet hole, the bottom (15) of each sector (12) comprises a series of protuberances (30) to increase the thermal exchange surface and increase the cooling efficiency of the protection device (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Nuovo Pignone, S.p.A.
    Inventors: Manuele Bigi, Piero Iacopetti, Riccardo Cini
  • Patent number: 7967561
    Abstract: A cooling system is provided for automatic transmission torque converter assemblies having a housing shell and flex plate. The cooling system includes a housing cover having opposing exterior and interior surfaces that define a wall portion and a preferably circular base portion. The base portion is configured to attach to the flex plate, preferably by one or more stud members, to be rotated thereby. The wall portion extends from a periphery of the base portion and is configured to attach to the housing shell. The cooling system also includes a plurality of vane members positioned along the outer periphery of the base portion. The vane members are configured to increase convective dissipation of heat from the torque converter assembly to surrounding ambient air by increasing the heat transfer coefficient and surface area. Optimally, the vanes have a turbine fin configuration, but may alternatively have curved fin or a straight-fin configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Farzad Samie, Arshia Vahabzadeh
  • Publication number: 20110146229
    Abstract: Setting in place of one or several coolers in the wall of a secondary flow of a bypass turbomachine. The wall extends from an intermediate casing toward a leading edge of a separator nose between a primary flow and the secondary flow. The wall includes a series of support arms attached to an intermediate casing, distributed over the perimeter of the wall and directed upstream. A series of surface air-oil heat exchangers forming wall segments are arranged end-to-end on the support arms, so as to form an annular wall. A shroud having a leading edge is arranged and fixed in the area of the upstream edges of the heat exchangers, so as to complete the wall. The support arms include hydraulic connectors connected to one another on each arm, adapted to cooperate with corresponding connectors in the area of the heat exchangers and in the area of the intermediate casing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventors: Denis Bajusz, David Depaepe, Alain Derclaye, Régis Dupuy
  • Publication number: 20110150634
    Abstract: A bypass axial turbomachine includes a fan, a low pressure stator stage, a high pressure stator stage, the compressors being traversed by a flow referred to as primary flow of the turbomachine, at least one passage of discharge flow rate controlled from the primary flow in one of the stator stages toward the secondary flow, a heat exchanger of the surface air-oil (ACOC) type arranged flat on or in the wall surrounding the stator stages and defining the internal surface of the secondary flow, directly downstream of the junction of the passage of the discharge flow rate with said wall, so as to be run through by the secondary flow enriched with the discharge flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2010
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Inventors: Denis Bajusz, David Depaepe, Jacques Charlier, Nicolas Raimarckers
  • Publication number: 20110150637
    Abstract: A radial fan, preferably a high-speed radial fan, includes a blower wheel, a housing which receives a rotor and a stator of an electrical drive of the blower wheel shaft, and a cooling system. To develop one such radial fan in terms of the cooling system required, paths for a first cooling medium and a second cooling medium are provided in the housing, the second cooling medium being cooled by the first cooling medium as provided for by the housing, and the paths are separated from each other by intact material walls of the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2011
    Publication date: June 23, 2011
    Applicant: Gebr. Becker GmbH
    Inventors: Bernhard Radermacher, Frank Diedrichsen, Achim Von Kathen
  • Patent number: 7963743
    Abstract: A wind turbine with improved cooling, which provides liquid cooling for a wind turbine with a completely closed or at least partially closed cooling circuit, with which the heat to be dissipated from the cooling circuit is dissipated by a nacelle of the wind turbine. The wind turbine with improved cooling dissipates energy losses from heat and applied for the conversion of kinetic energy of wind into mechanical and electrical energy of the wind turbine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Inventor: Curt B. Winter
  • Publication number: 20110138819
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine has an exhaust diffuser. A first path extends radially through the outer and inner cones of the diffuser and has a radially inward end and a radially outward end the inward end fluidly connected to the central cavity. An air supply or ejector is fluidly connected to the radially outward end of the first path, for drawing air by using the compressed air through the first path into the central cavity. A first opening is defined in the inner cone to fluidly connect between the exhaust channel and the central cavity. The first path and the first opening are so positioned that the cooling air is delivered from the air supply through the first path, the central cavity, and the first opening into the exhaust channel as it makes thermal contact with an object positioned in the central cavity to cool the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2010
    Publication date: June 16, 2011
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Kazuhiko TANIMURA
  • Publication number: 20110135455
    Abstract: An air-cooled oil cooler for the wall of an air flow passage of a gas turbine engine is provided, the oil cooler allowing improved heat exchange performance to be obtained. This is achieved by: (I) diverting air flow from the inner side of the oil cooler towards the outer side of the oil cooler, (ii) enhancing heat exchange performance at the leading edge of the cooler, and/or (iii) suppressing airflow wake at the trailing edge of the cooler.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Publication date: June 9, 2011
    Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
    Inventors: Yi WANG, Miles T. TRUMPER, Mark J. WILSON, Peter IRELAND, Robert C. CHAMBERS