Patents Assigned to General Electric Company
  • Patent number: 12291997
    Abstract: A variable area turbine nozzle assembly includes a guide vane including an outer centering pin defining a tab. An inner support ring is spaced radially outward from the guide vane and defines an opening and a protrusion. The protrusion is configured to engage with the tab of the outer centering pin. An outer support ring extends circumferentially around the inner support ring and defines an aperture. The outer support ring has a second coefficient of thermal expansion that is greater than or less than the first coefficient of thermal expansion. At least one linkage joins the inner support ring to the outer support ring and is configured to rotate the inner support ring circumferentially about an axial centerline of the variable area turbine nozzle assembly in response to a change in operational temperature of a combustion gas thus causing the guide vane to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Douglas Johnson, Scott Alan Schimmels, Craig Alan Gonyou, Paul Hadley Vitt
  • Patent number: 12292017
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine comprises a fan, a core turbine engine coupled to the fan, a fan case housing the fan and the core turbine engine, a plurality of outlet guide vanes extending between the core turbine engine and the fan case, and an acoustic spacing. The fan comprises a plurality of fan blades that define a fan diameter and a BEAL. The fan case comprises an inlet and an inlet length between the inlet and the fan. The acoustic spacing comprises a distance between the fan and the plurality of outlet guide vanes, and in combination with the BEAL determines an acoustic spacing ratio of the gas turbine engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller, Egbert Geertsema, Arthur W. Sibbach, Andrew Hudecki, Timothy Richard DePuy, John C. Schilling, Frank Worthoff, Tsuguji Nakano
  • Patent number: 12291974
    Abstract: A turbine engine including a fan section, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an airfoil assembly. The airfoil assembly comprising a spar, a trunnion and a stress relief. The trunnion having an upper edge with an open top, and a socket extending from the open top. The spar extending through the open top and into the socket. A junction being formed between the spar and a portion of the upper edge defining the open top.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignees: General Electric Company, GE Marmara Technology Center Muhendislik Hizmetleri Ltd
    Inventors: Nicholas Joseph Kray, Nicholas Mark Daggett, Elzbieta Kryj-Kos, Necip Adali, Benjamin Thomas Van Oflen, Gary Willard Bryant, Jr., Douglas Lorrimer Armstrong
  • Patent number: 12292003
    Abstract: A leakage management assembly for an orifice configured to limit a flow of at least one of a leakage fluid and a cooling fluid past an instrument positioned within the orifice are provided. The leakage management assembly includes a labyrinth ferrule including an annular ferrule body having a central bore extending therethrough. The labyrinth ferrule further includes an annular assembly cone formed at a first end of the labyrinth ferrule. The annular assembly cone includes an annular convergent lip and is configured to facilitate directing the instrument into the central bore. The labyrinth ferrule also includes a plurality of labyrinthine annular restrictions extending from a radially inner surface of the annular body toward the central bore. A combustor and a gas turbine engine including such a seal assembly are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Craig Alan Gonyou, Nathan Joel Mullenix, Fei Huang
  • Patent number: 12291979
    Abstract: A turbine engine includes a core having a fan section, a compressor section, combustion section, and turbine section in serial flow arrangement and defining an engine centerline. The turbine section has a set of turbine stages, having paired sets of non-rotating, circumferentially spaced vanes defining a respective nozzle, and rotating circumferentially spaced blades. A first stage turbine nozzle has a solidity that is a ratio of an axial chord length of the turbine vanes to the circumferential spacing between adjacent vanes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Paul Hadley Vitt, Jeffrey Donald Clements, Brian Keith Kestner, Shai Birmaher
  • Patent number: 12292000
    Abstract: A thermal management system for a gas turbine engine includes an oil tank, a pump in fluid communication with the oil tank configured to generate a flow of oil from the oil tank, at least one heat exchanger downstream of the oil tank, and one or more thermal loads downstream of the at least one heat exchanger. The oil tank is formed from a solid-solid phase change material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Douglas Johnson, Chirag Kataria, Sanjay Vijayaraghavan, Paul Joseph Kreitzer
  • Patent number: 12286902
    Abstract: A component for a turbine engine includes a body with an exterior surface abutting a combustion flowpath for a combustion gas flow through the turbine engine, a cooling passage defined within the body, and a trench on the exterior surface. The trench includes a plurality of outlets, and a plurality of cooling holes extending from the cooling passage to the corresponding plurality of outlets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel Endecott Osgood, Zachary Daniel Webster, Gregory Terrence Garay, Kevin Robert Feldmann
  • Patent number: 12286212
    Abstract: Apparatuses and systems are provided herein for unducted propulsion systems. The system includes a forward housing for high efficiency for high subsonic sustained flight. A plurality of blades are affixed to the forward housing, wherein the forward housing defines a flowpath curve extending from the forward-most end of the forward housing through the axial extent of a forward blade root. The flowpath curve is described by an axial direction parallel to an axis of rotation and a radius from the axis of rotation. The flowpath curve includes a first point having a first radius where the radius reaches a maximum forward of the forward blade root and a second point aft of the first point having a second radius where the radius stops decreasing. The ratio of the first radius to the second radius is greater than or equal to 1.029.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Daniel L. Tweedt, Syed Arif Khalid
  • Patent number: 12287094
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including a compressor section and a combustion section in serial flow arrangement along an engine centerline, the combustion section having a combustor liner, a dome wall coupled to the combustor liner, and a dome inlet located in the dome wall, a fuel injector fluidly coupled to the dome inlet, a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the fuel injector and defined at least in part by the combustor liner and the dome wall, and at least one set of dilution openings located in the dome wall and fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Perumallu Vukanti, Varun S. Lakshmanan, Michael T. Bucaro, Pradeep Naik, Steven C. Vise, Michael A. Benjamin
  • Patent number: 12286901
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for a turbine engine for can include an engine component. The engine component can include an interior cooling passage at least partially defining a cooling circuit for passing a flow of cooling fluid through the component. Film holes provide for exhausting a portion of the cooling fluid to an exterior of the component, to form a cooling film along an exterior hot surface of the engine component. A deflector can be position within the cooling passage upstream form the film hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Kirk D. Gallier
  • Patent number: 12285908
    Abstract: An additive manufacturing apparatus includes a support plate and a foil supporting an uncured layer of a resin. A stage is configured to hold a component of one or more cured layers of the resin. One or more actuators is operable to move the stage away from the support plate in a Z-axis direction. A radiant energy device is positioned opposite the stage such that the support plate is positioned between the radiant energy device and the stage. A foil interaction device includes a first pneumatic actuation zone and a second pneumatic actuation zone. Each of the first and second pneumatic actuation zones is configured to apply a force on a surface of the foil. The first and second pneumatic actuation zones are fluidly separable and configured to apply varied pressures relative to one another to the surface of the foil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Meredith Elissa Dubelman, Christopher David Barnhill, Xi Yang, Lawrence William Nurre, Trent William Muhlenkamp, Mary Kathryn Thompson
  • Patent number: 12286941
    Abstract: A turbofan engine may include a variable pitch fan rotatable about an axis and operable in a forward thrust mode by generating flow opposite a direction of travel and in a reverse thrust mode by generating flow in the direction of travel. In reverse thrust mode, a nacelle assembly defines an intermediate opening disposed aft of the variable pitch fan. A flow guide assembly is configured to guide a first fluid flow opposite the direction of travel within a bypass passage from a forward opening to an aft opening of the nacelle assembly in forward thrust mode, and to redirect a second fluid flow from outside the bypass passage opposite the direction of travel to inside the bypass passage in the direction of travel through the intermediate opening in reverse thrust mode. One or more flow channels are defined for generating at least one fluidic injection pressurized by a core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Trevor Howard Wood, Thomas Malkus, Kishore Ramakrishnan
  • Patent number: 12286903
    Abstract: A turbine engine having a disk and a composite airfoil assembly. The disk having a slot. The composite airfoil assembly having an airfoil portion, a dovetail portion, and a roll snubber. The dovetail portion having a radially inner surface. The roll snubber being provided on the radially inner surface. The radially inner surface spaced from the slot to define a gap therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Benjamin Thomas Van Oflen, Gary Willard Bryant, Jr., Michael John Franks, Elzbieta Kryj-Kos, Nicholas Joseph Kray, Arthur William Sibbach
  • Patent number: 12285366
    Abstract: Various systems and devices are provided for determining a weaning readiness for weaning a patient from a thermoregulated microenvironment. In one example, a method includes receiving current patient parameters of the patient and applying a weaning model to the current patient parameters to calculate a weaning index representing a likelihood that the patient can be successfully weaned from the microenvironment. The method also includes outputting the weaning index for display on a display device or for storage in a medical record of the patient and upon outputting the weaning index, receiving one or more subsequent patient outcomes, the one or more subsequent patient outcomes comprising whether the patient developed any complications within the duration since being weaned from the microenvironment. The method also includes updating the weaning model based on the one or more received subsequent patient outcomes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Shruti Abhijit Gadgil, Nagapriya Kavoori Sethumadhavan
  • Patent number: 12286889
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods are disclosed to improve fan operability control using smart materials. An engine comprising an engine surface in an airflow path, a sensor positioned on the engine surface, and a smart-material-based feature positioned on the engine surface, the smart-material-based feature triggered to modify the airflow path when the sensor outputs an indication of a detected deviation from a reference value of an operating parameter of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignees: General Electric Company Polska sp. z o.o., General Electric Company
    Inventors: Avinash Natarajan, Vishnu Vardhan Venkata Tatiparthi, Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Nagashiresha G, Prateek Mathur, MichaƂ Tomasz Kuropatwa, Arthur W Sibbach
  • Patent number: 12286927
    Abstract: A method for energy conversion for a vehicle is provided. The method including extracting a flow of compressed fluid from a compressor section of a propulsion system; flowing the flow of compressed fluid to a turbine operably coupled to a driveshaft, in which the driveshaft is operably coupled to a load device; expanding the flow of compressed fluid through the turbine to generate an output torque at the driveshaft to operate the load device; and flowing the expanded flow of compressed fluid from the turbine to thermal communication with a thermal load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jeffrey Douglas Rambo, Brandon Wayne Miller, David Marion Ostdiek
  • Patent number: 12280538
    Abstract: Methods of additively manufacturing a three-dimensional object include irradiating a first build plane region using a first energy beam, irradiating a second build plane region using a second energy beam, and irradiating an interlace region between the first build plane region and the second build plane region. Irradiating the interlace region comprises directing the first energy beam along a first oscillating path and directing the second energy beam along a second oscillating path intersecting and overlapping with the first oscillating path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Christopher Darby Immer, Robert John Filkins, Victor Petrovich Ostroverkhov, Michael Robert Tucker
  • Patent number: 12280446
    Abstract: An irradiation device for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects may include a beam generation device configured to generate an energy beam, an optical modulator including a micromirror array disposed downstream from the beam generation device, and a focusing lens assembly disposed downstream from the optical modulator. The micromirror array may include a plurality of micromirror elements configured to reflect a corresponding plurality of beam segment of the energy beam along a beam path incident upon the focusing lens assembly. The focusing lens assembly may include one or more lenses configured to focus the plurality of beam segments such that for respective ones of a plurality of modulation groups including a subset of micromirror elements, a corresponding subset of beam segments are focused to at least partially overlap with one another at a combination zone corresponding to the respective modulation group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Joshua Tyler Mook, William Joseph Steele, Mary Kathryn Thompson, David Scott Simmermon, Michael Thomas Gansler
  • Patent number: 12281617
    Abstract: An air turbine starter (ATS) for a gas turbine engine having an accessory gear box (AGB) with a lubricant reservoir, the air turbine starter comprising a housing at least partially defining a working air flow path; a turbine section comprising a turbine having an output shaft and a plurality of blades circumferential spaced about the output shaft and at least partially extending into the working air flow path; a drive section having a drive shaft operably coupled to the output shaft to engage the AGB; and a lubrication recirculation circuit fluidly coupled to the lubricant reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Subrata Nayak, Milind Chandrakant Dhabade, Narendra Dev Mahadevaiah, Sharad Pundlik Pati, Shiloh Montegomery Meyers, David Allan Dranschak
  • Patent number: 12281850
    Abstract: A heat exchanger is provided. The heat exchanger includes a first wall manifold. The heat exchanger further includes a second wall manifold spaced apart from the first wall manifold. The heat exchanger further includes a plurality of vanes that extend generally circumferentially between the first wall manifold and the second wall manifold. The heat exchanger further includes a plurality of fluid circuits defined within the heat exchanger. Each fluid circuit in the plurality of fluid circuits includes an inlet channel portion and an outlet channel portion defined within the first wall manifold. A return channel portion defined within the second wall manifold. At least one passage portion of a plurality of passage portions defined within each vane of the plurality of vanes. The at least one passage portion extends between the return channel portion and one of the inlet channel portion and the outlet channel portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nicholas M. Daggett, Steven Douglas Johnson, Anand P. Roday, Scott Alan Schimmels