Abstract: Transportation of articles such as gas turbine engines can be problematic in view of their size. Traditionally, articles such as gas turbine engines are transported on cradles associated with platforms and bases. It would be desirable to enable manipulation of height and width to allow the assembly of the article, such as a gas turbine engine upon the base to enter apertures such as doors in aircraft fuselages or for minimizing width for road or rail or sea transportation. By providing a cradle, having respective cradle sides projecting from a junction in association with a drive mechanism and each side of the cradle coupled to a pivot arm, control of rotation paths can be achieved. Thus, an article such as a gas turbine engine secured to a cradle arrangement can be manipulated between extremes and alternate configurations, defined by rotation paths, through elective association of one or the other of the pivot arms to the cradle and the base.

Abstract: A fan assembly for a gas turbine, the assembly comprising: a fan surrounded by a fan casing; a resilient, radially flexible containment material wrapped around the outside of the fan casing for containing a fan blade which has breached the casing during a fan blade-off event, and a retaining cable arrangement for resisting separation of a first portion of the casing from a second portion of the casing as a result of said breach occurring between the first and second portion; wherein the cable arrangement comprises: a retaining cable on the outside of the containment material, secured between the first and second portion of the casing, the retaining cable being sufficiently radially compliant for radial deflection to accommodate radial flexing of the containment material caused by impact of said fan blade in between the first and second portion; and a locking arrangement operable to subsequently lock the retaining cable between the front and rear portions of the casing whereby separation of the front and rear

Abstract: An intermediate casing for use in a gas turbine engine comprises inner and outer casing walls 2, 4, a support plate 6, supporting an axial end of each of the casing walls 2, 4, a splitter 8, and an array of vanes 10. At least one of the casing walls 2, 4, the support plate 6, the splitter 8 and the array of vanes 10 is formed from at least one blank of sheet material, such as steel. The formation of one or more components of the assembly from a flat blank of material provides a significant reduction in manufacturing cost.

Abstract: A method of assessing the degradation of an oxide-forming coating on a component after a period of operational use of the component, said degradation of the coating being caused by depletion of the oxide-forming element within a remnant coating layer due to inter-diffusion of said element between the remnant coating and both an outer oxide layer and an inner, secondary diffusion layer, wherein a depletion parameter indicative of the depletion of the oxide-forming element in the remnant coating layer varies as a function of the surface roughness of the coated component, the method comprising the steps of: carrying out a non-destructive, quantitative measurement of the surface roughness of the component after said period of operational use; and, based on an estimation of the functional relationship between the surface roughness and the depletion parameter, using the result of said measurement of surface roughness to quantitatively assess the degradation of the coating.

Abstract: A pitch control mechanism for controlling the pitch of propeller assembly propellers has a hydraulic actuator, main hydraulic fluid supply lines, first back-up hydraulic fluid supply lines, and second back-up hydraulic fluid supply lines. The hydraulic actuator has first and second hydraulic cylinders that each angularly displace the propellers between fine and coarse positions. The main hydraulic fluid supply lines supply fluid to the first and second hydraulic cylinders for operating the hydraulic cylinders. The first back-up hydraulic fluid supply lines supply fluid to the hydraulic cylinder for displacing the propellers to a coarser position. The second back-up hydraulic fluid supply lines supply fluid to the second hydraulic cylinder for displacing the propellers to a coarser position. When the main hydraulic fluid supply lines supply inadequate fluid, the first and/or second back-up hydraulic fluid supply lines can supply fluid for displacing the propellers to a coarser position.

Abstract: A mould assembly (100) for forming an object, the mould assembly comprising: a first mould portion (110) comprising an internal surface (112), an external surface (114) and an opening (116) leading from the internal surface to the external surface; and a second mould portion (120) positionable with respect to the opening (116) to cover the opening; wherein the first and second mould portions define an interior (130) for receiving a material to be moulded into the object; and wherein the second mould portion comprises a surface (122) adapted to face the interior of the mould assembly and form a feature on the object.

Abstract: A pitch control mechanism is provided for angular displacement of propellers of a propeller assembly of an engine arrangement. The pitch control mechanism has an epicyclic gear system rotating with the propeller assembly. The pitch control mechanism further has a drive gear controlling the rotational speed of the first epicyclic input in the rotating frame of reference of the propeller assembly, a control gear controlling the rotational speed of the second epicyclic input in the rotating frame of reference of the propeller assembly, and a drive mechanism rotating with the propeller assembly. The drive mechanism accepts rotary motion from the epicyclic output to deliver an output motion which angularly displaces the propellers of the propeller assembly.

Abstract: A back-up featherer is provided for an engine arrangement. The engine arrangement has a main hydraulic actuator which operates a pitch change mechanism to angularly displace propellers of a propeller assembly of the engine arrangement, the pitch change mechanism and main hydraulic actuator rotating with the propeller assembly. The back-up featherer has one or more brakes located on a static structure of the engine arrangement. The back-up featherer further has one or more input gears rotatable about respective axes, which axes rotate with the propeller assembly. The input gears are operatively connected to the brakes such that, when the brakes are activated, the input gears rotate about their axes.

Abstract: A sealing assembly is provided for sealing against a component. The sealing assembly comprises a seal carrier and a continuous seal element that is attached to the seal carrier at at least two discrete positions of attachment. The seal element is provided with a sealing surface that is arranged to seal against the component. The seal element is further provided with a thermal expansion slot that is located between the discrete positions of attachment and which extends from a first edge of the seal element over a portion of the width of the seal element. This allows the seal carrier and seal element to thermally expand in the length direction at different rates.

Abstract: A back-up featherer is provided for an engine arrangement having a main hydraulic actuator which operates a pitch change mechanism to angularly displace propellers of a propeller assembly of the engine arrangement, the pitch change mechanism and main hydraulic actuator rotating with the propeller assembly. The back-up featherer has one or more back-up hydraulic actuators located on a static structure of the engine arrangement. The back-up featherer further has one or more load application members which are located on the static structure of the engine arrangement and which are movable by the back-up hydraulic actuators. When moved by the back-up hydraulic actuators, the load application members bear against an engagement portion of the pitch change mechanism across a rotating interface formed therebetween to apply a load to the pitch change mechanism which results in angular displacement of the propellers.

Abstract: A fireseal for sealing around a cylindrical shaft or pipe. The fireseal is helical and has an expanded cross-section in a central portion intermediate its ends.

Abstract: A control mechanism for moving at least two components of a gas turbine engine, the control mechanism comprises first and second crankshafts and a torsion bar connected to both crankshafts, each crankshaft is connected to a different component, the crankshafts engage one another via one-way abutment means and the torsion bar is pre-twisted so that up to a predetermined rotational extent the two crankshafts rotate together and beyond that extent only the first crankshaft rotates, thereby one of the two components moves more than the other component.

Abstract: A shroudless, air cooled gas turbine blade has an internal structure including load-carrying members that support the blade outer wall and divide the blade interior into cooling passages. The dimensions of the structure in particular the load-carrying members are chosen with respect to inward heat flow during operation to tend to reduce heat transfer from the outer wall to the load-carrying members and with respect to mass distribution in the structure to reduce centrifugal forces during operation.

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.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine has an annular bypass duct defined between a fan nacelle and a core fairing through which fan air is discharged. One or more bifurcator members are positioned inside the exit of the bypass duct to bifurcate the air flow in the bypass duct around the bifurcator members prior to exiting the bypass duct. The bifurcator members modify the flow field of the air in the bypass duct radially and/or tangentially with respect to the axis of the annular bypass duct.

Abstract: A heat exchanger arrangement for a gas turbine engine. The arrangement including a flow path within an outer cowl, which flow path locates a heat exchanger part way therealong. A valve is provided at an inlet end of the flow path to selectively receive fluid into the flow path from outside of the cowl and/or from a pressurised fluid flow. An exit from the flow path includes a plenum chamber to receive exhausted coolant flows from the heat exchanger and possibly other exhaust flows. The heat exchanger exhaust flow is then utilised to provide cooling to engine structures.

Abstract: A projectile is provided for simulating multiple sequential ballistic impacts. The projectile has a plurality of relatively dense loading layers spaced along the firing direction of the projectile. Each pair of nearest-neighbor loading layers is separated by a less dense support element which maintains the spacing of the loading layers. The projectile may be suitable for simulating bird slurry impacts on stator vanes of an aero gas turbine engine.

Abstract: Solid oxide stacks used as fuel cells generate electricity from hydrogen or other sources. By an electrolysis process such standard fuel cells can be operated in order to create hydrogen or other electro chemical by-products. Unfortunately stacks generally operate at relatively high temperatures which will be difficult to sustain purely on economic grounds. In such circumstances less efficient operation can be achieved at lower temperatures where the air-specific resistance is higher by balancing with the electrical power input in order to cause the disassociation required. In such circumstances by provision of an incident heat source, whether that be through a heat exchanger heating the compressed air flow, or recycling of a proportion of exhaust from the stack, or combustion of a product from stack disassociation the result will be a sustaining electrolysis operation reducing the amount of expensive electrical supply required to achieve dissociation.

Abstract: The fan duct of a ducted fan gas turbine engine has a fan case lined with a honeycomb structure that acts to absorb the energy of a separated part of a blade. A layer of composite material lining honeycomb structure delaminates/breaks when a separated blade part passes through a further, inner honeycomb liner and hits it. The resulting free end of composite liner wraps round the striking end of the blade part, thus blunting the cutting action of the blade part and spreading the generated forces to the extent that the blade part is de-energised sufficiently to prevent it penetrating the fan case.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine 2 is installed in a nacelle 4 to define a bay 16 which is ventilated by air entering the bay 16 through an intake 27. A partition 28 in the bay 16 includes a permeable wall 34 provided with flow passages 36 which direct the air flow in the bay 16 towards a turbine casing 14. The air flow is emitted from the flow passages 36 as jets 46 to provide impingement cooling of the turbine casing 14.