Abstract: A press tool arrangement for use in hot creep forming, a method of hot creep forming a component of titanium alloy, and a resilient urging arrangement usable at elevated temperatures are described. The press tool arrangement includes a die, a holder member engageable with a blank of material in the die, and a resilient urging arrangement engageable with the holder member to urge same against a blank of material in the die.

Abstract: An engine having at least one stage of propeller rotor blades, and a load, the at least one stage being associated with electrical generation means to generate electricity for the load. The load is switchable into a high load state in the event of an overspeed signal from the rotor blades. Also a method of controlling rotor overspeed of an engine, characterised by the steps of: i. detecting an overspeed signal from the at least one stage, and ii. switching the load into a high load state to apply torque to the at least one stage to counteract the overspeed.

Abstract: Traditional nut and bolt fasteners are generally acceptable but will normally be over specified for particular applications. Thus, in situations where weight is important such traditional nut and bolt fasteners are not optimised. By providing a fastener in which splayed arms are created with ridges in respective receptor members and insert arm members it will be understood that multi point stabilised contact points for a nut are provided. Thus, the nut can move along the ridges defining a screw path for tightening of the fastener in use. The engagement between the receptor members and the insert arm members is typically through a slot forked end or a closed slot with the slots presenting the splayed arms perpendicular to each other in a cruciform configuration.

Abstract: There is disclosed a lubricant scavenge arrangement provided on a chamber having an outer wall and configured to house a lubricated rotative component for rotation about an axis. The scavenge arrangement comprises: a substantially elongate channel provided in a substantially arcuate region of the wall, the channel being open to the chamber over substantially its entire length between an inlet end and an outlet end, said inlet end and said outlet lo end being angularly spaced apart around said longitudinal axis. The scavenge arrangement is particularly suited to use on bearing chambers in gas turbine engines.

Abstract: A method of locally repairing a coating (50) on a gas turbine engine nozzle guide vane (26) or a turbine blade (30,30B) comprises removing a damaged portion of the coating (50) from a portion (53) of the article. Any oxidised layer (54) is removed from the portion (53) of the surface of the article. Material is placed on the portion (53) of the article (26,30,30B) to form a patch coating (50B). The material is heated to form a patch coating (50B) on the portion (53) of the article (26,30,30B) and to bond the patch coating (50B) to the portion (53) of the article (26,30,30B) and to the coating surrounding the patch coating (50B). A high energy beam is impinged on the coating (50) and the high energy beam is moved from the periphery (60) of the patch coating (50B) to the periphery (62) of the coating (50) in a pattern (P) to uniformly heat the periphery (60) of the patch coating (50B) and the periphery (62) of the coating (50). The advantage is that a halo effect around the patch coating (50B) is obviated.

Abstract: A turbine blade damper arrangement in which a damper is positioned against the undersides of the platforms of adjacent turbine blades. In operation, the damper is centrifugally urged into engagement with the blade platforms to provide damping of relative movement between the blades. The damper and platform surfaces that it engages are of part-cylindrical configuration in order to minimise gas leakage paths between the damper and blade platforms.

Abstract: A method of locally repairing an aluminide coating (50) on a gas turbine engine nozzle guide vane (26) or a turbine blade (30,30B) comprises removing a damaged portion of the aluminide coating (50) from a portion (53) of the surface of the article. Any oxidised layer (54) is removed from the portion (53) of the surface of the article. Stoichiometric amounts of nickel and aluminium are placed on the portion (53) of the surface of the article using at least one foil (57). The stoichiometric amounts of nickel and aluminium are heat treated to form an aluminide patch coating (50B) on the portion (53) of the surface of the article and to bond the aluminide patch coating (50B) to the portion (53) of the surface of the article and to the aluminide coating (50) surrounding the aluminide patch coating (50B). The advantage is that the aluminide coating (50) surrounding the aluminide patch coating (50B) is not over aluminised.

Abstract: The present invention provides a retaining washer for retaining threaded fasteners, such as bolts, that have been inadvertently loosened, in use. The invention finds particular application in gas turbine engines and in aircraft in general where wire locking of threaded fasteners has traditionally been employed. The washer (10) comprises a base member (14) having a plurality of apertures (18) each for receiving the shank of a respective bolt (20) or stud part of a threaded fastener, and engagement means (16) extending from the base member for engagement with respective bolt head or nut parts of the fasteners to retain the said head or nut parts with respect to the washer in the event of inadvertent loosening. The said engagement means is deformable between an open configuration which enables access to the bolt head or nut parts of the fasteners for tightening and/or removal thereof and a closed configuration in which the bolt head or nut part are captively retained with the washer.

Abstract: A method of joining a first article to a second article using adjustment features located in an assigned scrap portion of the first article. The first article can be a casing for a turbine engine the first article being the casing skin and the second article a flange. The adjustment features are springs that can be stretched to increase the circumference of the skin. Following the correct sizing of the skin and joining to the flange the attachment features are removed along with the assigned scrap portion of the skin.

Abstract: A rotary blade, such as a turbine blade for a gas turbine engine, has an aerofoil portion with a tip partly shrouded by winglets. A gutter extends across the radially outer face of the tip to leave upstands. Cooling air feed galleries are drilled into each upstand, from the trailing edge, toward the upper end of a cooling air feed void, which is spaced from the trailing edge. Cooling passages are drilled from the winglet edges to the gallery. Cooling air supplied through the void passes along the gallery, through the passages and leaves the blade at the cooling holes. This allows cooling to be provided near the trailing edge of the tip without requiring the geometry around the trailing edge to be thickened to accommodate a cooling air void.

Abstract: Composite aerofoils for gas turbine engines are commonly provided with a metal protection strip along the leading edge, to prevent erosion of the leading edge in use and to protect against impacts from foreign bodies. A problem with such strips is that they can cause serious damage to other parts of the engine if they become detached from the aerofoil. The invention provides an aerofoil having such a protection strip, characterised in that the protection strip includes one or more weakening features to reduce the ability of the protection member to withstand a compressive force applied along its length. The weakening features encourage the protection member to break up under impact, or if it becomes detached from the aerofoil, so that damage to other parts of the engine is minimised.

Abstract: Blade assemblies are provided in a number of forms. These blade assemblies may have blades secured to disks (blisk), rings (bling) and drums (blum). The blades and/or the rotor elements formed by these rings, drums or disks can fragment and it is necessary to contain such fragments within a casing. Impact energy has a significant effect upon the necessary thickness of the casing to ensure containment. By providing blades as well as rotor elements which incorporate discontinuities which provide flexing under impact, energy is absorbed prior to further fragmentation upon impact engagement with a casing surface; flexing is about the discontinuity. In such circumstances casings may be thinner and therefore significant weight savings achieved with regard to aircraft incorporating gas turbine engines having blade assemblies with discontinuities.

Abstract: A fuel injector head for a gas turbine engine the head comprising a pilot injector and a main injector located radially outwardly of the pilot injector. A concentric separates the pilot injector from the main injector and bounding a duct through which in use a fuel injected by the pilot injector flows. The splitter is hollow to improve cooling and has a radially inner surface which defines a first portion which tapers radially inwardly to a throat and a second portion which tapers radially outwardly from the throat with the angle of the radially outwards taper being such that a flow of air in use over the radially inner surface remains attached over the length of the surface.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for measuring the crystallographic orientation of a component cast by a directional solidification process. The method comprises the steps of: illuminating at least a region of the component surface with substantially coherent light, measuring the mean angle and intensity of the light reflected from the component surface, and correlating said mean angle and intensity to the crystallographic orientation of the component. The method has been found to lend itself particularly well to automation.

Abstract: A fan blade for a gas turbine engine has an aerofoil part and a root part. The root part includes a root former; the root former 18 includes a zone of weakness, which reduces the ability of the root part to withstand an impact force. Thus, in an impact situation in which the fan blade has separated from the fan rotor and the fan blade has itself separated into fragments, the root part will fracture or buckle more easily than would be the case with conventional arrangements. This will lower the impact force of the root part upon the fan casing, thus permitting the fan casing to be designed to withstand lower impact forces. The fan casing can therefore be made lighter, and cheaper, than in conventional arrangements.

Abstract: A mould for use in directionally solidifying a component has a casting cavity including a single crystal selector spiral which is a helical passage having not less than 1¼ and not more than 1½ turns.

Abstract: A swirler is provided for a fuel injector of a combustor of a gas turbine engine. The swirler is for directing an airflow into the combustor so as to atomise fuel exiting the fuel injector. The swirler has one or more passages for channelling the airflow. Each of the passages is configured to rotate the airflow channelled by that passage about a swirl axis of the swirler, such that on exiting the passage the airflow has an exit swirl angle and a direction of rotation relative to the swirl axis. The swirler is configured such that the exit swirl angle and/or the direction of rotation may be selectively varied.

Abstract: International regulations for aerofoils within gas turbine engines require the safe containment of a released aerofoil. The blade fragments must be contained within an engine casing. Smaller fragments will generally be easier to contain within the casing and therefore reduce the weight of that casing. However introducing lines of weakness may result in cavities and holes which are subject to moisture ingress and problems associated therewith. By providing a root section which incorporates a core having shear surfaces, blades can be designed which in normal use are subject to compressive loads and remain operational, but when subject to impact loads or bending forces create tension forces which cause fragmentation along the shear surfaces after initial energy losses by slippage. By providing the shear surfaces in cores their location is encapsulated avoiding problems with moisture ingress.

Abstract: Blade arrangements 130 may be formed in a blisk configuration comprising a number of blades secured integrally or through welds or similar bonding to a rotor disc. The blades may be subject to vibration and it would be desirable to provide heat protection to junctions 33 between the blades and the rotor 31. By providing insert elements 34 between adjacent platform sections 35 of a blade pair vibrational damping as well as heat shielding and capability with regard to aerodynamic profiling is achieved.

Abstract: A combustor assembly for a gas turbine engine comprises a casing arrangement defining an aperture and a seal element mounted on the casing arrangement through which a component of the combustor can extend. The seal element comprises a relatively flexible force absorbing portion and a relatively rigid sealing portion. The force absorbing portion is provided between the sealing portion and the casing arrangement. The force absorbing portion is resiliently deformable to absorb force during movement of the casing arrangement. Such resilient deformation restricts transmission of the forces to the sealing portion. The seal element may be configured to carry a seal member.