Patents Assigned to Rolls-Royce plc
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Publication number: 20210123353Abstract: A vane assembly includes an aerofoil having a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a pressure surface and a suction surface defined between the leading edge and the trailing edge. The aerofoil includes a blade member forming the trailing edge, at least a portion of the pressure surface and at least a portion of the suction surface. The blade member is formed of a first material. The aerofoil further includes a spar at least partly enclosed by the blade member and forming at least a portion of the leading edge. The spar further forms at least one cooling channel and supports at least a portion of an interior surface of the blade member. The spar is formed of a second material different from the first material. The second material has a greater impact resistance than the first material.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 2, 2020Publication date: April 29, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Adrian L. HARDING
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Publication number: 20210122465Abstract: A VTOL aircraft has fixed wings and a rotor blade system for providing lift in active and passive modes thereof. Operation of the rotor blade system may be switched between the active mode in which the rotor blade system is driven by a power system of the aircraft and the passive mode in which the rotor blade system is not driven by the power system, the rotor blade system being configurable to provide lift in the passive mode during forward flight of the aircraft. The rotor blade system provides lift in the passive mode, allowing the fixed wings to be shorter than in the case where the rotor system provides lift during vertical take-off and landing but otherwise has no function, thus providing aircraft which is lighter, more compact and more efficient than similar aircraft of the prior art.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 26, 2020Publication date: April 29, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Chana A. SAIAS, Vasileios PACHIDIS
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Patent number: 10989112Abstract: A highly efficient gas turbine engine is provided. The fan of the gas turbine engine is driven from a turbine via a gearbox, such that the fan has a lower rotational speed than the driving turbine, thereby providing efficiency gains. The efficient fan system is mated to a core that has low cooling flow requirements and/or high temperature capability, and which may have particularly low mass for a given power.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2019Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventors: Pascal Dunning, Roderick M Townes, Michael J Whittle
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Patent number: 10988035Abstract: An alternating current type electric propulsion system is described that includes an AC generator and a plurality of propulsors electrically coupled to the AC generator. A first propulsor from the plurality of propulsors includes a first motor that drives a first fan of the first propulsor at a first speed. A second propulsor from the plurality of propulsors comprises a second motor that drives a second fan of the second propulsor at a second speed that is different than the first speed.Type: GrantFiled: October 11, 2019Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignees: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc., Rolls-Royce PLCInventors: Michael James Armstrong, Mark Jon Blackwelder, David John Howard Eames, Ellis Fui Hen Chong
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Patent number: 10989145Abstract: A method of replacing a module in a modular gas turbine engine having a first fan module; a first propulsor module including an engine core and a gearbox; and a first fan case module having a fan case; includes the steps of: disassembling the gas turbine engine, replacing one of the fan module, propulsor module or fan case module with a replacement fan module, a replacement propulsor module or a replacement fan case module, the replacement module, having the same configuration as the first module; and reassembling the gas turbine engine using the replacement module.Type: GrantFiled: October 2, 2019Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Joseph B Cooper, Lawrence M T Bigg
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Patent number: 10989227Abstract: The blades for a rotor of a gas turbine engine are all manufactured to the same design. However, manufacturing tolerances mean that in practice each individual blade is different to the others. It is proposed to arrange the blades around the circumference of the rotor in a manner that limits excessive stress being induced in the blades due to differences in the vibration response between a given blade and its two neighbouring blades.Type: GrantFiled: May 10, 2019Date of Patent: April 27, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Bharat M. Lad
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Publication number: 20210115797Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes an engine core and a fan located upstream of the engine core. The engine core includes: a compressor system including first, lower pressure compressor, and second, higher pressure compressor; and an outer core casing surrounding the compressor system and including a first flange connection arranged to allow separation of the outer core casing at an axial position of the first flange connection. The first flange connection is the first flange connection that is downstream of an axial position defined by the axial midpoint between the mid-span axial location on the trailing edge of the most downstream aerofoil of the first compressor and the mid-span axial location on the leading edge of the most upstream aerofoil of the second compressor. A fan diameter ratio of: first ? ? flange ? ? radius fan ? ? diameter is equal to or greater than 0.125.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 28, 2020Publication date: April 22, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Chathura K KANNANGARA, Jillian C GASKELL, Stewart T THORNTON, Timothy PHILP
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Patent number: 10982563Abstract: Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular to arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and to related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. Example embodiments include a gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine, the gearbox including: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.Type: GrantFiled: August 11, 2020Date of Patent: April 20, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventor: Mark Spruce
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Patent number: 10982550Abstract: A gas turbine engine that has improved fuel burn provides operability and/or maintenance requirements when installed on an aircraft. The gas turbine engine is provided with a core compressor that includes twelve, thirteen or fourteen rotor stages. The gas turbine engine has a ratio of a core compressor aspect ratio divided by a core compressor pressure ratio is in the range of from 0.03 to 0.09. This results in an optimum balance between installation benefits, operability, maintenance requirements and engine efficiency when the gas turbine engine is installed on an aircraft.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 2019Date of Patent: April 20, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Nicholas Howarth, Gareth M Armstrong
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Patent number: 10982858Abstract: A combustion staging system is provided for fuel injectors of a multi-stage combustor of a gas turbine engine. The system has a splitting unit which receives a metered total fuel flow and controllably splits the metered total fuel flow into out-going pilot and mains fuel flows to perform pilot-only and pilot-and-mains staging control of the combustor. The splitting unit includes a metering valve and a spill valve, a first portion of the total metered fuel flow received by the splitting unit being an inflow to the metering valve and a second portion of the total metered fuel flow received by the splitting unit being an inflow to the spill valve. The metering valve is configured to controllably determine a fuel flow rate of a metered outflow formed from the first portion of the total metered fuel flow.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2018Date of Patent: April 20, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Daniel J Bickley
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Patent number: 10981663Abstract: A gas turbine engine of an aircraft includes: an engine core having a turbine including a lowest pressure rotor stage, a turbine diameter, a fan including a plurality of fan blades extending from a hub, an annular fan face at a leading edge of the fan defining a fan tip radius at the fan face; wherein a downstream blockage ratio is defined as: the ? ? turbine ? ? diameter ? ? at ? ? an ? ? axial ? ? location of ? ? the ? ? lowest ? ? pressure ? ? rotor ? ? stage a ? ? distance ? ? f ? rom ? ? a ? ? ground ? ? plane ? ? to ? ? the ? ? wing ? and wherein an engine blockage ratio of: ( 2 × the fan tip radius/the engine length ) the ? ? downstream ? ? blockage ? ? ratio is in the range from 2.5 to 4.Type: GrantFiled: July 21, 2020Date of Patent: April 20, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventors: Richard G Stretton, Michael C Willmot
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Publication number: 20210108537Abstract: A cleaning system for cleaning gas paths in an engine core of a gas turbine engine is provided. The cleaning system includes a source of an engine cleaning liquid; an engine cleaning mist forming unit that vapourises the engine cleaning liquid to form an engine cleaning mist and delivers the engine cleaning mist into the engine core of the gas turbine engine; at least one delivery device configured to deliver the engine cleaning liquid to the engine cleaning mist forming unit; a pump configured to draw the engine cleaning mist through the engine core to clean the gas paths within the engine core; and a mist collecting arrangement including a condensing chamber. The mist collecting arrangement is configured to collect the engine cleaning mist that has passed through the engine core and condense the collected engine cleaning mist in the condensing chamber.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 28, 2020Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Graeme E. RIGG, Timothy P. AGGAS, David MUNTON
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Publication number: 20210108570Abstract: There is provided a gas turbine engine comprising a low pressure shaft and a high pressure shaft; wherein the low pressure shaft connects a fan to a fan drive turbine, and the high pressure shaft connects a high pressure turbine to a compressor section. The low pressure shaft and the high pressure shaft are arranged such that when operating at idle the idle shaft speed ratio is greater than 6.05. The idle shaft speed ratio is the ratio of the speed of the high pressure shaft to the speed of the low pressure shaft at idle conditions.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 13, 2020Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventor: Craig W. BEMMENT
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Publication number: 20210107101Abstract: An apparatus for securing an insert in a hole, the insert having an axis, a section comprising a thread disposed around the axis and a section comprising a plurality of splines, and the hole having a section comprising a corresponding thread and a section comprising a plurality of grooves corresponding to said splines, the apparatus comprising a driver arranged to rotate the insert, a torque measurement device arranged to measure the driving torque applied by the driver, and a controller arranged to cause the driver to drive the insert into the hole until the splines are level in the axial direction with the grooves by rotating the insert in a first direction, and align the splines with the grooves by causing the driver to further rotate the threaded insert whilst measuring the driving torque using the torque measuring device, and stopping the further rotation based on the measured driving torque.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 5, 2020Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Martin C. BULLOCK, George S. WALSH, Martin W. DENMARK, Dejan BASU
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Publication number: 20210107078Abstract: A dielectric gel for use in electro-discharge machining. Aspects of the dielectric gel include a liquid solvent phase entrapped in a three-dimensionally cross-linked fibre network.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 29, 2020Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventors: Shamraze AHMED, Adam CLARE, James KELL, Daniel CLARK, Alistair G. SPEIDEL, Monica M. CASTRO PALACIOS, Peter H. SMITH, Donka NOVOVIC
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Publication number: 20210107079Abstract: A cutting electrode head for a handheld electrical discharge machining (EDM) device comprising: a housing; a cutting electrode supported in the housing, and configured to move from a retracted position to an extended position along an electrode axis (C) to cut a workpiece; and an actuator supported in the housing and movable along a movement axis (E) which is at an angle to the electrode axis (C), wherein movement of the actuator along the movement axis (E) causes the cutting electrode to move between its retracted and extended positions.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 15, 2020Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Christopher J. PREECE
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Patent number: 10976724Abstract: The present disclosure concerns machine tools and more specifically compensation of variations which may occur within a multi-axis machine tool during a cutting process.Type: GrantFiled: August 13, 2019Date of Patent: April 13, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Phillip Midwinter
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Patent number: 10975802Abstract: A gas turbine engine generates noise during use, and one particularly important flight condition for noise generation is take-off. A gas turbine engine that has high efficiency provides low noise, in particular from the fan and the turbine that drives the fan. Values are defined for a noise parameter NP that results in a gas turbine engine having reduced combined fan and turbine noise.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 2019Date of Patent: April 13, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE PLCInventors: Alastair D Moore, Robert J Telling
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Patent number: 10975708Abstract: A turbine assembly adapted for use in a gas turbine engine is disclosed in this paper. The turbine assembly includes a turbine vane comprising ceramic matrix composite materials configured for use in high temperature environments. The turbine assembly further includes a vane-stage support for holding the turbine vane and other components in place relative to a turbine case.Type: GrantFiled: April 23, 2019Date of Patent: April 13, 2021Assignee: Rolls-Royce plcInventors: Michael J. Whittle, Anthony G. Razzell, Roderick M. Townes, David J. Shepherd, Duncan Forbes
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Patent number: 10978975Abstract: Fault-tolerant electrical drive systems and methods of maintaining electrical balance or continuing operation of a rotary electric machine under a fault condition are provided. One such system comprises: a rotary electric machine comprising pn phases having a common connection point, where p is a prime number and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1; a drive circuit module having pn phase drive circuits and a reserve drive circuit; and a contactor module. The contactor module comprises: pn phase contactors each of which is operable to connect one of the pn phases of the rotary electric machine to a respective one of the pn phase drive circuits; and a phase fault contactor operable to connect the reserve drive circuit to the common connection point.Type: GrantFiled: June 23, 2020Date of Patent: April 13, 2021Assignee: ROLLS-ROYCE plcInventor: Vladimir A Shirokov
