Patents Examined by Eric J Zamora Alvarez
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Wind turbine blade made of thermoplastic polymer composite, part of said blade and production method
Patent number: 11624347Abstract: The invention relates to a wind turbine blade (1) comprising an outer casing formed at least in part of panels (3) of thermoplastic polymer composite, defining a leading edge (4) and a trailing edge (5) of the wind turbine blade, and at least one longitudinal stiffening member (6) made of polymer composite, extending along a longitudinal axis (A) of the wind turbine blade inside said wind turbine blade (1), said stiffening member (6) being arranged between at least one panel defining the leading edge (4) and at least one panel defining the trailing edge (5), characterized in that the thermoplastic polymer composite comprises a fibrous reinforcement and a (meth)acrylic thermoplastic polymer matrix and in that at least one panel (3) of thermoplastic polymer composite is connected to the stiffening member (6) by a weld-type interface (7).Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2018Date of Patent: April 11, 2023Assignee: ARKEMA FRANCEInventors: Virginia Bozsak, Guillaume R. Cledat, Pierre Gerard, Mark Hiemstra, Henk Minnema, Dirk Jan Kootstra -
Patent number: 11623723Abstract: Aspects of the technology relate to a propeller blade assembly that is used in lateral propulsion systems for lighter-than-air high altitude platforms designed to operate, e.g., in the stratosphere. During operation, the propeller of the assembly is pointed along a specified heading and rotates at a selected velocity (e.g., hundreds or thousands of revolutions per minute). Power is supplied to the propeller as needed during lateral propulsion to move the platform along a particular trajectory or to remain on station over a given geographic location. In certain circumstances, the propeller may become damaged. This can include one or more blades breaking or shattering, which can result in failure of the propeller and potentially the entire LTA platform. The technology provides blades that are sufficiently flexible to avoid breakage or shattering due to debris impact or envelope entanglement, or otherwise shed a load. This can avoid catastrophic failure during stratospheric operation.Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 2020Date of Patent: April 11, 2023Assignee: Aerostar International, LLCInventors: John Cromie, Carey Hijmans
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Patent number: 11623897Abstract: A blade outer air seal has at least one internal surface and a layer atop the at least one internal surface. The layer has: a matrix comprising at least one of hafnium silicate (HfSiO4) and zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4), ytterbium disilicate (Yb2Si2O7); and barium magnesium alumino silicate (BMAS) or other alkaline earth aluminosilicate.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2021Date of Patent: April 11, 2023Assignee: Raytheon Technologies CorporationInventors: Imelda P. Smyth, Xia Tang
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Patent number: 11619136Abstract: A blade outer air seal segment including a radially outward surface, a radially inward surface oriented away from the radially outward surface, and a cooling channel located between the radially outward surface and the radially inward surface. The blade outer air seal segment also including a stress-relief boss extending into the cooling channel and an inlet orifice fluidly coupled to the cooling channel through the stress-relief boss. The blade outer air seal segment further including a stress-relief recess. The stress-relief boss being located within the stress relief recess.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2019Date of Patent: April 4, 2023Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATIONInventors: Brian C. McLaughlin, Paul M. Lutjen, Richard K. Hayford, Anthony B. Swift
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Patent number: 11613997Abstract: A steam turbine includes a guide member that is disposed between a first rotor blade row and a second stator vane row to guide a fluid from the first rotor blade row toward the second stator vane row. When seen in a circumferential direction, an outer peripheral surface of an inner ring of the second stator vane row is disposed farther to an inner side in a radial direction than an outer peripheral surface of a platform of the first rotor blade row. The guide member has a guide surface that extends from an outer peripheral surface of a shroud of the first rotor blade row toward an inner peripheral surface of an outer ring of the second stator vane row so as to be inclined toward the inner side in the radial direction as the guide surface approaches a second side from a first side in an axial direction.Type: GrantFiled: January 28, 2021Date of Patent: March 28, 2023Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES COMPRESSOR CORPORATIONInventor: Takuro Koda
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Patent number: 11608815Abstract: Disclosed is a wind turbine blade comprising a shell body, a down conductor arranged in the shell body for conducting lightning current to ground, an electrical connector arranged in electrical connection with the down conductor, a lightning receptor element arranged at a surface of the shell body or outside the shell body, the lightning receptor element being in electrical connection with the electrical connector. A method for manufacturing a wind turbine blade with a lightning protection system is also provided.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 2019Date of Patent: March 21, 2023Assignee: LM WIND POWER A/SInventors: Lars Bo Hansen, Mathilde Aubrion, Christian Elkjaer-Holm, Madhusudhan Nanjedevanapura Veerappa
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Patent number: 11598214Abstract: An aircraft engine comprising a fan, the fan having a diameter D and including a plurality of fan blades, the fan blades having a sweep metric S, each fan blade having a leading edge, and a forward-most portion on the leading edge of each fan blade being in a first reference plane. The aircraft engine further comprises a nacelle, comprising an intake portion forward of the fan, a forward edge on the intake portion being in a second reference plane, wherein the intake portion has a length L measured along an axis of the aircraft engine between the first reference plane and the second reference plane, the aircraft engine having a cruise design point condition Mrel, wherein Mrel is between 0.4 and 0.93, and L/D is between 0.2 and 0.45.Type: GrantFiled: August 26, 2021Date of Patent: March 7, 2023Inventors: Benjamin Mohankumar, Mark J. Wilson, Cesare A. Hall
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Patent number: 11592007Abstract: A wind turbine rotor blade has a spar cap including conductive material, and a lightning conductor extending over the spar cap. There is a non-conductive layer between the lightning conductor and the spar cap. An equipotential bonding element electrically bonds the lightning conductor to the spar cap. The non-conductive layer is discontinuous to define a gap, and the equipotential bonding element extends through the gap.Type: GrantFiled: November 15, 2019Date of Patent: February 28, 2023Assignee: Vestas Wind Systems A/SInventors: Angela Thwaites, Toby Collard, Robert Hunter
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Patent number: 11591917Abstract: A blade outer air seal segment including a radially outward surface, a radially inward surface oriented away from the radially outward surface, and a cooling channel located between the radially outward surface and the radially inward surface. The blade outer air seal segment also including a stress-relief boss extending into the cooling channel and an inlet orifice fluidly coupled to the cooling channel through the stress-relief boss. The blade outer air seal segment further including a stress-relief recess. The stress-relief boss being located within the stress relief recess.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2019Date of Patent: February 28, 2023Assignee: RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATIONInventors: Brian C. McLaughlin, Paul M. Lutjen, Richard K. Hayford, Anthony B. Swift
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Patent number: 11578611Abstract: A gas turbine engine has: an annular gaspath extending around a central axis and defined between a first casing and a second casing; and a variable guide vane (VGV) assembly having: variable guide vanes, the variable guide vanes having airfoils extending between first and second stems at respective first and second ends of the airfoils, the variable guide vanes rotatable about respective spanwise axes; a unison ring rotatable about the central axis, the unison ring operatively connected to the variable guide vanes for rotating the variable guide vanes about the respective spanwise axes, and a segmented bushing having bushing segments circumferentially distributed around the central axis, the bushing segments radially supported and axially constrained by the first casing, the unison ring rollingly engaged to the first casing via the bushing segments, the unison ring axially and radially constrained to the first casing via the bushing segments.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 2020Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventor: Daniel Poick
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Patent number: 11578602Abstract: A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine has an airfoil including leading and trailing edges joined by spaced-apart pressure and suction sides to provide an exterior airfoil surface extending from a platform in a spanwise direction to a tip. The external airfoil surface is formed in substantial conformance with multiple cross-sectional profiles of the airfoil described by a set of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Table 1, the Cartesian coordinates provided by an axial coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, a circumferential coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, and a span location.Type: GrantFiled: October 14, 2021Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Fariba Ajalli, Panagiota Tsifourdaris, Lorenzo Sanzari, Francis Gemme, Stephane Bigras, William Mindenhall, Masoud Roshan Fekr
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Patent number: 11578608Abstract: A turbine vane for a gas turbine engine has an airfoil including leading and trailing edges joined by spaced-apart pressure and suction sides to provide an external airfoil surface. The surface is formed in substantial conformance with multiple cross-sectional profiles of the airfoil defined by a set of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Table 1, the Cartesian coordinates provided by an axial coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, a circumferential coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, and a span location.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2021Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Remo Marini, Marc Tardif, Jason Gillespie
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Patent number: 11578601Abstract: A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine has an airfoil including leading and trailing edges joined by spaced-apart pressure and suction sides to provide an external airfoil surface extending from a platform in a spanwise direction to a tip. The external airfoil surface is formed in substantial conformance with multiple cross-sectional profiles of the airfoil defined by a set of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Table 1, the Cartesian coordinates provided by an axial coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, a circumferential coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, and a span location.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 2021Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Abdulhalim Twahir, Panagiota Tsifourdaris, Francis Gemme, Stephane Bigras, William Mindenhall
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Patent number: 11572790Abstract: A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine has an airfoil including leading and trailing edges joined by spaced-apart pressure and suction sides to provide an external airfoil surface extending from a platform in a spanwise direction to a tip. The external airfoil surface is formed in substantial conformance with multiple cross-sectional profiles of the airfoil defined by a set of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Table 1, the Cartesian coordinates provided by an axial coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, a circumferential coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, and a span location.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Remo Marini, Panagiota Tsifourdaris, Nicolas Grivas, Daniel Lecuyer, Michael Papple, Robert Huszar, Othmane Leghzaouni, Jonathan Dorai, Jasrobin Grewal
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Patent number: 11572789Abstract: A turbine blade for a gas turbine engine has an airfoil including leading and trailing edges joined by spaced-apart pressure and suction sides to provide an external airfoil surface extending from a platform in a spanwise direction to a tip. The external airfoil surface is formed in substantial conformance with multiple cross-sectional profiles of the airfoil defined by a set of Cartesian coordinates set forth in Table 1, the Cartesian coordinates provided by an axial coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, a circumferential coordinate scaled by a local axial chord, and a span location.Type: GrantFiled: November 11, 2021Date of Patent: February 7, 2023Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Constantinos Ravanis, Vincent Paradis, Eduardo Hawie, Michael Papple, Marc-Antoine Mailloux-Labrousse, Othmane Leghzaouni, Philippe Boyer, Jasrobin Grewal
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Patent number: 11548617Abstract: A method of pitching rotor blades by interrupting torque applied to the hub.Type: GrantFiled: June 12, 2019Date of Patent: January 10, 2023Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Carlos Alexander Fenny, Nicholas Brodeur, Louis Charron, Kevin Morris
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Patent number: 11549383Abstract: A variable geometry aerodynamic blade system employs a blade having a leading edge and a trailing edge. At least one shape memory alloy component is integrated in the blade for aerodynamic repositioning of one or both of the leading and trailing edges. At least one heating element interacts with the at least one shape memory alloy component to provide heating for transition between an austenitic and a martensitic phase. The at least one shape memory alloy component is responsive to the at least one heating element to alter one of a camber and twist of the blade responsive to a control signal. A control system is operatively engaged to the at least one heating element, the control system receiving a command signal and outputting the control signal responsive to the command signal.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2019Date of Patent: January 10, 2023Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventors: Stephen T. Brown, Frederick T. Calkins, Sergey D. Barmichev, Matthew Naimi
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Patent number: 11530019Abstract: A field configurable autonomous vehicle includes modular elements and attachable components. The vehicle can be assembled from these modular elements and components to meet desired mission and performance characteristics without the need to purchase specially designed vehicles for each mission. The vehicle can include a modular propulsion system with magnetic drive.Type: GrantFiled: September 12, 2020Date of Patent: December 20, 2022Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the NavyInventors: Eric Seeley, Logan Harris
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Patent number: 11530622Abstract: A blade containment assembly for a gas turbine engine comprises a casing having a first casing member surrounding a set of rotor blades and a second casing member extending axially from the first casing member. The first casing member has an outer annular wall welded to the second casing member at a weld joint disposed in a blade containment zone of the casing and an inner containment ring spaced radially inwardly from the outer annular wall and extending axially from a first location forward of the weld joint to a second location aft of the weld joint.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2020Date of Patent: December 20, 2022Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.Inventors: Guy Lefebvre, Francois Doyon
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Patent number: 11519298Abstract: A mounting member for a sensor for a turbomachine having an axis is disclosed. The mounting member includes a body configured to mount to a portion of a circumferential interior surface of a casing of the turbomachine. An opening extends through a radially inner surface of the body, and is configured to position the sensor facing radially inward relative to the axis. A passage in the body extends longitudinally through the body to route a communications lead of the sensor circumferentially relative to the circumferential interior surface of the casing.Type: GrantFiled: June 11, 2019Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: General Electric CompanyInventors: Kurt Kramer Schleif, Robert David Jones, Michael Allen Ball, Andrew David Ellis, Mario Joseph Arceneaux, Donald Shaw