Patents by Inventor Aaron Ezekiel Smith

Aaron Ezekiel Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10927682
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for a component for a turbine engine, which generates a hot gas flow, and provides a cooling fluid flow, comprising a wall separating the hot gas flow from the cooling fluid flow and having a heated surface along which the hot gas flows and a cooled surface facing the cooling fluid flow and at least one cooling hole comprising a connecting passage extending between an inlet at the cooled surface and an outlet located at the heated surface, with the connecting passage comprising a diffusing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Fernando Reiter, Zachary Daniel Webster
  • Patent number: 10830057
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling an airfoil tip for a turbine engine can include an airfoil, such as a cooled turbine blade, having a tip rail extending beyond a tip wall enclosing an interior for the airfoil at the tip. A plurality of cooling holes can be provided in the tip rail at the tip. A flow of cooling fluid can be provided through the cooling holes from the interior of the airfoil to cool the tip of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Matthew Thomas Beyer, Gregory Terrence Garay, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Publication number: 20200300116
    Abstract: A hanger for a turbine engine can include a first surface confronting a cooling airflow, a second surface facing a heated airflow, and a third surface radially outward of the first surface. The hanger can also include a cyclonic separator with a dirty air inlet and a clean air outlet, as well as a cooling air circuit extending through the cyclonic separator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2019
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Jonathan Russell Ratzlaff, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Publication number: 20200300097
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling a blade tip for a turbine engine can include an blade, such as a cooled turbine blade, having a tip rail extending beyond a tip wall enclosing an interior for the blade at the tip. A plurality of film-holes can be provided in the tip rail. A flow of cooling fluid can be provided through the film-holes from the interior of the blade to cool the tip of the blade.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Publication date: September 24, 2020
    Inventors: Thomas Earl Dyson, Nicholas William Rathay, Brendon James Leary, Gregory Terrence Garay, Gustavo Adolfo Ledezma, David Wayne Weber, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10781698
    Abstract: A cooling system according to an embodiment includes: a leading edge cooling circuit including a pressure side serpentine circuit and a suction side serpentine circuit; a first mid-blade cooling circuit including a suction side serpentine circuit; a second mid-blade cooling circuit including a pressure side serpentine circuit; a trailing edge cooling circuit; and at least one air feed for supplying cooling air to the leading edge cooling circuit, the first mid-blade cooling circuit, the second mid-blade cooling circuit, and the trailing edge cooling circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Gregory Thomas Foster
  • Patent number: 10760431
    Abstract: An apparatus and method relating to a cooling hole of a component of a turbine engine. The cooling hole can extend from an inlet to an outlet to define a connecting passage. The cooling hole can contain a diffusing section. The diffusing section can be defined by an interior surface having variable geometries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zachary Daniel Webster, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Kirk D. Gallier
  • Patent number: 10753207
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling an airfoil tip for a turbine engine can include a blade, such as a cooled turbine blade, having a tip rail extending beyond a tip wall (94) enclosing an interior for the airfoil at the tip. A plurality of film-holes can be provided in the tip rail. A flow of cooling fluid can be provided through the film-holes from the interior of the airfoil to cool the tip of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Nicholas William Rathay, Thomas Earl Dyson, Brendon James Leary, Gregory Terrence Garay, Gustavo Adolfo Ledezma, David Wayne Weber, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10718217
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling an airfoil or engine component can include an outer wall defining an interior. A cooling circuit can be provided in the interior for directing flow of fluid and defining a flow direction. A plurality of cooling conduits can be arranged in the cooling circuit and organized into two or more sets of rows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Matthew Thomas Beyer, Gregory Terrence Garay, Tingfan Pang, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10697301
    Abstract: A turbine engine can include an airfoil comprising an outer wall bounding an interior, as well as an airfoil cooling circuit located within the interior and including a feed tube separating into at least first and second branches. A flow divider can be included in the airfoil and positioned to confront the feed tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Michael Hoffman, Weston Nolan Dooley, Matthew Lee Krumanaker, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Steven Robert Brassfield
  • Patent number: 10648342
    Abstract: An apparatus and method an airfoil for a turbine engine, the airfoil comprising an outer wall defining an interior bound by a pressure side and a suction side extending axially between a leading edge and a trailing edge defining a chord-wise direction and extending radially between a root and a tip defining a span-wise direction. The airfoil further includes at least one cooling hole including a diffusing section and fluidly coupling an exterior of the engine component to an exterior of the engine component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Zachary Daniel Webster, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Steven Robert Brassfield
  • Patent number: 10619491
    Abstract: One aspect of the disclosure provides for a turbine airfoil. The turbine airfoil may include a trailing edge having: a set of cooling channels having a first cooling channel fluidly connected to a second cooling channel; a first section having a first pin bank cooling arrangement, the first section fluidly connected to the first cooling channel; a second section having a second pin bank cooling arrangement, the second section fluidly connected to the second cooling channel and being radially inward of the first section; and a pressure side panel having a third pin bank cooling arrangement, the pressure side panel fluidly connected to the first cooling channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Gregory Thomas Foster, Michelle Jessica Iduate, Brendon James Leary, David Wayne Weber
  • Publication number: 20200109636
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for forming a film hole in an outer wall of an airfoil. The film hole includes a blind opening adjacent the interior of the airfoil and a hole adjacent the exterior of the airfoil. The blind opening fluidly couples to the hole to form the film hole for providing a volume of fluid as a surface cooling film along the exterior of the outer wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2019
    Publication date: April 9, 2020
    Inventors: Gregory Terrence Garay, Douglas Ray Smith, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Zachary Daniel Webster
  • Patent number: 10605098
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling a blade tip for a turbine engine can include an blade, such as a cooled turbine blade, having a tip rail extending beyond a tip wall enclosing an interior for the blade at the tip. A plurality of film-holes can be provided in the tip rail. A flow of cooling fluid can be provided through the film-holes from the interior of the blade to cool the tip of the blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Thomas Earl Dyson, Nicholas William Rathay, Brendon James Leary, Gregory Terrence Garay, Gustavo Adolfo Ledezma, David Wayne Weber, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10605091
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for forming a film hole in an outer wall of an airfoil. The film hole includes a blind opening adjacent the interior of the airfoil and a hole adjacent the exterior of the airfoil. The blind opening fluidly couples to the hole to form the film hole for providing a volume of fluid as a surface cooling film along the exterior of the outer wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Gregory Terrence Garay, Douglas Ray Smith, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Zachary Daniel Webster
  • Patent number: 10508548
    Abstract: An airfoil assembly for a turbine engine can comprise a platform having first and second opposing surfaces, an airfoil extending from the first surface, a base extending from the second surface, and a platform cooling circuit including a feed tube, a first branch, a second branch, and a flow divider.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: James Michael Hoffman, Weston Nolan Dooley, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Steven Robert Brassfield
  • Patent number: 10494943
    Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a turbine assembly including a shroud assembly and a nozzle assembly axially adjacent to each other which both include confronting radial sides and confronting axial ends. A spline connector having a circumferential portion and an axial portion such that the circumferential portion of the spline connector extends across the axial ends and the axial portion of the spline connector extends across the confronting radial sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Kevin Robert Feldmann, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10443396
    Abstract: A turbine component includes an internal surface, an external surface and a cooling hole. The cooling hole includes an inlet disposed on the internal surface, an outlet disposed on the external surface and a flow passage in fluid communication between the inlet and outlet. The flow passage includes a metering section extending from the inlet to a metering end, a diffusion zone extending from the metering end to the outlet, and a hooded region defined by a portion of the diffusion zone covered by a hood. The cooling hole also includes a vane extending across the flow passage, wherein a portion of the vane is disposed within the hooded region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: Thomas Earl Dyson, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10400608
    Abstract: A tip cooling apparatus for a turbine airfoil includes: a tip cap; a pair of spaced-apart tip walls connected to, extending around, and projecting outwardly from the tip cap so as to surround a central portion of the tip cap; a pocket defined by the tip walls; at least one feed hole passing through the tip cap or tip walls, communicating with the pocket; and a cooling matrix disposed in the pocket, the cooling matrix being an organized structure including an inlet surface having a plurality of inlets communicating with the pocket, and an outlet surface having a plurality of outlets, and further comprising a plurality of interior passages interconnecting the inlets to the outlets, with no line-of-sight therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jessica Elizabeth Coomer, Matthew Thomas Beyer, Stephen Molter, Aaron Ezekiel Smith
  • Patent number: 10370978
    Abstract: An airfoil comprises one or more internal cooling circuits. The cooling circuits can be fed with a flow of cooling fluid from one or more cooling air inlet passages in fluid communication with the cooling circuits. The cooling circuits can further comprise a leading edge cooling circuit defined by a supply passage, a pin bank passage divided into one or more sub-circuits by pin banks disposed within the pin bank passage, and at least first and second cooling passages. The cooling circuits can provide the cooling fluid flow within the airfoil to cool the airfoil, as well as provide a cooling fluid to a plurality of film holes to create a cooling film on the external surface of the airfoil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Matthew Lee Krumanaker, Steven Robert Brassfield, Robert Frederick Bergholz, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Weston Nolan Dooley
  • Patent number: 10364681
    Abstract: An engine comprises an airfoil having at least one internal cooling circuit extending radially from the longitudinal axis of the engine. The cooling circuit is defined by at least one rib extending across an interior of the airfoil and at least one internal wall defining an internal passage. The internal wall further defines one or more near wall cooling passages. A thermal stress reduction structure is provided between the rib and the internal wall, providing efficient cooling at a junction between the rib and the internal wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Inventors: Matthew Lee Krumanaker, Robert Frederick Bergholz, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Weston Nolan Dooley