Patents by Inventor Luke C. Sponseller

Luke C. Sponseller 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: 11225872
    Abstract: A turbine blade includes a root for fixing the turbine blade to a turbine rotor; and an airfoil coupled to the root, the airfoil including a suction side and a pressure side, and at least one internal wall defining a coolant chamber in the airfoil for delivering a coolant through the airfoil. A tip shroud is coupled to a radially outer end of the airfoil by a suction side fillet and a pressure side fillet. The tip shroud includes a shroud body defining a substantially trident-shaped shroud cooling passage including: a trunk cooling passage, a center cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage, a suction side cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage, and a pressure side cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage. The center cooling passage is fluidly coupled to the coolant chamber to receive a coolant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melbourne James Myers, Michael Anthony Wondrasek, Mary Virginia Holloway, Luke C. Sponseller, Brandon Joseph Kerins
  • Patent number: 11187085
    Abstract: A turbine bucket may include a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform at an intersection thereof, and a cooling circuit extending within the platform and the airfoil. The cooling circuit may include a root turn with an asymmetric shape to reduce stress concentrations therein. The asymmetric shape of the root turn may be asymmetrical along a path between a pressure side of the airfoil and a suction side of the airfoil. The asymmetric shape of the root turn may be asymmetrical within a plane defined by a radial direction and a circumferential direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William Scott Zemitis, Luke C. Sponseller, Michael Gordon Sherman
  • Publication number: 20210131291
    Abstract: A turbine blade includes a root for fixing the turbine blade to a turbine rotor; and an airfoil coupled to the root, the airfoil including a suction side and a pressure side, and at least one internal wall defining a coolant chamber in the airfoil for delivering a coolant through the airfoil. A tip shroud is coupled to a radially outer end of the airfoil by a suction side fillet and a pressure side fillet. The tip shroud includes a shroud body defining a substantially trident-shaped shroud cooling passage including: a trunk cooling passage, a center cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage, a suction side cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage, and a pressure side cooling passage in fluid communication with the trunk cooling passage. The center cooling passage is fluidly coupled to the coolant chamber to receive a coolant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2019
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Inventors: Melbourne James Myers, Michael Anthony Wondrasek, Mary Virginia Holloway, Luke C. Sponseller, Brandon Joseph Kerins
  • Patent number: 10808538
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade having an airfoil that includes a pressure side portion of a nominal airfoil profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y, and Z of a pressure side as set forth in Table I. The Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y, and Z are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to dimensional distances by multiplying the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z by a height of the airfoil defined along the Z axis. The X and Y values of the pressure side are coordinate values that, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define pressure side sections of the pressure side portion of the nominal airfoil profile at each Z coordinate value. The pressure side sections may be joined smoothly with one another to form the pressure side portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melbourne James Myers, Sylvain Pierre, Michael Gordon Sherman, Luke C Sponseller, Zhirui Dong, Le Trong Tran
  • Publication number: 20200131912
    Abstract: A turbine rotor blade having an airfoil that includes a pressure side portion of a nominal airfoil profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y, and Z of a pressure side as set forth in Table I. The Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y, and Z are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to dimensional distances by multiplying the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z by a height of the airfoil defined along the Z axis. The X and Y values of the pressure side are coordinate values that, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define pressure side sections of the pressure side portion of the nominal airfoil profile at each Z coordinate value. The pressure side sections may be joined smoothly with one another to form the pressure side portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2018
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Melbourne James Myers, Sylvain Pierre, Michael Gordon Sherman, Luke C. Sponseller, Zhirui Dong, Le Trong Tran
  • Publication number: 20200116030
    Abstract: A turbine bucket may include a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform at an intersection thereof, and a cooling circuit extending within the platform and the airfoil. The cooling circuit may include a root turn with an asymmetric shape to reduce stress concentrations therein. The asymmetric shape of the root turn may be asymmetrical along a path between a pressure side of the airfoil and a suction side of the airfoil. The asymmetric shape of the root turn may be asymmetrical within a plane defined by a radial direction and a circumferential direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventors: William Scott Zemitis, Luke C. Sponseller, Michael Gordon Sherman
  • Patent number: 10544686
    Abstract: The present application provides a turbine bucket. The turbine bucket may include a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform at an intersection thereof, and a cooling circuit extending within the platform and the airfoil. The cooling circuit may include a root turn with an asymmetric shape so as to reduce stress concentrations therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: William Scott Zemitis, Michael Sherman, Luke C. Sponseller
  • Publication number: 20190153871
    Abstract: The present application provides a turbine bucket. The turbine bucket may include a platform, an airfoil extending from the platform at an intersection thereof, and a cooling circuit extending within the platform and the airfoil. The cooling circuit may include a root turn with an asymmetric shape so as to reduce stress concentrations therein.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: William Scott Zemitis, Michael Sherman, Luke C. Sponseller
  • Publication number: 20130136611
    Abstract: A turbine bucket is provided including a bucket airfoil having an airfoil shape, the bucket airfoil having a nominal profile substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth in Table 1 wherein the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z are non-dimensional values from 0% to 100% convertible to dimensional distances in inches by multiplying the Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z by a height of the airfoil in inches, and wherein X and Y are distances in inches which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z, the airfoil profile sections at Z distances being joined smoothly with one another to form a complete airfoil shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2011
    Publication date: May 30, 2013
    Inventors: Ross James Gustafson, Christopher Michael Penny, Aaron Ezekiel Smith, Luke C. Sponseller