Patents by Inventor Steven Sebastian Burdgick

Steven Sebastian Burdgick 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).

  • Publication number: 20020141864
    Abstract: A gas turbine has circumferential arrays of nozzles and shrouds and a plurality of combustors for flowing hot gases of combustion through respective sets of adjacent nozzles and shrouds. First and second nozzles of each set of nozzles are subject to different known inlet conditions of the hot gases of combustion flowing from the associated combustor and transition piece. The first nozzle in each set is preferentially located relative to the second nozzle of that set at a circumferential location relative to the associated combustor based on the known different inlet conditions. The first and second nozzles are therefore qualitatively different from one another dependent on those different inlet conditions. Similarly, the shrouds are subject to different inlet conditions and are preferentially designed and located based on those known inlet conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2001
    Publication date: October 3, 2002
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6453557
    Abstract: An insert containing apertures for impingement cooling a nozzle vane of a nozzle segment in a gas turbine is inserted into one end of the vane. The leading end of the insert is positioned slightly past a rib adjacent the opposite end of the vane through which the insert is inserted. The end of the insert is formed or swaged into conformance with the inner margin of the rib. The insert is then brazed or welded to the rib.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6435814
    Abstract: Turbine stator vane segments have radially inner and outer walls with vanes extending between them. The inner and outer walls are compartmentalized and have impingement plates. Steam flowing into the outer wall plenum passes through the impingement plate for impingement cooling of the outer wall upper surface. The spent impingement steam flows into cavities of the vane having inserts for impingement cooling the walls of the vane. The steam passes into the inner wall and through the impingement plate for impingement cooling of the inner wall surface and for return through return cavities having inserts for impingement cooling of the vane surfaces. To provide for air film cooing of select portions of the airfoil outer surface, at least one air pocket is defined on a wall of at least one of the cavities. Each air pocket is substantially closed with respect to the cooling medium in the cavity and cooling air pumped to the air pocket flows through outlet apertures in the wall of the airfoil to cool the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Yufeng Phillip Yu, Gary Michael Itzel, Sarah Jane Osgood, Radhakrishna Bagepalli, Waylon Willard Webbon, Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6422810
    Abstract: A nozzle segment for a gas turbine includes inner and outer band portions and a vane extending between the band portions. The inner and outer band portions are each divided into first and second plenums separated by an impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to the first cavity for flow through the apertures to cool the outer nozzle wall. The steam flows through a leading edge cavity in the vane into the first cavity of the inner band portion for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the inner nozzle wall. Spent cooling steam flows through a plurality of cavities in the vane, exiting through an exit chimney in the outer band. The exit chimney is secured at its inner end directly to the nozzle vane wall surrounding the exit cavities, to the margin of the impingement plate at a location intermediate the ends of the exit chimney and to margins of an opening through the cover whereby each joint is externally accessible for joint formation and for subsequent inspection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, James Lee Burns
  • Patent number: 6419445
    Abstract: A gas turbine nozzle segment has outer and inner bands and vanes therebetween. Each band includes a side wall, a cover and an impingement plate between the cover and nozzle wall defining two cavities on opposite sides of the impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to one cavity for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the nozzle wall. The side wall of the band and inturned flange define with the nozzle wall an undercut region. Slots are formed through the inturned flange along the nozzle side wall. A plate having through-apertures extending between opposite edges thereof is disposed in each slot, the slots and plates being angled such that the cooling medium exiting the apertures in the second cavity lie close to the side wall for focusing and targeting cooling medium onto the side wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6418618
    Abstract: A gas turbine nozzle segment has outer and inner bands and a vane extending therebetween. Each band has a side wall, a cover and an impingement plate between the cover and nozzle wall defining two cavities on opposite sides of the impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to one cavity for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the nozzle wall. The side wall of the band has an inturned flange defining with the nozzle wall an undercut region. The outer surface of the side wall is provided with a step prior to welding the cover to the side wall. A thermal barrier coating is applied in the step and, after the cover is welded to the side wall, the side wall is finally machined to a controlled thickness removing all, some or none of the coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6416275
    Abstract: An impingement insert sleeve is provided that is adapted to be disposed in a coolant cavity defined through a stator vane. The insert has a generally open inlet end and first and second diametrically opposed, perforated side walls. A metering plate having at least one opening defined therethrough for coolant flow is mounted to the side walls to generally transverse a longitudinal axis of the insert, and is disposed downstream from said inlet end. The metering plate improves flow distribution while reducing ballooning stresses within the insert and allowing for a more flexible insert attachment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Inventors: Gary Michael Itzel, Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Publication number: 20020085910
    Abstract: In a closed-circuit steam-cooling system for the first-stage nozzle of a gas turbine, each vane has a plurality of cavities with inserts. In the second cavity, a main insert receives cooling steam from an inner plenum for impingement-cooling of the side walls of the vane, the spent cooling steam exhausting between the main insert and the cavity walls into a steam outlet. To steam-cool a localized surface area of the vane adjacent the outer band, a secondary insert receives steam under inlet conditions from a first chamber of the outer band for impingement-cooling the localized surface area. The spent impingement-cooling steam from the secondary insert combines with the spent cooling steam from the main insert for flow to the outlet. Consequently, low-cycle fatigue is improved in the localized area by the impingement-cooling afforded by the secondary insert because of the cooler steam supplied, as well as the increased pressure drop driving the steam through the impingement openings of the secondary insert.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2000
    Publication date: July 4, 2002
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Gary Michael Itzel
  • Patent number: 6413040
    Abstract: A gas turbine nozzle segment has outer and inner band portions. Each band portion includes a nozzle wall, a cover and an impingement plate between the cover and nozzle wall defining two cavities on opposite sides of the impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to one cavity for flow through the apertures of the impingement plate to cool the nozzle wall. Structural pedestals interconnect the cover and nozzle wall and pass through holes in the impingement plate to reduce localized stress otherwise resulting from a difference in pressure within the chamber of the nozzle segment and the hot gas path and the fixed turbine casing surrounding the nozzle stage. The pedestals may be cast or welded to the cover and nozzle wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Yufeng Phillip Yu, Gary Michael Itzel, Waylon Willard Webbon, Radhakrishna Bagepalli, Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Iain Robertson Kellock
  • Patent number: 6402466
    Abstract: A leaf seal assembly is secured to the trailing edge of a shroud segment for sealing between the shroud segment and the leading edge side wall of a nozzle outer band. The leaf seal includes a circumferentially elongated seal plate biased by a pair of spring clips disposed in a groove along the trailing edge of the shroud segment to maintain the seal plate in engagement with the flange on the leading edge side wall of the nozzle outer band. The leaf seal plate and spring clips receive pins tack-welded to the shroud segment to secure the leaf seal assembly in place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Brendan Francis Sexton
  • Patent number: 6398489
    Abstract: A first-stage nozzle vane includes an airfoil having a profile according to Table I. The annulus profile of the hot gas path is defined in conjunction with the airfoil profile and the profile of the inner and outer walls by the Cartesian coordinate values given in Tables I and II, respectively. The airfoil is a three-dimensional bowed design, both in the airfoil body and in the trailing edge. The airfoil is steam and air-cooled by flowing cooling mediums through cavities extending in the vane between inner and outer walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Joseph Francis Patik, Gary Michael Itzel
  • Patent number: 6390769
    Abstract: A turbine shroud cooling cavity is partitioned to define a plurality of cooling chambers for sequentially receiving cooling steam and impingement cooling of the radially inner wall of the shoud. An impingement baffle is provided in each cooling chamber for receiving the cooling media from a cooling media inlet in the case of the first chamber or from the immediately upstream chamber in the case of the second through fourth chambers and includes a plurality of impingement holes for effecting the impingement cooling of the shroud inner wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Brendan Francis Sexton, Iain Robertson Kellock
  • Patent number: 6386825
    Abstract: A gas turbine nozzle segment has outer and inner bands and a vane therebetween. Each band includes a nozzle wall, a side wall, a cover and an impingement plate between the cover and the nozzle wall defining two cavities on opposite sides of the impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to one cavity for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the nozzle wall. The side wall of the band and inturned flange define with the nozzle wall an undercut region. The impingement plate has a turned flange welded to the inturned flange. A backing plate overlies the turned flange and aligned apertures are formed through the backing plate and turned flange to direct and focus cooling flow onto the side wall of the nozzle segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6375415
    Abstract: A nozzle stage segment includes inner and outer bands spaced radially one from the other with a nozzle vane therebetween. The outer band includes a wall defining a portion of the hot gas path flow through the turbine and an outer cover defining a chamber with the outer wall. The vane includes a vane extension integrally cast with the nozzle segment and extending into a vane extension on the cover. The cover mounts a forward hook for structurally mounting the nozzle segment to a fixed part of the turbine casing, thereby establishing a structural load path through the hook, the cover extension and the vane extension upon welding the extension to one another and the outer wall and cover to one another. Cavities in the vane open into the chamber to receive a cooling medium and which cavities and chamber form part of a closed circuit cooling path through the nozzle stage segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6343911
    Abstract: A nozzle vane segment includes outer and inner band portions with a vane extending therebetween and defining first and second cavities separated by an impingement plate for flowing cooling medium for impingement cooling of nozzle side walls. The side wall of each nozzle segment has an undercut region. The impingement plate has an inturned flange with a plurality of openings. Cooling inserts or receptacles having an open end are received in the openings and the base and side walls of the receptacles have apertures for receiving cooling medium from the first cavity and directing the cooling medium for impingement cooling of the side wall of the nozzle segment and a portion of the nozzle wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2002
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6331096
    Abstract: A gas turbine nozzle segment has outer and inner bands. Each band includes a side wall, a cover and an impingement plate between the cover and nozzle wall defining two cavities on opposite sides of the impingement plate. Cooling steam is supplied to one cavity for flow through apertures of the impingement plate to cool the nozzle wall. The side wall of the band and inturned flange define with the nozzle wall an undercut region. The inturned flange has a plurality of apertures for directing cooling steam to cool the side wall between adjacent nozzle segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Steven Sebastian Burdgick, Gary Michael Itzel
  • Patent number: 6190120
    Abstract: A plurality of passages are spaced one from the other along the length of a trailing edge of a nozzle vane in a gas turbine. The passages lie in communication with a cavity in the vane for flowing cooling air from the cavity through the passages through the tip of the trailing edge into the hot gas path. Each passage is partially turbulated and includes ribs in an aft portion thereof to provide enhanced cooling effects adjacent the tip of the trailing edge. The major portions of the passages are smooth bore. By this arrangement, reduced temperature gradients across the trailing edge metal are provided. Additionally, the inlets to each of the passages have a restriction whereby a reduced magnitude of compressor bleed discharge air is utilized for trailing edge cooling purposes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Assignee: General Electric Co.
    Inventors: Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Steven Sebastian Burdgick
  • Patent number: 6126389
    Abstract: An inner shroud 22 is coupled to an outer shroud 20 which receives cooling air through an inlet 54 for flow to the inner shroud. The inner shroud includes a wall 42 which defines in part the hot gas path 16 and a plurality of cavities 44 on an opposite side of the wall. The inner shroud includes a cover 40 having depending compartments 52 with apertures 56 through the floor of the compartments. When the cover overlies the inner shroud body, the compartments are received in the cavities and cooling air from the inlet flows into the compartments and through the apertures for impingement cooling of the inner shroud wall. Spent cooling air exits the inner shroud through passages 45 through circumferential and/or axial facing side walls of the inner shroud and/or the wall of the inner shroud defining the hot gas path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: General Electric Co.
    Inventor: Steven Sebastian Burdgick