Patents by Inventor Thomas E. Bastnagel

Thomas E. Bastnagel 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: 10443544
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a shaft comprising a first compressor, a fan assembly, and a power circuit that provides power to the shaft in a closed-loop system. An inner housing houses at least a portion of the shaft, the first compressor for compressing a core stream of air, and a combustor. A baffle encloses a portion of the inner housing and forms a first air passageway therebetween. A nacelle encloses a portion of the baffle and forms a second air passageway therebetween. A heat exchanger is positioned in the second air passageway that rejects heat from the power circuit into a heat rejection stream of air passing through the second air passageway. Air is accelerated as streams in parallel and via the fan assembly as the core stream into the inner housing, as a bypass flow stream of air through the first volume, and as the heat rejection stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Patent number: 10364744
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine may include a deep heat recovery system, such as a deep heat recovery super critical carbon dioxide (sCO2) system. The deep heat recovery system may include two-stage cooling of the working fluid (such as carbon dioxide—CO2) where at least one of cooling stages is recuperative by transferring heat from the working fluid to a flow of compressed air being supplied to a combustor included in the gas turbine engine. The deep heat recovery system may operate in a supercritical cycle, or in a transcritical cycle depending on the temperature to which the working fluid is cooled during a second stage of the two-stage cooling. The second stage of the two-stage cooling includes working fluid-to-air heat rejection where the air is ambient air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignees: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Michael James Armstrong, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Patent number: 10060300
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method for a gas turbine engine may include a sectioned heat exchanger. A heat exchanger may include an inlet manifold configured to receive a working fluid. A plurality of circuits including at least first and second circuits configured to transfer heat with respect to the working fluid. Each of the circuits may have a circuit inlet valve, a circuit heat exchange channel, and a circuit outlet valve. The heat exchanger may further include an outlet manifold configured to pass the working fluid to an outlet. The heat exchanger may include a first sensor configured to measure of first parameter of the first circuit and a second sensor configured to measure a second parameter of at least one of the outlet and the second circuit. A controller may be configured to selectively isolate at least one of the plurality of circuits based on a pressure difference between the first and second parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignees: Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc., Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas E. Bastnagel, Igor Vaisman, Donald W. Burns, Michael J. Armstrong
  • Patent number: 9885283
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a shaft having a first air compressor coupled thereto, a combustor positioned to receive compressed air from the first compressor, and a power source coupled to the shaft, the power source powered by a working fluid other than the compressed air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Publication number: 20170356340
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine may include a deep heat recovery system, such as a deep heat recovery super critical carbon dioxide (sCO2) system. The deep heat recovery system may include two-stage cooling of the working fluid (such as carbon dioxide—CO2) where at least one of cooling stages is recuperative by transferring heat from the working fluid to a flow of compressed air being supplied to a combustor included in the gas turbine engine. The deep heat recovery system may operate in a supercritical cycle, or in a transcritical cycle depending on the temperature to which the working fluid is cooled during a second stage of the two-stage cooling. The second stage of the two-stage cooling includes working fluid-to-air heat rejection where the air is ambient air.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2017
    Publication date: December 14, 2017
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Michael James Armstrong, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Publication number: 20170058834
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a shaft comprising a first compressor, a fan assembly, and a power circuit that provides power to the shaft in a closed-loop system. An inner housing houses at least a portion of the shaft, the first compressor for compressing a core stream of air, and a combustor. A baffle encloses a portion of the inner housing and forms a first air passageway therebetween. A nacelle encloses a portion of the baffle and forms a second air passageway therebetween. A heat exchanger is positioned in the second air passageway that rejects heat from the power circuit into a heat rejection stream of air passing through the second air passageway. Air is accelerated as streams in parallel and via the fan assembly as the core stream into the inner housing, as a bypass flow stream of air through the first volume, and as the heat rejection stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2016
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Applicant: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Patent number: 9562476
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a gas turbine engine flow device having an inner member and a surrounding member. The inner member has a first coefficient of thermal expansion; and the surrounding member at least partially surrounds the inner member and has a second coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion. The surrounding member includes at least two walls that form a variable flow gap therebetween. The inner member is oriented relative to the at least two walls of the surrounding member such that, based on the difference in the first and second coefficients of thermal expansion, the inner member expands relatively greater than the surrounding member or the surrounding member expands relatively greater than the inner member, according to a temperature change to correspondingly enlarge or reduce the size of the variable flow gap between the at least two walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Publication number: 20170022844
    Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method for a gas turbine engine may include a sectioned heat exchanger. A heat exchanger may include an inlet manifold configured to receive a working fluid. A plurality of circuits including at least first and second circuits configured to transfer heat with respect to the working fluid. Each of the circuits may have a circuit inlet valve, a circuit heat exchange channel, and a circuit outlet valve. The heat exchanger may further include an outlet manifold configured to pass the working fluid to an outlet. The heat exchanger may include a first sensor configured to measure of first parameter of the first circuit and a second sensor configured to measure a second parameter of at least one of the outlet and the second circuit. A controller may be configured to selectively isolate at least one of the plurality of circuits based on a pressure difference between the first and second parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Publication date: January 26, 2017
    Applicants: Rolls-Royce Corporation, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas E. Bastnagel, Igor Vaisman, Donald W. Burns, Michael J. Armstrong
  • Publication number: 20150354450
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine includes a shaft having a first air compressor coupled thereto, a combustor positioned to receive compressed air from the first compressor, and a power source coupled to the shaft, the power source powered by a working fluid other than the compressed air.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2015
    Publication date: December 10, 2015
    Inventors: Igor Vaisman, Thomas E. Bastnagel
  • Publication number: 20140250899
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a gas turbine engine flow device having an inner member and a surrounding member. The inner member has a first coefficient of thermal expansion; and the surrounding member at least partially surrounds the inner member and has a second coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the first coefficient of thermal expansion. The surrounding member includes at least two walls that form a variable flow gap therebetween. The inner member is oriented relative to the at least two walls of the surrounding member such that, based on the difference in the first and second coefficients of thermal expansion, the inner member expands relatively greater than the surrounding member or the surrounding member expands relatively greater than the inner member, according to a temperature change to correspondingly enlarge or reduce the size of the variable flow gap between the at least two walls.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2013
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Rolls-Royce Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas E. Bastnagel