TURBINE ASSEMBLY HAVING A ROTOR SYSTEM LOCK |
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申请号 | US15016813 | 申请日 | 2016-02-05 | 公开(公告)号 | US20160230587A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2016-08-11 |
申请人 | Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, Inc.; Rolls-Royce Corporation; | 发明人 | Oran A. Watts, III; Larry A. Junod; | ||||
摘要 | A rotor system lock for a gas turbine engine is described which blocks movement of rotating wheel assemblies relative to static vane assemblies in a gas turbine engine in order to block unintended rotation (or windmilling) of the gas turbine engine when it is exposed to high winds while at rest or to ram air during pre-launch flight and thereby avoid damage to components of the engine. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
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说明书全文 | This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/113,813, filed 9 Feb. 2015, the disclosure of which is now expressly incorporated herein by reference. The present disclosure relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to turbine assemblies having a rotor system lock. Gas turbine engines typically include alternating stages of static vane assemblies and rotating wheel assemblies. The rotating wheel assemblies include disks carrying blades around their outer edges. These rotating wheel assemblies may be unintentionally turned (or windmilled) by the passage of air through the engine. Rotating components of a gas turbine engine can experience windmilling when wind flows through the engine while it is at rest due to high winds or during pre-launch flight due to ram air. This causes the rotor systems within the gas turbine engine to turn at undesired times and speeds which may damage components of the engine such as bearings, seals, and blades, among others. The present disclosure may comprise one or more of the following features and combinations thereof. A turbine assembly for use in a gas turbine engine may include a case, a rotor mounted in the case to rotate relative to the case, and a fuse adapted to provide a rotor system lock that selectively blocks rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The case may include a support housing and a plurality of vanes coupled to the support housing. The rotor may include a wheel and a plurality of blades coupled to the wheel. In some embodiments, the fuse may extend from at least one vane included in the case to at least one blade included in the rotor to block rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The fuse may disintegrate in response to the application of a predetermined current so that the rotor is allowed to rotate relative to the case. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a first wrap that extends around at least one vane included in the case and at least one blade included in the rotor. The fuse may further include a second wrap spaced circumferentially from the first wrap that extends around at least one vane included in the case and at least one blade included in the rotor. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a metallic wire, and the metallic wire may include a tin-based alloy. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a textile band, and the textile band may include carbon fiber. In some embodiments, the predetermined current for causing disintegration of the fuse may be less than 20 amps. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a turbine assembly for use in a gas turbine engine may include a case, a rotor mounted in the case to rotate relative to the case, and a fuse adapted to provide a rotor system lock that selectively blocks rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The case may include a support housing and a plurality of vanes coupled to the support housing. The rotor may include a wheel and a plurality of blades coupled to the wheel. In some embodiments, the fuse may extend from the case to the rotor to block rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The fuse may disintegrate in response to the application of a predetermined current so that the rotor is allowed to rotate relative to the case. In some embodiments, the turbine assembly may include an electrical power source coupled to the fuse to provide the predetermined current to the fuse. The electrical power source may be selected from one of a generator, a capacitor, and a battery. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a first wrap that extends around at least one vane included in the case and at least one blade included in the rotor. The fuse may further include a second wrap spaced circumferentially from the first wrap that extends around at least one vane included in the case and at least one blade included in the rotor. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a metallic wire that extends around a first vane and a first blade to provide the first wrap and a second metallic wire that extends around a second vane and a second blade to provide the second wrap. The first and the second metallic wire may include a tin-based alloy. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a textile band that extends around a first vane and a first blade to provide the first wrap and a second metallic wire that extends around a second vane and a second blade to provide the second wrap. The first and the second textile band may include carbon fiber. In some embodiments, the predetermined current may be less than 20 amps. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an assembly for use in a gas turbine engine may include a case, a rotor mounted in the case to rotate relative to the case, and a fuse. The fuse may be adapted to provide a rotor system lock that selectively blocks rotation of the rotor relative to the case. In some embodiments, the fuse may extends from the case to the rotor to block rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The fuse may disintegrate in response to the application of a predetermined current so that the rotor is allowed to rotate relative to the case. In some embodiments, the fuse may include a first wrap that extends around a first component included in the case and a first component included in the rotor. The fuse may also include and a second wrap spaced circumferentially from the first wrap that extends around a second component included in the case and a second component included in the rotor. In some embodiments, the fuse includes a metallic wire. The predetermined current for causing disintegration of the fuse may be less than 20 amps. According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of making a turbine assembly may include mounting a rotor in a case for rotation relative to the case and fashioning a fuse between at least on blade included in the rotor and at least one vane included in the case to block rotation of the rotor relative to the case. The fuse may be made from a material that disintegrates in response to the application of a predetermined current so that the rotor is allowed to rotate relative to the case. In some embodiments, the method may further include coupling an electrical power source to the fuse to provide the predetermined current to the fuse. The predetermined current may be less than 20 amps. These and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description of the illustrative embodiments. For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to a number of illustrative embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. An aircraft 10 may include fixed wings 11, 12 under which may be suspended secondary air vehicles such as missiles 14, 16 as shown, for example, in The illustrative gas turbine engine 20 of each missile 14, 16 includes a compressor assembly 24, a combustor assembly 26, and a turbine assembly 28 as shown in The turbine assembly 28 illustratively includes a case 30 with a support housing 32, and a plurality of vanes 34 coupled to the support housing 32, as shown in The illustrative turbine assembly 28 includes a fuse 50 that provides a rotor system lock adapted to block unintended rotation (or windmilling) of components in the gas turbine engine 20 as suggested in The fuse 50 may also reduce the potential for foreign object damage (FOD) to the gas turbine engine 20 before or after release of the illustrative missiles 14, 16 from the aircraft 10. In other embodiments, the fuse 50 may extend from other rotating components in the engine 20 to other static components in the engine 20 to block unintended rotation. For example, the fuse 50 may extend around or between compressor vanes and compressor blades; between sump housings and rotor shafts; or between any other suitable combination of static and dynamic structure within the engine 20. Further, in other embodiments the fuse 50 may be shaped and/or manufactured in various forms other than into wraps 51, 52 to engage components of the engine 20. For example, the fuse 50 may form one or more hooks, welds, buttons, or other connection features to engage components of the engine 20. In the illustrated embodiment, each wrap 51, 52 includes a metallic wire 60 that forms a plurality of loops 61, 62, 63 as shown in The turbine assembly 20 may also include an electrical power source 70 as shown diagrammatically in The electrical power source 70 may be a generator, a capacitor, or a battery adapted to apply 20 amps or less to the fuse 50. The power source 70 is configured to provide a predetermined electrical current to the fuse during engine start-up so that the gas turbine engine may operate normally upon release of a missile 14, 16 from the aircraft 10, or in response to a use input. The predetermined electrical current sufficient to cause the fuse to disintegrate may illustratively be 1 to 50 amperes. Referring now to The step 114 of fashioning a fuse may include a step 118 of winding a first wrap around a first corresponding blade and vane as shown in While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected. |