US-12618416-B1 - Trunnions having multiple fan blades for use with an aircraft engine

Abstract

Trunnions having multiple fan blades for use with an aircraft engine are disclosed herein. An example comprises a trunnion rotatable within a hub of an aircraft engine, a first fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the first fan blade having a pitch axis, and a second fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the second fan blade having a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis laterally offset from the pitch axis.

Inventors

• Nicholas Joseph Kray
• Syed Arif Khalid
• Arthur W. Sibbach

Assignees

• GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20250530

Claims (17)

1. 1 . An apparatus comprising: a trunnion rotatably mounted within a hub of an aircraft engine, the trunnion having a pitch axis; a first fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the first fan blade aligned with the pitch axis of the trunnion; a second fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the second fan blade circumferentially offset from the first fan blade and having a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis laterally offset from the pitch axis; and a third fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the third fan blade having a third pitch axis laterally offset from the pitch axis, wherein the first fan blade is positioned between the second fan blade and the third fan blade, the first fan blade and the second fan blade rotatable with the trunnion with respect to a centerline of the aircraft engine.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first maximum chord length and the second fan blade includes a second maximum chord length less than the first maximum chord length.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second fan blade is angularly offset relative to the first fan blade.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade spans a first distance along the pitch axis and the second fan blade spans a second distance along the longitudinal axis, the second distance less than the first distance.
5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first thickness and the second fan blade includes a second thickness, the second thickness less than the first thickness.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first fan blade or the second fan blade includes a leading edge protector.
7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first spar positioned in an interior of the first fan blade and the second fan blade includes a second spar positioned in an interior of the second fan blade, the first spar extending along the pitch axis, the second spar extending along the longitudinal axis, the first spar including a first material, the second spar including a second material different from the first material.
8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first leading edge and a first trailing edge and the second fan blade includes a second leading edge and a second trailing edge, the second leading edge aligned with the first leading edge.
9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first material and the second fan blade includes a second material different from the first material.
10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first material or the second material includes metal.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the first material or the second material includes a thermoplastic material.
12. 12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the third fan blade is spaced apart from the first fan blade by a first distance and the second fan blade is spaced apart from the first fan blade by a second distance, the second distance greater than the first distance.
13. 13 . An aircraft engine comprising: a rotatable trunnion having a pitch axis; a first fan blade mounted to the rotatable trunnion, the first fan blade aligned with the pitch axis of the trunnion; a second fan blade mounted to the rotatable trunnion, the second fan blade circumferentially offset from the first fan blade and having a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis laterally offset from the pitch axis; and a third fan blade mounted to the rotatable trunnion, the third fan blade having a third pitch axis laterally offset from the pitch axis, wherein the first fan blade is positioned between the second fan blade and the third fan blade, the first fan blade and the second fan blade rotatable with the rotatable trunnion with respect to a centerline of the aircraft engine.
14. 14 . The aircraft engine of claim 13 , wherein the first fan blade extends at least partially through a face of the rotatable trunnion and the second fan blade extends at least partially through the face of the rotatable trunnion.
15. 15 . The aircraft engine of claim 13 , wherein the first fan blade includes a first thickness and the second fan blade includes a second thickness, the second thickness less than the first thickness.
16. 16 . The aircraft engine of claim 15 , wherein the third fan blade has a third thickness, the third thickness substantially the same as the second thickness.
17. 17 . An aircraft engine comprising: a hub; a trunnion rotatably coupled to the hub, the trunnion having a pitch axis; a first fan blade extending radially away from the hub, the first fan blade having a first base coupled to the trunnion, the first fan blade aligned with the pitch axis of the trunnion; a second fan blade extending radially away from the hub, the second fan blade having a second base coupled to the trunnion, the second fan blade circumferentially offset from the first fan blade and having a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis laterally offset from the pitch axis; and a third fan blade coupled to the trunnion, the third fan blade having a third pitch axis laterally offset from the pitch axis, wherein the first fan blade is positioned between the second fan blade and the third fan blade, the first fan blade and the second fan blade rotatable with the trunnion with respect to a centerline of the aircraft engine.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates generally to fan blades and, more particularly, to trunnions having multiple fan blades for use with an aircraft engine. BACKGROUND A gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, an inlet section, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air enters the inlet section and flows to the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section, thereby creating combustion gases. The combustion gases flow from the combustion section through a hot gas path defined within the turbine section and then exit the turbine section via the exhaust section. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example gas turbine engine in which the presently disclosed technology can be implemented. FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example gas turbine engine in which the presently disclosed technology can be implemented. FIG. 2 is a portion of an example fan section constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an example trunnion, first fan blade, and second fan blade of the fan section of FIG. 2. FIG. 4A is a schematic, plan view of an example first assembly constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. FIG. 4B is a schematic, plan view of an example second assembly constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. FIG. 4C is a schematic, plan view of an example third assembly constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. FIG. 4D is a schematic, plan view of an example fourth assembly constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. FIG. 4E is a schematic, plan view of an example fifth assembly constructed in accordance with teachings disclosed herein. In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. The figures are not necessarily to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers or regions may be enlarged in the drawings. Although the figures show layers and regions with clean lines and boundaries, some or all of these lines and/or boundaries may be idealized. In reality, the boundaries and/or lines may be unobservable, blended, and/or irregular. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific examples that may be practiced. These examples are described in sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice the subject matter, and it is to be understood that other examples may be utilized. The following detailed description is, therefore, provided to describe example implementations and not to be taken limiting on the scope of the subject matter described in this disclosure. Certain features from different aspects of the following description may be combined to form yet new aspects of the subject matter discussed below. Aspects of this disclosure generally relate to a rotor (e.g., a rotor assembly) having rotor blades, which are full span (e.g., radial length or height) blades, and splitter blades, which are partial span blades. For purposes of illustration, the present disclosure will be described with respect to a fan section of an open-rotor gas turbine engine. It will be understood, however, that aspects of the disclosure described herein are not so limited and may have applicability for other rotors in an engine, including compressor rotors, in other types of engines (e.g., ducted engines, turboprop engines, etc.) as well as in non-aircraft applications, such as other mobile applications and non-mobile industrial, commercial, and residential applications. The fan section disclosed herein includes an array of fan blades arranged circumferentially around a rotor. The fan blades are full span blades that at least partially define a diameter of a fan. The fan section disclosed herein includes splitter blades positioned circumferentially between the fan blades. The splitter blades include a partial span that is less than the full span of the fan blades. “Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation of any kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc., may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including” are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a fo