US-12624645-B2 - Active clearance control assembly

US12624645B2US 12624645 B2US12624645 B2US 12624645B2US-12624645-B2

Abstract

A gas turbine engine includes a fan section, an engine inlet, and a fan duct splitter in serial flow order. The fan duct splitter splits an airflow entering the engine inlet from the fan section into a fan duct and a core duct. The core duct includes a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow order. A duct assembly is coupled to the fan duct to extract a portion of a fan duct airflow passing through the fan duct and deliver the portion of the fan duct airflow to an active clearance control mechanism of the turbine section.

Inventors

Randy M. Vondrell
Kevin William Caldwell
John Carl Glessner
Javier Barba Fuentes
Dorota Kopkowicz

Assignees

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
GE AVIO S.R.L.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230718
Priority Date: 20230418

Claims (15)

1 . A gas turbine engine, comprising: a fan section, an engine inlet, and a fan duct splitter in serial flow order, the fan duct splitter splitting an airflow entering the engine inlet from the fan section into a fan duct and a core duct, the core duct including a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow order, the compressor section including a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor; a duct assembly coupled to the fan duct via a first air supply inlet and to the core duct via a second air supply inlet to extract a portion of a fan duct airflow passing through the fan duct and a portion of a core airflow passing through the core duct at a location downstream of the low pressure compressor and upstream of the high pressure compressor, the duct assembly configured to deliver the portion of the fan duct airflow and the portion of the core airflow to an active clearance control mechanism of the turbine section; and a valve fluidly coupled to the fan duct and the core duct, wherein the valve is disposed at an intersection of a first line which receives the portion of the fan duct airflow from the first air supply inlet, a second line which receives the portion of the core airflow from the second air supply inlet, and a third line which provides the portion of the fan duct airflow and the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism, and wherein the valve is configured to deliver only the portion of the fan duct airflow or only the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism.
2 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the fan duct comprises a heat exchanger, and wherein the duct assembly is coupled to the fan duct downstream of the heat exchanger.
3 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the fan duct comprises a heat exchanger, and wherein the duct assembly is coupled to the fan duct upstream of the heat exchanger.
4 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the turbine section includes a low pressure turbine, and wherein the active clearance control mechanism is operably coupled with the low pressure turbine.
5 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the turbine section includes a high pressure turbine, and wherein the active clearance control mechanism is operably coupled with the high pressure turbine.
6 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the turbine section includes a low pressure turbine and a high pressure turbine, and wherein the active clearance control mechanism comprises a low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and a high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism.
7 . The gas turbine engine of claim 6 , further comprising the valve regulating a flow of the portion of the fan duct airflow to the low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and the high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism.
8 . A method to provide clearance control for a gas turbine engine having a fan section, an engine inlet, and a fan duct splitter in serial flow order, the fan duct splitter splitting an airflow entering the engine inlet from the fan section into a fan duct and a core duct, the core duct including a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow order, the compressor section including a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor, the method comprising: extracting a portion of a fan duct airflow passing through the fan duct and a portion of a core airflow passing through the core duct at a location downstream of the low pressure compressor and upstream of the high pressure compressor; delivering either the portion of the fan duct airflow or the portion of the core airflow delivered to an active clearance control mechanism of the turbine section using a valve, wherein the valve is disposed at an intersection of a first line which receives the portion of the fan duct airflow, a second line which receives the portion of the core airflow, and a third line which provides the portion of the fan duct airflow and the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism; and passing only the portion of the fan duct airflow or only the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism of the turbine section.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the fan duct includes a heat exchanger, and wherein extracting the portion of the fan duct airflow comprises extracting the portion of the fan duct airflow from a location of the fan duct downstream of the heat exchanger.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the fan duct includes a heat exchanger, and wherein extracting the portion of the fan duct airflow comprises extracting the portion of the fan duct airflow from a location of the fan duct upstream of the heat exchanger.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the turbine section includes a low pressure turbine and a high pressure turbine, and wherein the active clearance control mechanism comprises a low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and a high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism, and further comprising regulating a flow of the portion of the fan duct airflow to the low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and the high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the turbine section includes a low pressure turbine and a high pressure turbine, and wherein the active clearance control mechanism comprises a low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and a high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism, and further comprising passing a first part of the portion of the fan duct airflow extracted from the fan duct to the low pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism and passing a second part of the portion of the fan duct airflow extracted from the fan duct to the high pressure turbine active clearance control mechanism.
13 . A gas turbine engine, comprising: a core cowl supporting a turbomachine, the turbomachine including a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section arranged in serial flow order, the compressor section including a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor; a fan assembly rotatable by the turbomachine; a fan cowl encasing at least a portion of the core cowl and defining a fan duct extending between the fan cowl and the core cowl, the core cowl defining a core duct; an active clearance control mechanism operably coupled with the turbine section; a duct assembly coupled to the fan duct via a first air supply inlet and to the core duct via a second air supply inlet to extract a portion of a fan duct airflow passing through the fan duct and a portion of a core airflow passing through the core duct at a location downstream of the low pressure compressor and upstream of the high pressure compressor, the duct assembly configured to deliver the portion of the fan duct airflow and the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism; and a valve fluidly coupled to the fan duct and the core duct, wherein the valve is disposed at an intersection of a first line which receives the portion of the fan duct airflow from the first air supply inlet, a second line which receives the portion of the core airflow from the second air supply inlet, and a third line which provides the portion of the fan duct airflow and the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism, and wherein the valve is configured to deliver only the portion of the fan duct airflow or only the portion of the core airflow to the active clearance control mechanism.
14 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , further comprising a heat exchanger disposed within the fan duct, and wherein the duct assembly is operably coupled to the fan duct upstream of the heat exchanger.
15 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , further comprising a heat exchanger disposed within the fan duct, and wherein the duct assembly is operably coupled to the fan duct downstream of the heat exchanger.

Description

PRIORITY INFORMATION The present application claims priority to Polish Patent Application Number P.444447 filed on Apr. 18, 2023. FIELD The present subject matter relates generally to components of a gas turbine engine, or more particularly to an active clearance control assembly. BACKGROUND A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a turbomachine arranged in flow communication with one another. Additionally, the turbomachine of the gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, air is provided from the fan to an inlet of the compressor section where one or more axial compressors progressively compress the air until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section to the turbine section. The flow of combustion gases through the turbine section drives the turbine section and is then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere. Additionally, optimization of blade tip clearances can lead to better engine performance and efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A full and enabling disclosure of the present disclosure, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of an exemplary, unducted gas turbine engine according to various embodiments of the present subject disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an exemplary active clearance control (ACC) assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of another exemplary ACC assembly according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present subject matter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to present embodiments of the disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description uses numerical and letter designations to refer to features in the drawings. Like or similar designations in the drawings and description have been used to refer to like or similar parts of the disclosure. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Additionally, unless specifically identified otherwise, all embodiments described herein should be considered exemplary. As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The terms “forward” and “aft” refer to relative positions within a turbomachine, gas turbine engine, or vehicle and refer to the normal operational attitude of the same. For example, with regard to a gas turbine engine, forward refers to a position closer to an engine inlet and aft refers to a position closer to an engine nozzle or exhaust. The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to the relative direction with respect to fluid flow in a fluid pathway. For example, “upstream” refers to the direction from which the fluid flows, and “downstream” refers to the direction to which the fluid flows. The terms “coupled”, “fixed”, “attached to”, and the like refer to both direct coupling, fixing, or attaching, as well as indirect coupling, fixing, or attaching through one or more intermediate components or features, unless otherwise specified herein. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates