US-12624664-B1 - Overspeed protection for a turbocompressor of an aircraft powerplant assembly

US12624664B1US 12624664 B1US12624664 B1US 12624664B1US-12624664-B1

Abstract

A powerplant assembly includes an engine, a turbocompressor, and an overspeed protection valve. The engine includes an air intake and an engine exhaust. The turbocompressor includes a compressor section, a turbine section, and a rotational assembly. The rotational assembly includes a turbocompressor shaft, a bladed compressor rotor of the compressor section, and a turbine rotor of the turbine section. The engine and the turbocompressor form a gas flow path. The gas flow path extends from the compressor section to the air intake, through the engine, and from the engine exhaust to the turbine section. The overspeed protection valve forms a portion of the gas flow path. The overspeed protection valve is positionable in an open state and a closed state.

Inventors

Michael Hanna
Etienne PLAMONDON
Thanh Quang Duy Phan

Assignees

PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250318

Claims (15)

1 . A powerplant assembly for an aircraft, the powerplant assembly comprising: an engine including an air intake and an engine exhaust; a turbocompressor including a compressor section, a turbine section, and a rotational assembly, the rotational assembly including a turbocompressor shaft, a bladed compressor rotor of the compressor section, and a turbine rotor of the turbine section, the turbocompressor shaft interconnecting the bladed compressor rotor and the bladed turbine rotor; the engine and the turbocompressor forming a gas flow path of the powerplant assembly, the gas flow path extending from the compressor section to the air intake, through the engine, and from the engine exhaust to the turbine section; an overspeed protection valve forming a portion of the gas flow path, the overspeed protection valve positionable in an open state and a closed state, the overspeed protection valve in the open state operable to direct a gas flow along the gas flow path, the overspeed protection valve in the closed state operable to obstruct the gas flow along the gas flow path to the turbine section; a pressure sensor connected in fluid communication with the gas flow path upstream of the overspeed protection valve; and a controller connected in signal communication with the overspeed protection valve and the pressure sensor, the controller including a processor connected in signal communication with a non-transitory memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: measure a gas pressure along the gas flow path using the pressure sensor; identify a presence or an absence of a low-pressure condition using the measured gas pressure; and control the overspeed protection valve to change position from the open state to the closed state in response to identifying the presence of the low-pressure condition.
2 . The powerplant assembly of claim 1 , wherein the engine includes an engine shaft, and the engine shaft is coupled with the turbocompressor shaft.
3 . The powerplant assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a geartrain coupling the engine shaft and the turbocompressor shaft.
4 . The powerplant assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a propulsor rotor, and the propulsor rotor is coupled with the engine shaft and the turbocompressor shaft.
5 . The powerplant assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the compressor section to the engine, and the overspeed protection valve is disposed at the duct assembly.
6 . The powerplant assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the engine to the turbine section, and the overspeed protection valve is disposed at the duct assembly.
7 . The powerplant assembly of claim 1 , wherein identifying the presence or the absence of the low-pressure condition includes comparing the measured gas pressure to a pressure threshold, the presence of the low-pressure condition identified where the measured pressure is less than the pressure threshold.
8 . A powerplant assembly for an aircraft, the powerplant assembly comprising: a propulsor rotor; an engine including an air intake, an engine exhaust, and an engine shaft, the engine shaft coupled with the propulsor rotor; a turbocompressor including a compressor section, a turbine section, and a rotational assembly, the rotational assembly including a bladed compressor rotor of the compressor section and a turbine rotor of the turbine section, the rotational assembly coupled with the propulsor rotor; the engine and the turbocompressor forming a gas flow path of the powerplant assembly, the gas flow path extending from the compressor section to the air intake, through the engine, and from the engine exhaust to the turbine section; and an overspeed protection valve forming a portion of the gas flow path, the overspeed protection valve positionable in an open state and a closed state, the overspeed protection valve in the open state operable to direct a gas flow along the gas flow path, the overspeed protection valve in the closed state operable to obstruct the gas flow along the gas flow path to the turbine section, the overspeed protection valve operable to sense a gas pressure along the gas flow path and change position from the open state to the closed state when the gas pressure decreases to a closing pressure setting of the overspeed protection valve.
9 . The powerplant assembly of claim 8 , further comprising a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the compressor section to the engine, and the overspeed protection valve is disposed at the duct assembly.
10 . The powerplant assembly of claim 8 , further comprising a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the engine to the turbine section, and the overspeed protection valve is disposed at the duct assembly.
11 . A method for preventing an overspeed condition of a bladed turbine rotor of a turbocompressor of a powerplant assembly for an aircraft, the method comprising: driving rotation of a propulsor rotor with an engine shaft of an engine, the engine shaft coupled with the propulsor rotor; directing compressed air from a compressor section of the turbocompressor to the engine along a gas flow path; directing combustion exhaust gas from the engine to a turbine section of the turbocompressor to drive rotation of a rotational assembly of the turbocompressor, the rotational assembly including the bladed turbine rotor at the turbine section and a bladed compressor rotor at the compressor section; and preventing an overspeed condition of the bladed turbine rotor by obstructing the gas flow path with an overspeed protection valve by changing a position of the overspeed protection valve from an open state to a closed state to in response to a decrease in gas pressure within the gas flow path between the compressor section and the turbine section.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein preventing the overspeed condition of the bladed turbine rotor includes preventing the overspeed condition of the bladed turbine rotor with the bladed turbine rotor decoupled from the bladed compressor rotor.
13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein driving rotation of the propulsor rotor with the engine shaft includes additionally driving rotation of the propulsor rotor with the rotational assembly, and the rotational assembly is coupled with the propulsor rotor.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein obstructing the gas flow path with the overspeed protection valve includes obstructing the compressed air from the compressor section to the engine along the gas flow path.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein obstructing the gas flow path with the overspeed protection valve includes obstructing the combustion exhaust gas from the engine to the turbine section along the gas flow path.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to aircraft powerplant assemblies and, more particularly, to turbocompressor overspeed protection. BACKGROUND OF THE ART Aircraft may frequently include at least one powerplant assembly forming part of a propulsion system or other unit of rotational equipment (e.g., an auxiliary power unit) of the aircraft. In some cases, these powerplant assemblies may include a turbocompressor configured to facilitate improved powerplant assembly performance, for example, by supplying compressed air for use in an engine combustion process. Various turbocompressor systems and methods for their operation are known in the art. While these known systems and methods may be suitable for their intended purposes, there is always room in the art for improvement. SUMMARY According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a powerplant assembly for an aircraft includes an engine, a turbocompressor, and an overspeed protection valve. The engine includes an air intake and an engine exhaust. The turbocompressor includes a compressor section, a turbine section, and a rotational assembly. The rotational assembly includes a turbocompressor shaft, a bladed compressor rotor of the compressor section, and a turbine rotor of the turbine section. The turbocompressor shaft interconnects the bladed compressor rotor and the bladed turbine rotor. The engine and the turbocompressor form a gas flow path of the powerplant assembly. The gas flow path extends from the compressor section to the air intake, through the engine, and from the engine exhaust to the turbine section. The overspeed protection valve forms a portion of the gas flow path. The overspeed protection valve is positionable in an open state and a closed state. The overspeed protection valve in the open state is operable to direct a gas flow along the gas flow path. The overspeed protection valve in the closed state is operable to obstruct the gas flow along the gas flow path to the turbine section. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the engine may include an engine shaft, and the engine shaft may be coupled with the turbocompressor shaft. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the powerplant assembly may further include a geartrain coupling the engine shaft and the turbocompressor shaft. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the powerplant assembly may further include a propulsor rotor, and the propulsor rotor may be coupled with the engine shaft and the turbocompressor shaft. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the powerplant assembly may further include a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the compressor section to the engine, and the overspeed protection valve may be disposed at the duct assembly. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the powerplant assembly may further include a duct assembly forming the gas flow path from the engine to the turbine section, and the overspeed protection valve may be disposed at the duct assembly. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the overspeed protection valve may be operable to sense a gas pressure along the gas flow path and change position from the open state to the closed state when the gas pressure decreases to a closing pressure setting of the overspeed protection valve. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the overspeed protection valve may be operable to change position from the closed state to the open state when the gas pressure increases to an opening pressure setting of the overspeed protection valve. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, the powerplant assembly may further include a pressure sensor and a controller, the pressure sensor may be connected in fluid communication with the gas flow path upstream of the overspeed protection valve, the controller may be connected in signal communication with the overspeed protection valve and the pressure sensor, the controller may include a processor connected in signal communication with a non-transitory memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, may cause the processor to: measure a gas pressure along the gas flow path using the pressure sensor, identify a presence or an absence of a low-pressure condition using the measured gas pressure, and control the overspeed protection valve to change position from the open state to the closed state in response to identifying the presence of the low-pressure condition. In any of the aspects or embodiments described above and herein, identifying the presence or the absence of the low-pressure condition may include comparing the measured gas pressure to a pressure threshold, and the presence of the low-pressure condition may be identified where the measured pressure is less than the pressure threshold. According to another aspect of the present disclosur