US-20260126048-A1 - GAS TURBINE ENGINE HAVING A SENSOR ASSEMBLY FOR MONITORING PROPELLER WHIRL

US20260126048A1US 20260126048 A1US20260126048 A1US 20260126048A1US-20260126048-A1

Abstract

A gas turbine engine including a frame, a plurality of fan blades configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine, and a mounting assembly coupling the frame to a structure. The gas turbine engine includes a sensor assembly coupled to the mounting assembly and having at least one sensor configured to detect a loading on the mounting assembly and to take a corrective action when propeller whirl is detected above a predetermined limit, and a feature configured to take a corrective action when propeller whirl is detected above a predetermined limit.

Inventors

Kudum Shinde
Surender Reddy Bhavanam

Assignees

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251223
Priority Date: 20230731

Claims (20)

1 . A gas turbine engine for controlling a fan pitch to mitigate propeller whirl, the gas turbine engine comprising: a shaft configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine; a plurality of fan blades mechanically coupled to the shaft, the plurality of fan blades being configured to rotate with the shaft; a bearing assembly configured to support an end of the shaft; an engine monitoring system to monitor the propeller whirl of the plurality of fan blades, the engine monitoring system comprising: at least one sensor coupled to the bearing assembly, the at least one sensor configured to detect a load on the bearing assembly and to transmit load data; and an engine control system configured to receive the load data from the at least one sensor, to calculate a dynamic load from the load data, to compare the dynamic load against a predetermined limit that is indicative of the plurality of fan blades experiencing the propeller whirl, and to send a pitch control command when the dynamic load exceeds the predetermined limit; and a pitch control system configured to receive the pitch control command from the engine control system and to control the fan pitch of each of the plurality of fan blades.
2 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fan blades is connected to a load reduction device configured to fail when the dynamic load is detected above a predetermined critical limit.
3 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is a strain gauge or a load cell.
4 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the engine control system is configured to filter the load data transmitted by the at least one sensor with a band pass filter to calculate the dynamic load.
5 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the bearing assembly includes a forward bearing assembly supporting a forward end of the shaft, the at least one sensor being coupled to the forward bearing assembly to detect loads on the forward bearing assembly.
6 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the at least one sensor is a first forward sensor and a second forward sensor, each being coupled to the forward bearing assembly.
7 . The gas turbine engine of claim 6 , wherein the first forward sensor is coupled to the forward bearing assembly at a twelve o'clock position and the second forward sensor is coupled to the forward bearing assembly at a three o'clock position, the first forward sensor configured to detect the load in a vertical direction relative to the forward bearing assembly and the second forward sensor configured to detect the load in a lateral direction relative to the forward bearing assembly.
8 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the bearing assembly includes an aft bearing assembly supporting an aft end of the shaft, the at least one sensor being coupled to the aft bearing assembly to detect loads on the aft bearing assembly.
9 . The gas turbine engine of claim 8 , wherein the at least one sensor is a first aft sensor and a second aft sensor, each being coupled to the aft bearing assembly.
10 . The gas turbine engine of claim 9 , wherein the first aft sensor is coupled to the aft bearing assembly at a twelve o'clock position and the second aft sensor is coupled to the aft bearing assembly at a three o'clock position, the first aft sensor configured to detect the load in a vertical direction relative to the aft bearing assembly and the second aft sensor configured to detect the load in a lateral direction relative to the aft bearing assembly.
11 . An aircraft comprising: an aircraft structure; and a gas turbine engine mounted to the aircraft structure, the gas turbine engine for controlling a fan pitch to mitigate propeller whirl, the gas turbine engine comprising: a shaft configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine; a plurality of fan blades mechanically coupled to the shaft, the plurality of fan blades being configured to rotate with the shaft; a bearing assembly configured to support an end of the shaft; an engine monitoring system to monitor the propeller whirl of the plurality of fan blades, the engine monitoring system comprising: at least one sensor coupled to the bearing assembly, the at least one sensor configured to detect a load on the bearing assembly and to transmit load data; and an engine control system configured to receive the load data from the at least one sensor, to calculate a dynamic load from the load data, to compare the dynamic load against a predetermined limit that is indicative of the plurality of fan blades experiencing the propeller whirl, and to send a pitch control command when the dynamic load exceeds the predetermined limit; and a pitch control system configured to receive the pitch control command from the engine control system and to control the fan pitch of each of the plurality of fan blades.
12 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of fan blades is connected to a load reduction device configured to fail when the dynamic load is detected above a predetermined critical limit.
13 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the at least one sensor is a strain gauge or a load cell.
14 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the engine control system is configured to filter the load data transmitted by the at least one sensor with a band pass filter to calculate the dynamic load.
15 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the bearing assembly includes a forward bearing assembly supporting a forward end of the shaft, the at least one sensor being coupled to the forward bearing assembly to detect loads on the forward bearing assembly.
16 . The aircraft of claim 15 , wherein the at least one sensor is a first forward sensor and a second forward sensor, each being coupled to the forward bearing assembly.
17 . The aircraft of claim 16 , wherein the first forward sensor is coupled to the forward bearing assembly at a twelve o'clock position and the second forward sensor is coupled to the forward bearing assembly at a three o'clock position, the first forward sensor configured to detect the load in a vertical direction relative to the forward bearing assembly and the second forward sensor configured to detect the load in a lateral direction relative to the forward bearing assembly.
18 . The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the bearing assembly includes an aft bearing assembly supporting an aft end of the shaft, the at least one sensor being coupled to the aft bearing assembly to detect loads on the aft bearing assembly.
19 . The aircraft of claim 18 , wherein the at least one sensor is a first aft sensor and second aft sensor, each being coupled to the aft bearing assembly.
20 . The aircraft of claim 19 , wherein the first aft sensor is coupled to the aft bearing assembly at a twelve o'clock position and the second aft sensor is coupled to the aft bearing assembly at a three o'clock position, the first aft sensor configured to detect the load in a vertical direction relative to the aft bearing assembly and the second aft sensor configured to detect the load in a lateral direction relative to the aft bearing assembly.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/517,240 filed on Nov. 22, 2023, which claims the benefit of Indian Patent Application number 202311051297, filed on Jul. 31, 2023, the contents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to a gas turbine engine including a sensor assembly for monitoring propeller whirl. BACKGROUND A turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core section arranged in flow communication with one another. The fan includes a plurality of fan blades that rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the engine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of various exemplary embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of an unducted, three-stream gas turbine engine, taken along a longitudinal centerline axis of the engine, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic, perspective view of the engine of FIG. 1 with an exemplary sensor assembly according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3A illustrates a simplified schematic view of the engine of FIG. 1 with another exemplary sensor assembly, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3B illustrates a simplified forward looking aft cross-sectional view of the forward bearing assembly, the cross-sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 3A, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3C illustrates a simplified forward looking aft cross-sectional view of the aft bearing assembly, the cross-sectional view taken along line 3C-3C of FIG. 3A, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4A illustrates a schematic view showing forces of a fan blade, such as the fan blade of the turbine engine shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4B illustrates a schematic view showing forces of a fan blade, such as the fan blade of the turbine engine shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates a method of detecting whirl of a fan blade, such as the fan blade of the turbine engine shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6A illustrates a schematic, perspective view of an unducted engine having controllable fan blades, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6B illustrates a schematic graph showing a phase difference between fan blades of the unducted engine of FIG. 6A, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified schematic view of the engine of FIG. 1 with a load reduction device, according to the present disclosure. FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary display for a system for detecting whirl of a fan blade, according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Features, advantages, and embodiments of the present disclosure are set forth or apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, the following detailed description is exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed. Various embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed in detail below. While specific embodiments are discussed, this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the terms “first” and “second” 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 “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 “forward” and “aft” refer to relative positions within a turbine engine or vehicle, and refer to the normal operational attitude of the turbine engine or the vehicle. For example, with regard to a turbine engine, forward refers to a position closer to an engine inlet and aft refers to a position closer to an engine nozzle or an exhaust. As used herein, the terms “low,” “mid” (or “mid-level”), and “high,” or their respective comparative degrees (e.g., “lower” and “higher”, where applicable), when used with compressor, turbine, shaft, fan, or turbine engine components, each refers to relative pressures, relative speeds, relative temperatures, and/or relative power outputs within an engine unless otherwise specified. For example, a “low power” setting defines the engine configured to operate at a power output lower than a “high power” setting