Fan case ice liner for turbofan engine
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsThomas J. Robertson, Steven Clarkson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ice liner assembly for a fan containment case for a turbofan gas turbine engine is disclosed. The disclosed ice liner assembly includes a plurality of arcuate panels arranged end to end to form a cylindrical liner that is disposed within the fan containment case and aft of the fan and abradable strip liner that circumscribes the fan. Because the plurality of arcuate panels are arranged end to end fashion, the ice liner assembly includes a plurality of splice joints, or a joint between two abutting ends of two arcuate panels. The splice joints are reinforced with molded polymeric splice support cores that are substantially lighter and less expensive than currently employed high density aluminum honeycomb core materials.
Claims19
A liner for a fan containment case assembly, the liner comprising:
- a plurality of arcuate panels arranged end to end to form a cylinder with a plurality of splice joints, each splice joint formed by an end of one panel abutting an end of another panel;
- a plurality of splice support cores, each splice support core engaging and being disposed radially outside of one of the splice joints;
- the splice support cores comprising a molded polymer;
- and
- wherein the liner further includes a plurality of standard support cores, each standard support core being disposed radially outside one of the arcuate panels and between two of the splice support cores.
An ice liner assembly for a fan containment case assembly, the ice liner assembly comprising:
- a plurality of arcuate panels arranged end to end to form a cylinder with a plurality of splice joints, each splice joint formed by an end of one panel abutting an end of another panel;
- a plurality of splice support cores, each splice support core engaging and being disposed radially outside of one of the splice joints;
- a plurality of standard support cores, each standard support core being disposed radially outside one of the arcuate panels and between two of the splice support cores;
- the splice support cores including a molded polymer selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide (PEI), polyimide, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), polysulfone, Nylon, polyphenylsulfide, reinforced polyetherimide, reinforced polyimide, reinforced PEEK, reinforced PC, reinforced PEKK, reinforced polysulfone, reinforced Nylon, reinforced polyphenylsulfide, and combinations thereof.
A fan containment case assembly, comprising:
- a cylindrical outer case;
- a front cylindrical liner disposed inside the outer case;
- an ice liner assembly disposed inside the outer case;
- an abradable strip liner disposed inside the outer case and between the front liner and the ice liner;
- a rear liner disposed inside the outer case and opposite the ice liner from the abradable strip liner;
- the ice liner assembly including a plurality of arcuate panels arranged end to end to form a cylinder with a plurality of splice joints, each splice joint formed by an end of one panel abutting an end of another panel;
- the ice liner assembly further including a plurality of splice support cores, each splice support core engaging and being disposed radially between one of the splice joints and the outer case;
- the ice liner assembly further including a plurality of standard support cores, each standard support core being disposed radially between one of the arcuate panels and the outer case and circumferentially between two of the splice support cores;
- the splice support cores including a molded polymer selected from the group consisting of polyetherimide (PEI), polyimide, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), polyether ketone ketone (PEKK), polysulfone, Nylon, polyphenylsulfide, reinforced polyetherimide, reinforced polyimide, reinforced PEEK, reinforced PC, reinforced PEKK, reinforced polysulfone, reinforced Nylon, reinforced polyphenylsulfide, and combinations thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.