# US 10,502,096 B2 · Bearing damper for cold engine ground starts or in-flight re-starts > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,502,096 B2 - Document ID: US10502096B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/843,588 - Filed: 2017-12-15 - Published: 2019-06-20 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-15 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: Charles Stanley Orkiszewski - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10502096B2 ## CPC - F01D 25/164: {Flexible supports; Vibration damping means associated with the bearing} - F01D 25/18: Lubricating arrangements (of machines or engines in general F01M) - F16C 27/045: {with a fluid film, e.g. squeeze film damping} - F05D 2220/323: for aircraft propulsion, e.g. jet engines - F05D 2240/50: Bearings - F05D 2250/232: conical - F05D 2260/98: Lubrication - F05D 2270/303: Temperature - F05D 2270/42: passive or reactive, e.g. using large wind vanes - F05D 2270/44: active, predictive, or anticipative - F16C 2326/43: Aeroplanes; Helicopters - F16C 2360/23: Gas turbine engines - F01D: NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES (machines or engines for liquids F03; non-positive displacement pumps F04D) - F16C: SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS - F05D: INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS ## Abstract Dampers for bearing assemblies of gas turbine engines are provided. For example, a damper comprises a damper housing, a lubricant passage defined in the damper housing, and a valve positioned within the lubricant passage. The lubricant passage includes an inlet and an outlet. In one embodiment, the valve is configured to restrict a flow of lubricant from the inlet into the damper when a reference temperature is below a threshold temperature. In another embodiment, the valve is configured to increase leakage of a lubricant through the outlet when a reference temperature is below a threshold temperature. In other embodiments, the valve is passively actuated and is configured to move within the lubricant passage to control a flow of lubricant from the inlet to the outlet based on a reference temperature. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A damper for a bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine, comprising: a damper housing; a lubricant passage defined in the damper housing, the lubricant passage including an inlet and an outlet; and a valve positioned within the lubricant passage, the valve comprising a stem and a head, the stem having a base end opposite a head end, the head disposed at the head end of the stem, the head having a shape complementary to a shape of the lubricant passage to block a flow of lubricant through the lubricant passage, wherein the valve is configured to restrict the flow of lubricant from the inlet into the damper when a reference temperature is below a threshold temperature, and wherein the base end of the stem is disposed adjacent the inlet such that the stem extends within the lubricant passage upstream of the head. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The damper of claim 1, wherein the valve is actively actuated such that the valve moves in response to a signal from a controller. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The damper of claim 1, wherein the valve is actively actuated such that the valve moves in response to a manual input from a user. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The damper of claim 1, wherein the valve is passively actuated. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The damper of claim 1, wherein the reference temperature is a temperature of the lubricant. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The damper of claim 1, wherein the reference temperature is an ambient air temperature. ### Claim 7 A damper for a bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine, comprising: a damper housing; a lubricant passage defined in the damper housing, the lubricant passage including an inlet and an outlet; and a valve positioned within the lubricant passage, the valve comprising a stem and a head, the stem having a base end opposite a head end, the head disposed at the head end of the stem, the head having a shape complementary to a shape of the lubricant passage to block a flow of lubricant through the lubricant passage, wherein the valve is configured to increase leakage of a lubricant through the outlet when a reference temperature is below a threshold temperature, and wherein the base end of the stem is disposed adjacent the outlet such that the stem extends within the lubricant passage downstream of the head. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The damper of claim 7, wherein the valve is actively actuated such that the valve moves in response to a signal from a controller. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The damper of claim 7, wherein the valve is actively actuated such that the valve moves in response to a manual input from a user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The damper of claim 7, wherein the valve is passively actuated. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The damper of claim 7, wherein the reference temperature is a temperature of the lubricant. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The damper of claim 7, wherein the reference temperature is an ambient air temperature. ### Claim 13 A damper for a bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine, comprising: a damper housing; a lubricant passage defined in the damper housing, the lubricant passage including an inlet and an outlet; and a passively actuated valve positioned within the lubricant passage, the valve comprising a stem and a head that are both disposed in the lubricant passage, the stem having a base end opposite a head end, the head disposed at the head end of the stem, the head having a shape complementary to a shape of the lubricant passage to block a flow of lubricant through the lubricant passage, wherein the valve is configured to move within the lubricant passage to control the flow of lubricant from the inlet to the outlet based on a reference temperature, and wherein the stem of the valve is formed from a first material and the damper housing is formed from a second material, the first material having a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the second material. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the valve is configured to move within the lubricant passage to restrict a flow of lubricant from the inlet when the reference temperature is below a threshold temperature. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the valve is configured to move within the lubricant passage to increase leakage of the lubricant through the outlet when the reference temperature is below a threshold temperature. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the reference temperature is a temperature of the lubricant. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the lubricant is oil and the damper provides a thin film of the oil within the bearing assembly. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the base end of the stem is disposed adjacent the inlet. ### Claim 19 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the base end of the stem is disposed adjacent the outlet. ### Claim 20 (depends on 13) The damper of claim 13, wherein the valve is disposed downstream of the bearing assembly.