Electric windmill pump for gearbox durability
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsFrederick M. Schwarz, Michael E. McCune
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gas turbine engine installed on an aircraft includes a fan rotor, a turbine rotor, a gearbox, an auxiliary pump, and an electric motor. The gearbox couples the fan rotor to the turbine rotor, the turbine rotor being adapted to drive the fan rotor via the gearbox. The auxiliary pump is configured to circulate lubricating fluid in an auxiliary lubrication system and supplies the gearbox. The electric motor is configured to receive electricity when the aircraft is parked an adapted to drive the auxiliary pump such that the auxiliary pump circulates lubricating fluid while the aircraft is parked.
Claims14
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a fan rotor;
- a low pressure turbine rotor;
- a high pressure turbine rotor in an axial flow arrangement with the low pressure turbine rotor;
- a fan drive gearbox coupled to the fan rotor and the low pressure turbine rotor, wherein the low pressure turbine rotor is adapted to drive the fan rotor via the fan drive gearbox, the fan drive gearbox comprising:
- a bearing;
- a main lubrication system configured to supply one or more sumps;
- an auxiliary pump configured to circulate lubricating fluid in an auxiliary lubrication system, wherein the auxiliary lubrication system supplies the fan drive gearbox;
- a supply line fluidly connecting an output of the auxiliary pump to a lubricating surface of the bearing;
- an electric motor adapted to drive the auxiliary pump;
- a controller;
- and
- a sensor adapted to detect windmilling rotation of the fan rotor, wherein the sensor transmits a signal to the controller when the windmilling fan rotor rotates, and wherein so long as the sensor detects rotation of the windmilling fan rotor at a speed that is less than a threshold speed of sixty revolutions per minute, the controller is configured to supply power to the electric motor intermittently, thereby driving the auxiliary pump intermittently.
A turbofan engine installed on an aircraft, the turbofan engine comprising:
- a fan rotor;
- a low pressure turbine rotor;
- a high pressure turbine rotor in an axial flow arrangement with the low pressure turbine rotor;
- a fan drive gearbox coupled to the fan rotor and the low pressure turbine rotor, wherein the low pressure turbine rotor is adapted to drive the fan rotor via the fan drive gearbox, the fan drive gearbox comprising:
- a bearing;
- a main lubrication system configured to supply one or more sumps;
- an auxiliary pump configured to circulate lubricating fluid in an auxiliary lubrication system supplying the fan drive gearbox;
- an electric motor configured to receive electricity when the aircraft is parked and adapted to drive the auxiliary pump;
- a controller;
- and
- a sensor adapted to detect windmilling rotation of the fan rotor, wherein the sensor transmits a signal to the controller when the windmilling fan rotor rotates at a speed less than a predetermined threshold speed,
- wherein so long as the sensor detects windmilling rotation of the fan rotor less than the predetermined threshold speed of sixty revolutions per minute, the controller is configured to supply power to the electric motor intermittently, thereby driving the auxiliary pump intermittently to circulate a lubricating fluid within the auxiliary lubrication system while the aircraft is parked.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.