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US 10,704,563 B2Granted
Axi-centrifugal compressor with variable outlet guide vanes
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsDavid Vickery Parker, Wilhelm Ramon Hernandez, Basuki Srivastava, Paul Trimby
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compressor apparatus includes: an upstream portion comprising an axial-flow compressor; a downstream portion comprising a centrifugal-flow compressor; and a row of variable-stagger-angle outlet guide vanes disposed between the upstream and downstream portions.
Claims14
A compressor apparatus comprising:
- an upstream portion comprising an axial-flow compressor;
- a downstream portion comprising a centrifugal-flow compressor;
- a row of variable-stagger-angle outlet guide vanes mounted to a main portion of a casing and disposed between the upstream and downstream portions, wherein the downstream portion is surrounded by the casing with the main portion and an outer skirt collectively defining an annular plenum, wherein each outlet guide vane includes a trunnion and an actuator arm, and all the actuator arms are connected by a unison ring located in the annular plenum;
- an actuator mounted outside the outer skirt;
- and
- a linkage interconnecting the actuator to the outlet guide vanes through the annular plenum, wherein the linkage includes a bell crank mounted in the outer skirt with an outer arm connected to the actuator outside the outer skirt, and an inner arm connected to the unison ring inside the plenum.
3 more elements
A method of operating a compressor apparatus that includes an upstream portion comprising an axial-flow compressor, and a downstream portion comprising a centrifugal-flow compressor, the method comprising:
- selectively varying a stagger angle of a row of outlet guide vanes mounted to a main portion of a casing and disposed between the upstream and downstream portions, so as to balance a mass flow rate of fluid passing from the upstream portion to the downstream portion, wherein the downstream portion is surrounded by the casing with the main portion and an outer skirt collectively defining an annular plenum, wherein the compressor apparatus further includes an actuator mounted outside the outer skirt and a linkage interconnecting the actuator to the outlet guide vanes through the annular plenum, wherein the linkage includes a bell crank mounted in the outer skirt with an outer arm connected to the actuator outside the outer skirt, and an inner arm connected to the unison ring inside the plenum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.