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US 11,092,037 B2Granted
Lubrication of journal bearing during clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation
AssigneeRaytheon Technologies Corporation
InventorsChristopher M. Valva, Brian P. Cigal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure is applicable to all gear trains using a journal bearing as a means of supporting gear shaft rotation. It is related in some embodiments to a system and method for supplying lubricant to the journal bearings of a gear-turbofan engine gear train when the fan rotor is subjected to a wind-milling condition in both directions, either clockwise or counterclockwise.
Claims20
A lubrication system for a gear-turbofan engine, the lubrication system comprising:
- an epicyclic gear-train including a journal bearing;
- and
- a bi-directional auxiliary pump operatively coupled to a fan of the gear-turbofan engine, the bi-directional auxiliary pump including a first pump port and a second pump port;
- wherein rotation of the fan below a predetermined operational speed range of the gear-turbofan engine in a first direction causes the bi-directional auxiliary pump to transfer lubricant outwardly from the first pump port to the journal bearing and wherein rotation of the fan below the predetermined operational speed range of the gear-turbofan engine in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, causes the bi-directional auxiliary pump to transfer lubricant outwardly from the second pump port to the journal bearing.
1 more element
A turbofan engine, comprising:
- a fan;
- a fan shaft operably coupled to the fan;
- an epicyclic gear-train including a journal bearing;
- a bi-directional auxiliary pump operatively coupled to the fan shaft, the bi-directional auxiliary pump including a pump inlet and a pump outlet;
- wherein rotation of the fan shaft in a first direction when the engine is in a non-operational mode causes the bi-directional auxiliary pump to transfer lubricant to the journal bearing by creating pressure at the pump outlet and by creating suction at the pump inlet and wherein rotation of the fan shaft in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, when the engine is in a non-operational mode causes the bi-directional auxiliary pump to transfer lubricant to the journal bearing by creating pressure at the pump outlet and by creating suction at the pump inlet.
2 more elements
A method of providing lubricant to a gear bearing surface of a turbofan engine, comprising:
- rotating a fan of the turbofan engine in a first direction when the turbofan engine is in a non-operational mode;
- pumping lubricant to a journal bearing of an epicyclic gear-train of the turbofan engine from a first pump port of a bi-directional auxiliary pump operatively coupled to the fan, by creating pressure at a pump outlet of the bi-directional auxiliary pump and by creating suction at a pump inlet of the bi-directional auxiliary pump, when the fan rotates in the first direction when the turbofan engine is in the non-operational mode;
- rotating the fan of the turbofan engine in a second direction when the turbofan engine is in the non-operational mode, the second direction being opposite to the first direction;
- and
- pumping lubricant to the journal bearing of the bi-directional auxiliary pump, by creating pressure at the pump outlet of the bi-directional auxiliary pump and by creating suction at the pump inlet of the bi-directional auxiliary pump, when the fan rotates in the second direction when the turbofan engine is in the non-operational mode.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.