# US 11,306,614 B2 · Sump auxiliary vent system

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,306,614 B2
- Document ID: US11306614B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/151,995
- Filed: 2018-10-04
- Published: 2020-04-09
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-10-04
- Assignees: ROLLS-ROYCE plc
- Applicants: Rolls-Royce Corporation
- Inventors: Joseph Black; Joseph A. Swift; Daniel Feinstein; Jared Isamu Taketa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11306614B2

## CPC

- F01D 25/18: Lubricating arrangements (of machines or engines in general F01M)
- F01D 25/183: {Sealing means}
- F01D 25/125: {of bearings}
- F01D 25/162: {Bearing supports}
- F16C 33/667: {related to conditioning, e.g. cooling, filtering}
- F16C 33/6685: {Details of collecting or draining, e.g. returning the liquid to a sump}
- F16C 33/76: of ball or roller bearings
- F16N 31/02: Oil catchers; Oil wipers (oil-scraping rings for pistons F16J9/20 {; cleaning means for indicating or measuring dip members, e.g. dipstick wipers G01F23/045})
- F01M 2013/005: {having one or more deoilers}
- F02K 3/06: with front fan
- F05D 2220/323: for aircraft propulsion, e.g. jet engines
- F05D 2240/54: Radial bearings
- F05D 2240/55: Seals
- F05D 2260/213: by the provision of a heat exchanger within the cooling circuit
- F05D 2260/602: Drainage
- F05D 2260/605: Venting into the ambient atmosphere or the like
- F05D 2260/609: Deoiling or demisting
- F05D 2260/98: Lubrication
- F16C 2360/23: Gas turbine engines
- F16N 2210/02: Turbines
- 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
- F16N: LUBRICATING
- F01M: LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING
- F02K: JET-PROPULSION PLANTS (features of jet-propulsion plants common to gas-turbine plants, air intakes or fuel supply control of air-breathing jet-propulsion plants F02C7/00, F02C9/00)
- F05D: INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS

## Abstract

A system includes an air chamber and an oil capture cavity. The air chamber includes an inlet to receive pressurized air from a gas turbine engine. The oil capture cavity is positioned between the air chamber and an oil sump supplying lubricating oil to the gas turbine engine. The oil capture cavity includes an auxiliary vent formed in a base of the oil capture cavity. A seal may separate the oil capture cavity from fluid communication with the oil sump. A nozzle provides fluid communication between the oil capture cavity and the air chamber. The nozzle is configured and positioned to direct a stream of the pressurized air into the oil capture cavity against an opposite wall of the oil capture cavity to create a quiescent zone at the base of the oil capture cavity. The quiescent zone includes the auxiliary vent.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system comprising:
an air chamber comprising an inlet to receive pressurized air from a gas turbine engine;
an oil capture cavity positioned between the air chamber and an oil sump supplying lubricating oil to the gas turbine engine;
the oil capture cavity including an auxiliary vent formed in a base of the oil capture cavity, the auxiliary vent including a bowl coupled with a throat, the bowl having a first predetermined diameter that is larger than a second predetermined diameter of the throat;
a seal separating the oil capture cavity from fluid communication with the oil sump; and
a nozzle providing fluid communication between the oil capture cavity and the air chamber, the nozzle configured and positioned to regulate and direct a stream of the pressurized air into the oil capture cavity and against an opposite wall of the oil capture cavity that extends radially outward from the base, the opposite wall having a predetermined geometry and being spaced away from the nozzle by the oil capture cavity and from the bowl by a predetermined distance, wherein the nozzle regulates the stream of the pressurized air directed to the predetermined geometry of the opposite wall such that the stream is redirected within the oil capture cavity to form a cyclonic air flow in a non-rotational portion of the oil capture cavity and create a quiescent zone at the bowl.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is configured to generate, with the stream of the pressurized air, an air curtain above the auxiliary vent between the nozzle and the opposite wall, wherein the predetermined geometry of the opposite wall includes a predetermined radius of curvature and the stream of the pressurized air is directed by the nozzle at the predetermined radius of curvature to create the cyclonic air flow in the oil capture cavity.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is configured to pressurize the oil capture cavity with respect to the seal and the auxiliary vent to discourage oil flow through the seal into the oil capture cavity and encourage flow of air through the auxiliary vent.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary vent is in fluid communication with a vent passageway formed in a bearing support structure of the gas turbine engine.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system of claim 4, wherein the vent passageway is positioned in the bearing support structure to extend along an outer wall of the oil sump that provides a heat exchanger function to transfer heat out of the vent passageway and into lubricating oil directed to flow along the outer wall within the oil sump.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the bowl in the base is configured to receive lubricating oil and/or particulate.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a rear system in the gas turbine engine, and the opposite wall is a stationary opposing wall, wherein the seal is positioned on a flange concentrically inboard of the auxiliary vent, the flange formed perpendicular to the opposing stationary wall and inboard of the bowl included in the auxiliary vent.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a mid system in the gas turbine engine, and the opposite wall is a stationary portion of a bearing support structure of the gas turbine engine.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary vent is a single vent coupled with a single vent passageway that channels pressurized air out of the oil capture cavity.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is positioned a distance of between 0.5 mm and 15 mm from a stationary floor forming a portion of the oil capture cavity to regulate the flow or velocity of the stream of the pressurized air directed by the nozzle into the oil capture cavity.

### Claim 11

A method comprising:
supplying pressurized air from a gas turbine engine to an inlet of an air chamber included in the gas turbine engine;
channeling the pressurized air into an oil capture cavity with a nozzle positioned between the air chamber and the oil capture cavity;
regulating, with the nozzle, a flow of the pressurized air into the oil capture cavity;
directing, with the nozzle positioned a predetermined distance from a stationary portion of the oil capture cavity, a flow of the pressurized air within the oil capture cavity against an opposing wall of the oil capture cavity, the opposing wall extending inwardly away from a base of the oil capture cavity toward a central axis of the gas turbine engine and having a predetermined geometry;
redirecting the flow of pressurized air within the oil capture cavity using the predetermined geometry;
creating, with the flow of pressurized air from the nozzle and the predetermined geometry of the opposing wall, a circulating flow of the pressurized air within a non-rotational portion of the oil capture cavity;
cyclonically separating particulate from the circulating flow of the pressurized air;
creating, with the pressurized air, a differential pressure across a seal positioned between the oil capture cavity and an oil sump supplying lubricating oil to the gas turbine engine, the seal separating the oil capture cavity from fluid communication with the oil sump; and
positively pressurizing an auxiliary vent positioned in the base of the oil capture cavity with the pressurized air.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising creating, by the nozzle, an air curtain with the flow of the pressurized air, directing the air curtain across the auxiliary vent positioned in a base of the oil capture cavity, and creating a quiescent zone in the stationary portion of the oil capture cavity defined by the base and the opposing wall.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising scavenging oil from the oil sump via a scavenge passage using a scavenge pump.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising channeling pressurized air through a vent passageway to a flow regulator comprising a restriction orifice in the vent passageway; and regulating a flow rate of the pressurized air through the auxiliary vent with the flow regulator.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising creating, with the pressurized air, a differential pressure across a seal positioned between the air chamber and a hot air cavity, the air chamber positioned between the hot air cavity and the oil capture cavity.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein regulating, with the nozzle, the flow of the pressurized air into the oil capture cavity comprises maintaining a predetermined pressure in the oil capture cavity to sustain the differential pressure across the seal positioned between the air chamber and the hot air cavity and sustaining a predetermined flow rate of pressurized air through the auxiliary vent.

### Claim 17

A system comprising:
a vent passageway formed in a support structure of a gas turbine engine, the vent passageway including a flow regulator, wherein the flow regulator comprises a restriction orifice in the vent passageway;
an oil capture cavity in fluid communication with the vent passageway via an auxiliary vent, the oil capture cavity including a quiescent zone in a non-rotating portion of oil capture cavity, wherein the oil capture cavity is defined by a rotational portion and non-rotational portion of the gas turbine engine;
an air chamber to receive pressurized air supplied by the gas turbine engine;
a nozzle positioned between the air chamber and the oil capture cavity to regulate a flow of pressurized air from the air chamber into the oil capture cavity; and
a seal positioned between the oil capture cavity and an oil sump;
wherein the nozzle is configured to regulate the flow of pressurized air into the oil capture cavity to maintain a pressure differential between the oil sump and the oil capture cavity and a flow rate of pressurized air through the auxiliary vent and the vent passageway, and the flow of pressurize air is directed by the nozzle to maintain the quiescent zone in the oil capture cavity, and
wherein the nozzle is positioned a predetermined distance from the non-rotating portion of the oil capture cavity such that the nozzle directs the flow of pressurized air to make contact with an opposite wall of the oil capture cavity, the opposite wall having a predetermined geometry, so that the flow of pressurized air from the nozzle is redirected to circulate the flow of pressurized air to create a cyclonic effect in the non-rotating portion of oil capture cavity, wherein the quiescent zone is bounded by an area at a base of the oil capture cavity that includes the auxiliary vent.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein an area bounding the quiescent zone includes the base of the oil capture cavity, and the auxiliary vent is an opening formed in the base such that the vent passageway extends outwardly away from the base of the oil capture cavity.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, further comprising an annular structure coupled with the support structure, wherein the annular structure is axially aligned with the gas turbine engine and is formed to include the auxiliary vent, wherein the vent passageway included in the support structure is in liquid communication with the auxiliary vent.