Composite fan containment case
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAbhijeet Jayshingrao Yadav, Nagamohan Govinahalli Prabhakar, Nicholas Joseph Kray, Shivam Mittal, Praveen Sharma, Bhujabal Prashant Mahadeo, Ravindra Shankar Ganiger
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Abstract
A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine defining a central axis is generally provided. The composite fan casing includes a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin and having an outer surface. The composite fan casing further includes at least one stiffener integrally coupled to an aft portion of the outer surface of the core relative to the central axis. Additionally, the at least one stiffener comprises an elastic material.
Claims20
A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine comprising a plurality of fan blades, the gas turbine engine defining a central axis, the composite fan casing comprising:
- a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin and having an outer surface;
- and
- at least one stiffener that comprises an external structure that defines an internal cavity, wherein the external structure extends from a first axial location to a second axial location, the first axial location and the second axial location being aft of the plurality of fan blades of the gas turbine engine,
- wherein the external structure is integrally coupled to an aft portion of the outer surface of the core relative to the central axis at the first axial location and at the second axial location, wherein the aft portion of the outer surface of the core is aft of the plurality of fan blades of the gas turbine engine, wherein the internal cavity of the at least one stiffener comprises an elastic material, wherein the elastic material comprises a first layer of a shape memory alloy and a second layer of an elastomer or a rubber.
A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine defining a central axis, the composite fan casing comprising:
- a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin and having an outer surface;
- and
- at least one stiffener integrally coupled to an aft portion of the outer surface of the core relative to the central axis, wherein the at least one stiffener comprises an elastic material, wherein the elastic material comprises a shape memory alloy,
- wherein the stiffener comprises an external hat-shaped structure, wherein a mesh of the elastic material is housed within the external hat-shaped structure.
A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine defining a central axis, the composite fan casing comprising:
- a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin and having an outer surface;
- and
- at least one stiffener integrally coupled to an aft portion of the outer surface of the core relative to the central axis, wherein the at least one stiffener comprises an elastic material, wherein the elastic material comprises a shape memory alloy, an elastomer, or a rubber,
- wherein the elastic material comprises the shape memory alloy and the elastomer or the rubber,
- wherein the stiffener comprises one or more layers of the shape memory alloy and one or more layers of the elastomer or the rubber, which define a lattice structure.
A composite fan casing for a gas turbine engine defining a central axis, the composite fan casing comprising:
- a core having a plurality of core layers of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermosetting polymeric resin and having an outer surface;
- and
- at least one stiffener integrally coupled to an aft portion of the outer surface of the core relative to the central axis, wherein the at least one stiffener comprises an elastic material, wherein the elastic material comprises a shape memory alloy, an elastomer, or a rubber,
- wherein the stiffener comprises an external hat-shaped structure that defines an internal cavity, the external hat-shaped structure comprising a first layer of the shape memory alloy and a second layer of the elastomer or the rubber,
- wherein the internal cavity comprises a third layer of the shape memory alloy, the elastomer, or the rubber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.