Hybrid gas turbine engine and torque transfer assembly therefore
AssigneePratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
InventorsDaniel Alecu, David Menheere
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The torque transfer assembly can include a sleeve having an elongated internal opening, a shaft having an elongated body extending in the internal opening of the sleeve, a first coupler at a first end of the elongated body coupled to a gas turbine engine rotor, and a second coupler at a second end of the elongated body coupled to a generator, the second coupler opposite the first coupler relative to a length of the elongated body, the shaft being made of a metal, and a bushing extending around the elongated body of the shaft, trapped between the shaft and the sleeve, the bushing made of plastic, the bushing having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the sleeve.
Claims19
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a gas turbine engine core comprising an annular gas path extending sequentially across a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine, the annular gas path extending around a rotor shaft,
- a generator having a power port, and
- a torque transfer assembly having
- a shaft having a first end coupled to the rotor shaft, and a second end opposite the first end, the second end coupled to the power port,
- a bushing engaged around the shaft, the bushing made of plastic,
- a sleeve engaged around the bushing, the sleeve having a coefficient of thermal expansion lower than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the bushing.
A method of transferring torque from a generator to a gas turbine engine rotor, the method comprising:
- transmitting rotation from a first end of a shaft coupled to the gas turbine engine rotor to a second end of the shaft coupled to the generator,
- the shaft frictionally entraining rotation of a bushing coaxially surrounding the shaft,
- the bushing frictionally entraining rotation of a sleeve coaxially surrounding the bushing, and
- the rotating bushing increasing in temperature and experiencing thermal growth greater than a thermal growth of the sleeve, and thereby generating pressure between the shaft and the sleeve, said sleeve containing said pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.