Turbine engine bleed waste heat recovery

An auxiliary power generation system for a turbine engine assembly comprising:

• a first tap configured to receive a portion of a core airflow within a core flow path as a bleed airflow and communicate the bleed airflow downstream of a combustor section of a turbine engine assembly;
• a heat exchanger placing the bleed airflow communicated from the first tap in thermal communication with a high energy combusted gas flow within the core flow path downstream of the combustor section to generate a heated bleed airflow communicated outside of the core flow path;
• a power turbine disposed outside of a core flow path and configured to drive an output shaft from expansion of the heated bleed airflow, the power turbine including an inlet configured to receive the heated bleed airflow from the heat exchanger;
• and
• a power generation device coupled to the output shaft of the power turbine.

A method of operating a gas turbine engine assembly comprising:

• generating a high energy gas flow along a core flow path by igniting a fuel mixed with a core airflow;
• communicating a portion of the core airflow as a bleed airflow through a first tap that is located upstream of a combustor section and downstream of a compressor section of the gas turbine engine assembly;
• heating the bleed airflow communicated through the first tap with the high energy gas flow within a heat exchanger downstream of the combustor section to generate a heated bleed airflow that is communicated outside of the core flow path;
• and
• generating shaft power by expanding at least a portion of heated bleed airflow exhausted from the heat exchanger through a power turbine disposed outside of the core flow path.