Thermal management system
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsBrandon Wayne Miller, Kevin Edward Hinderliter, Daniel Alan Niergarth, Brian Gene Brzek
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermal management system of a gas turbine engine, the thermal management system including: a thermal transport bus configured to have a heat exchange fluid flowing therethrough and including a pump including a plurality of bearings; an auxiliary thermal bus in thermal communication with the plurality of bearings; and an auxiliary heat exchanger in thermal communication with the auxiliary thermal bus.
Claims19
A thermal management system of a gas turbine engine, the thermal management system comprising:
- a thermal transport bus configured to have a heat exchange fluid flowing therethrough and comprising a pump comprising a plurality of bearings;
- an auxiliary thermal bus in thermal communication with the plurality of bearings;
- and
- an auxiliary heat exchanger in thermal communication with the auxiliary thermal bus.
A method of operating a thermal management system of a gas turbine engine;
- the method comprising:
- receiving data indicative of a state of a plurality of bearings of a pump of the thermal management system using a sensor, the state of the plurality of bearings including an operational temperature of the plurality of bearings;
- starting the pump in response to receiving the data indicative of the state of the plurality of bearings, the pump in fluid communication with a thermal transport bus and an auxiliary thermal bus;
- cooling a heat exchange fluid within the auxiliary thermal bus with an auxiliary heat exchanger;
- and
- providing the heat exchange fluid within the auxiliary thermal bus to the plurality of bearings of the pump.
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a heat source;
- and
- a thermal management system comprising:
- a thermal transport bus configured to have a heat exchange fluid flowing therethrough;
- an auxiliary thermal bus in fluid communication with the thermal transport bus;
- an auxiliary heat exchanger in thermal communication with the auxiliary thermal bus;
- and
- a pump having a plurality of bearings, and wherein the auxiliary thermal bus is in fluid communication with the plurality of bearings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.