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US 12,025,074 B1Granted
Plug nozzle for high mach gas turbine engines
AssigneeRolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
InventorsKenneth M. Pesyna, Andrew M. Simonich
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A propulsion unit includes a gas turbine engine and an exhaust nozzle coupled to an aft end of the gas turbine engine. The exhaust nozzle is configured to interact with exhaust gases exiting the gas turbine engine in an aft direction. The exhaust nozzle includes an outer nozzle case and an inner plug that cooperate to define an exhaust flow path therebetween. The exhaust nozzle is configured to manipulate the exhaust gases to provide different thrust capabilities for the gas turbine engine.
Claims15
An exhaust nozzle for a turbine engine, the exhaust nozzle comprising
- an outer nozzle case arranged to extend around a central axis, the outer nozzle case having an outer surface facing away from the central axis and an opposite inner surface facing toward the central axis and defining an interior space radially inwardly from the inner surface,
- a nozzle plug located at least partially within the interior space and along the central axis and configured to interact with hot exhaust gases flowing through the interior space in an aft direction to guide the hot exhaust gases out of the interior space through an exhaust outlet at an aft end of the outer nozzle case, the nozzle plug including a movable plug body extending in the aft direction along the central axis and a plurality of support struts coupled to the movable plug body and spaced circumferentially apart from one another around the central axis to support the movable plug body along the central axis, and
- a plug actuator coupled with the outer nozzle case and the nozzle plug and configured to move at least a portion of the nozzle plug relative to the outer nozzle case between a slid-forward position and a slid-back position,
- wherein the plug actuator includes an actuator ring coupled to each of the support struts, an actuator piston coupled to the actuator ring and to the outer nozzle case and configured to translate the actuator ring forward and aft to move the movable plug body and the plurality of support struts between the slid-forward position and the slid-back position, and a plurality of ring guides coupled to the actuator ring and to the outer nozzle case to guide movement of the actuator ring relative to the outer nozzle case and block circumferential rotation of the movable plug body and the plurality of support struts about the central axis,
- wherein the plurality of ring guides includes a plurality of rollers that engage the outer nozzle case and roll along the outer nozzle case as the actuator piston moves the actuator ring forward and aft, and
- wherein the outer nozzle case is formed to include a ring cavity and the actuator ring is received in the ring cavity when the movable plug body is in the slid-forward position and the actuator ring is partially removed from the ring cavity to form a portion of an outer exhaust gas boundary with the inner surface of the outer nozzle case when the movable plug body is in the slid-back position.
3 more elements
An exhaust nozzle for a turbine engine, the exhaust nozzle comprising
- an outer nozzle case arranged to extend around a central axis, the outer nozzle case having an outer surface facing away from the central axis and an opposite inner surface facing toward the central axis and defining an interior space radially inwardly from the inner surface,
- a nozzle plug located at least partially within the interior space and along the central axis and configured to interact with hot exhaust gases flowing through the interior space in an aft direction to guide the hot exhaust gases out of the interior space through an exhaust outlet at an aft end of the outer nozzle case, the nozzle plug including a stationary tailcone located within the interior space upstream of the exhaust outlet, a movable plug body extending in the aft direction away from the stationary tailcone along the central axis, and a plurality of support struts coupled to the movable plug body and spaced circumferentially apart from one another around the central axis to support the movable plug body along the central axis,
- a plug actuator coupled with the outer nozzle case and the movable plug body and configured to move the movable plug body relative to the outer nozzle case and the stationary tailcone between a slid-forward position and a slid-back position,
- wherein the movable plug body includes a plug tail having a variable-diameter, a plug stem coupled with a forward end of the plug tail and having a substantially constant diameter, and a plug guide fixed to the plug stem for movement therewith and configured to engage the stationary tailcone to block rotation of the movable plug body relative to the stationary tailcone about the central axis,
- wherein the plug actuator includes an actuator ring coupled to each of the support struts, an actuator piston coupled to the actuator ring and to the outer nozzle case and configured to translate the actuator ring forward and aft to move the movable plug body and the plurality of support struts between the slid-forward position and the slid-back position, and a plurality of ring guides coupled to the actuator ring and to the outer nozzle case to guide movement of the actuator ring relative to the outer nozzle case,
- wherein the plurality of ring guides includes a plurality of rollers that engage the outer nozzle case and roll along the outer nozzle case as the actuator piston moves the actuator ring forward and aft, and
- wherein the outer nozzle case is formed to include a ring cavity and the actuator ring is received in the ring cavity when the movable plug body is in the slid-forward position and the actuator ring is partially removed from the ring cavity to form a portion of an outer exhaust gas boundary with the inner surface of the outer nozzle case when the movable plug body is in the slid-back position.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.