Thermal energy system to minimize or eliminate rotor bow
AssigneesRolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc., ROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorsGovindaraj Kalyanasamy, Peter Schenk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An example system includes a thermal energy system configured to transport thermal energy harvested from a first portion of a gas turbine engine to a second portion of the gas turbine engine after the gas turbine engine was in operation, wherein the transported thermal energy minimizes or prevents undesired contact or seizing of a rotor with another component of the gas turbine engine due to warping of the rotor due to uneven cooling of the gas turbine engine after the operation. The thermal energy system includes a cavity configured to flow a fluid, wherein the fluid is configured to transport thermal energy from the first portion to the second portion.
Claims12
A system comprising:
- a thermal energy system configured to transport thermal energy harvested from a first portion of a gas turbine engine positioned above an engine centerline to a second portion of the gas turbine engine positioned below the engine centerline after the gas turbine engine was in operation, wherein the transported thermal energy minimizes or prevents undesired contact or seizing of a rotor with another component of the gas turbine engine due to warping of the rotor due to uneven cooling of the gas turbine engine after the operation,
- wherein the thermal energy system includes a cavity defined by a jacket surrounding an axial segment of a core case surrounding an axial segment of a core case of the gas turbine engine and configured to flow a fluid, the fluid comprising oil or a refrigerant, wherein the fluid is configured to transport thermal energy from the first portion to the second portion,
- a pump fluidically connected to the cavity;
- and
- a controller operable to control the pump and receive signals indicative of a sensed temperature in the first portion of the gas turbine engine and the second portion of the gas turbine engine, wherein the controller is configured to:
- cause the pump to circulate the fluid to transport thermal energy from the first portion to the second portion of the gas turbine engine until the temperature in the second portion of the gas turbine engine matches the sensed temperature in the first portion of the gas turbine engine.
A method comprising:
- performing an operation of a gas turbine engine;
- and
- transporting, via a fluid comprising an oil or a refrigerant, subsequent to performing the operation and via a thermal energy system, thermal energy from a first portion of the gas turbine engine positioned above an engine centerline to a second portion of the gas turbine engine positioned below an engine centerline, wherein the thermal energy is configured to minimize or prevent undesired contact or seizing of a rotor with another component of the gas turbine engine due to warping of the rotor due to uneven cooling of the gas turbine engine after the operation, wherein transporting the thermal energy includes flowing a fluid through a cavity defined by a jacket surrounding an axial segment of a core case surrounding an axial segment of a core case of the gas turbine engine from the first portion to the second portion, and wherein transporting the thermal energy includes causing a pump fluidically connected to the cavity to circulate the fluid to transport thermal energy from the first portion to the second portion of the gas turbine engine until a sensed temperature in the second portion of the gas turbine engine matches a sensed temperature in the first portion of the gas turbine engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.