Propulsion system for an aircraft
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsMichael Thomas Gansler, Robert Charles Hon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hybrid-electric propulsion system includes a propulsor, a turbomachine, and an electrical system having an electric machine coupled to the turbomachine. A method for operating the propulsion system includes operating, by one or more computing devices, the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft; receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor; and providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust.
Claims20
A method for operating a turbomachine of a hybrid-electric propulsion system of an aircraft, the hybrid-electric propulsion system comprising a propulsor, a turbomachine, and an electrical system having an electric machine coupled to the turbomachine, the method comprising:
- operating, by one or more computing devices, the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft;
- receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor, and receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of a temperature of the electric machine;
- providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust;
- and
- terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine in response to receiving the data indicative of the temperature of the electric machine.
A hybrid-electric propulsion system for an aircraft comprising:
- a propulsor;
- a turbomachine coupled to the propulsor for driving the propulsor and generating thrust;
- an electrical system comprising an electric machine, the electric machine coupled to the turbomachine;
- and
- a controller configured for:
- operating the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft;
- receiving data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor and receiving data indicative of a temperature of the electric machine;
- providing electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust;
- and
- terminating the provision of electrical power to the electric machine in response to receiving the data indicative of the temperature of the electric machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.