Gas turbine engine with composite airfoil and method of forming
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsBenjamin Thomas Van Oflen, Nicholas Joseph Kray, Gary Willard Bryant, Jr., Elzbieta Kryj-Kos
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes a fan section, a compressor section, combustor section, and turbine section in serial flow arrangement, and defines an engine centerline extending a forward to an aft. A composite airfoil, provided in one of the fan section, the compressor section, or the turbine section can have a balanced mass distribution. A woven core defines a first mass distribution. A set of plies coupled to the woven core collectively defines a second mass distribution, where the second mass distribution is nearer to the balanced mass distribution than the first mass distribution.
Claims20
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a fan section, a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section in serial flow arrangement, and defining an engine centerline extending between a forward direction and an aft direction;
- and
- at least one composite airfoil provided in one of the fan section, the compressor section, or the turbine section and rotatable about the engine centerline, the at least one composite airfoil having a balanced mass distribution defining a balanced center of mass aligned with a balanced center of rotation defined relative to the engine centerline, with the at least one composite airfoil comprising:
- a woven core defining a first mass distribution having a first center of rotation;
- a set of plies, coupled to the woven core, and defining a second mass distribution;
- and
- a skin layer provided exterior of the set of plies and the woven core;
- wherein the combination of the first mass distribution and the second mass distribution collectively defines a combined mass distribution that is nearer to the balanced center of rotation than the first center of rotation.
A composite airfoil for a gas turbine engine, the composite airfoil defining a balanced mass distribution including a balanced center of mass aligned with a balanced center of rotation, the composite airfoil comprising:
- a woven core defining a first mass distribution having a first center of rotation;
- a set of plies, coupled to the woven core, and defining a second mass distribution;
- and
- a skin layer provided exterior of the set of plies and the woven core;
- wherein the combination of the first mass distribution and the second mass distribution collectively defines a combined mass distribution that is nearer to the balanced center of rotation than the first center of rotation.
A method of forming a composite airfoil having a balanced mass distribution defining a balanced center of mass aligned with a balanced center of rotation arranged along a rotational axis for a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
- forming a woven core defining a first mass distribution having a first center of rotation;
- and applying a set of plies to the woven core, the set of plies defining a second mass distribution;
- adding a skin layer exterior of the set of plies and the woven core, wherein the first mass distribution and the second mass distribution collectively define a combined mass distribution that is nearer to the balanced center of rotation than the first center of rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.