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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsWayne Ray Bowen, Jeffrey Clayton Potter, Mitchell Jay Headley
Estimating the term…
A trunnion support for a variable-position stator vane in a turbomachine. The stator vane includes an upper trunnion and a lower trunnion to allow the stator vane to be pivoted about a longitudinal axis. The lower trunnion is supported in a bushing that is carried in an opening provided in an annular stator vane carrier ring. The bushing is longitudinally split and is installed in the carrier ring while in a laterally compressed condition so that when installed in the carrier ring the bushing bears against the carrier ring opening in which it is positioned. When the carrier ring material expands with rising temperature, the pre-stress in the bushing will cause it to expand to maintain tight frictional engagement between the bushing and the opening and thereby prevent relative rotation between the bushing and the carrier ring to minimize wear of the carrier ring material.
A stator vane support structure for supporting a turbomachine stator vane for pivotal movement about a stator vane pivot axis, said support structure comprising:
3 A stator vane support structure in accordance with claim 2, wherein the carrier member has an inner periphery and the inner periphery includes an annular recess having a predetermined axial width, wherein the radially-extending openings extend to the annular recess.
A stator vane support structure in accordance with claim 3 wherein the carrier member is formed from a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion in a range of from about 10×10−6 in/in/° F. to about 14×10−6 in/in/° F.
A method for maintaining surface-to-surface contact between a tubular bushing having an initial outer diameter and formed from a material having a first coefficient of thermal expansion, and a carrier member having an opening with a diameter smaller than the bushing initial outer diameter for receiving the tubular bushing and formed from a material having a second coefficient of thermal expansion, wherein the carrier member and bushing are exposed to a range of temperatures, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.