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US 2013/0156588 A1Published application
Electrical grounding for fan blades
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsJames R. Murdock, Kwan Hui
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fan rotor includes a fan blade for use in a gas turbine engine includes a sheath formed of a material that is more conductive than a main fan blade body. A grounding element provides a grounding path from the sheath into a rotor receiving the fan blade. A gas turbine engine incorporating the fan blade is also disclosed.
Claims20
A fan rotor for use in a gas turbine engine comprising:
- a rotor body having at least one slot receiving a fan blade;
- said fan blade formed of a first material, and a sheath positioned at a leading edge of said fan blade, said sheath being formed of a second material that is distinct from said first material, said first material being less electrically conductive than said second material;
- and
- a grounding element in contact with said sheath, and said grounding element being in contact with a rotating element that rotates with said rotor, said grounding element and said rotating element together forming a ground path from said sheath into said rotor.
1 more element
A gas turbine engine comprising:
- a fan section delivering air into a compressor section, said compressor section delivering air into a combustor section, and said combustor section delivering products of combustion across at least one turbine rotor, said at least one turbine rotor driving a compressor rotor, and said at least one turbine rotor also driving a fan rotor of said fan section through a gear reduction;
- said fan section including a rotor body having at least one slot to receive a fan blade, said fan blade formed of a first material, and a sheath positioned at a leading edge of said fan blade, said sheath being formed of a second material that is distinct from said first material, said first material being less electrically conductive than said second material;
- and
- a grounding element in contact with said sheath, said grounding element being in contact with a rotating element that rotates with said rotor, said grounding element and said rotating element together forming a ground path from said sheath into said rotor.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.