Buffer cooling system providing gas turbine engine architecture cooling
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsGabriel L. Suciu, Ioannis Alvanos, Camelia Galos
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes a buffer cooling system having a first heat exchanger, a first passageway, a second passageway and a third passageway. The first heat exchanger exchanges heat with a bleed airflow to provide a conditioned airflow. The first passageway communicates a first portion of the conditioned airflow to a high pressure compressor of the gas turbine engine, the second passageway communicates a second portion of the conditioned airflow to a high pressure turbine of the gas turbine engine, and the third passageway communicates a third portion of the conditioned airflow to a low pressure turbine of the gas turbine engine.
Claims18
A gas turbine engine, comprising:
- a buffer cooling system including:
- a first heat exchanger that exchanges heat with a bleed airflow to provide a conditioned airflow;
- a first passageway that communicates a first portion of said conditioned airflow to a high pressure compressor of said gas turbine engine;
- a second passageway that communicates a second portion of said conditioned airflow to a high pressure turbine of said gas turbine engine;
- and
- a third passageway that communicates a third portion of said conditioned airflow to a low pressure turbine of said gas turbine engine.
A gas turbine engine, comprising:
- a high pressure compressor;
- a combustor downstream from said high pressure compressor;
- a high pressure turbine downstream from said combustor;
- a low pressure turbine downstream from said high pressure turbine;
- and
- a buffer cooling system that communicates a conditioned airflow to condition hardware of each of said high pressure compressor, said high pressure turbine and said low pressure turbine.
A method of conditioning a gas turbine engine architecture, comprising:
- removing heat from a bleed airflow to render a conditioned airflow;
- and
- communicating the conditioned airflow to condition hardware of each of a high pressure compressor, a high pressure turbine and a low pressure turbine of a gas turbine engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.