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AssigneePratt & Whitney
InventorsFrancis Parnin, Armando Amador
Estimating the term…
In accordance with an embodiment, a gas turbine engine is provided having a bearing chamber leak detection system. The gas turbine engine includes a rotatable shaft, a bearing assembly supporting the rotatable shaft, and a plurality of bearing chamber seals surrounding the rotatable shaft creating an annular bearing chamber enclosing the bearing assembly. One or more walls substantially surrounding the bearing chamber create a plenum between the walls and the bearing chamber, and a pressurized air inlet to the plenum is provided. The pressurized air inlet includes an airflow sensor configured and positioned to sense a flow of pressurized air into the plenum, such that airflow at the sensor is indicative of airflow from the plenum into the bearing chamber via one or more of the plurality of bearing chamber seals.
A gas turbine having a bearing chamber leak detection system, the gas turbine comprising:
A method of detecting a leak in one or more bearing chamber seals protecting a bearing assembly within a bearing chamber in a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:
The method of detecting a leak in accordance with claim 20, wherein the defect in an air system circuit and/or air system component includes a defect in one of an active clearance system, a buffer cooler system, and another air system.
A controller for detecting a bearing seal leak in a gas turbine engine having a bearing assembly within a bearing chamber bordered by a plurality of bearing chamber seals, wherein the plurality of bearing chamber seals are pressurized from outside of the bearing chamber via pressurized air, the controller being configured to execute steps including:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.