Casing for turbine engine having a cooling unit
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsDonald Earl FLOYD, Kenneth Black
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A turbine inner shell for a turbine engine includes one or more mounting grooves, each of which receives a fluid conduit. A temperature controlling fluid is circulated through fluid conduit to selectively heat or cool surrounding portions of the turbine inner shell, to thereby control the thermal growth of those portions of the turbine inner shell. This makes it possible to selectively control a clearance between the tips of rotating turbine blades and the surrounding shrouds of the turbine.
Claims19
An inner shell for the turbine section of a turbine engine, comprising:
- a plurality of arcuate casing portions that are configured to be attached to one another to form a generally cylindrical inner shell, wherein each arcuate casing portion includes:
- at least one shroud hook portion that extends along an interior side of the arcuate casing portion in a circumferential direction, and
- at least one mounting groove that extends along the arcuate casing portion in the circumferential direction, wherein each at least one mounting groove is located adjacent to one of the at least one shroud hook portions;
- and
- at least one conduit having at least one internal passageway for a temperature controlling fluid, each conduit being mounted within one of the at least one mounting grooves, wherein the at least one conduit is configured to be inserted into a mounting groove.
A temperature controlling fluid conduit that is configured to be mounted on an arcuate-shaped portion of an inner shell of a turbine section of a turbine engine, comprising:
- an elongated, arcuate-shaped body having an interior passageway for a temperature controlling fluid;
- and
- at least one inlet aperture that is configured to admit a flow of a temperature controlling fluid into the interior passageway.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.