Gas turbine engine having a sensor assembly for monitoring propeller whirl
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsKudum Shinde, Surender Reddy Bhavanam
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine including a frame, a plurality of fan blades configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine, and a mounting assembly coupling the frame to a structure. The gas turbine engine includes a sensor assembly coupled to the mounting assembly and having at least one sensor configured to detect a loading on the mounting assembly and to take a corrective action when propeller whirl is detected above a predetermined limit, and a feature configured to take a corrective action when propeller whirl is detected above a predetermined limit.
Claims20
A gas turbine engine for controlling a fan pitch to mitigate propeller whirl, the gas turbine engine comprising:
- a shaft configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine;
- a plurality of fan blades mechanically coupled to the shaft, the plurality of fan blades being configured to rotate with the shaft;
- a bearing assembly configured to support an end of the shaft;
- an engine monitoring system to monitor the propeller whirl of the plurality of fan blades, the engine monitoring system comprising:
- at least one sensor coupled to the bearing assembly, the at least one sensor configured to detect a load on the bearing assembly and to transmit load data;
- and
- an engine control system configured to receive the load data from the at least one sensor, to calculate a dynamic load from the load data, to compare the dynamic load against a predetermined limit that is indicative of the plurality of fan blades experiencing the propeller whirl, and to send a pitch control command when the dynamic load exceeds the predetermined limit;
- and
- a pitch control system configured to receive the pitch control command from the engine control system and to control the fan pitch of each of the plurality of fan blades.
An aircraft comprising:
- an aircraft structure;
- and
- a gas turbine engine mounted to the aircraft structure, the gas turbine engine for controlling a fan pitch to mitigate propeller whirl, the gas turbine engine comprising:
- a shaft configured to rotate about a longitudinal centerline axis of the gas turbine engine;
- a plurality of fan blades mechanically coupled to the shaft, the plurality of fan blades being configured to rotate with the shaft;
- a bearing assembly configured to support an end of the shaft;
- an engine monitoring system to monitor the propeller whirl of the plurality of fan blades, the engine monitoring system comprising:
- at least one sensor coupled to the bearing assembly, the at least one sensor configured to detect a load on the bearing assembly and to transmit load data;
- and
- an engine control system configured to receive the load data from the at least one sensor, to calculate a dynamic load from the load data, to compare the dynamic load against a predetermined limit that is indicative of the plurality of fan blades experiencing the propeller whirl, and to send a pitch control command when the dynamic load exceeds the predetermined limit;
- and
- a pitch control system configured to receive the pitch control command from the engine control system and to control the fan pitch of each of the plurality of fan blades.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.