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US 4,916,894 AGranted
High bypass turbofan engine having a partially geared fan drive turbine
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsArthur P. Adamson, Lawrence Butler
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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsArthur P. Adamson, Lawrence Butler
Estimating the term…
The present invention provides a high bypass turbofan engine configuration wherein a fan drive turbine is divided into first and second turbine sections mounted for independent rotation within the engine frame. The first, higher pressure, higher speed turbine section is coupled to the fan section drive shaft via a gear box which reduces the rotational speed of the power delivered by the higher pressure first turbine section to match the design rotational speed of the fan section. The second turbine section, having a larger diameter and lower rotational speed as compared to the first turbine section, is directly connected to the fan section and drives the fan section at the same rotational speed as that of the second turbine section. In this manner, the fan drive shaft horsepower is provided while reducing the weight and size of the necessary gearing between the fan drive turbine and the fan. The weight and size of the fan drive turbine and the booster compressor are also reduced.
A high bypass ratio turbofan engine, comprising:
A high bypass ratio turbofan engine, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.