Turbine support assembly including turbine heat shield and bolt retainer assembly

Abstract

A turbine support assembly includes a turbine rotor joined to a fan shaft through a support shaft. The support shaft is joined to the fan shaft in a V-configuration having first and second legs joined together at an apex and inclined axially apart, with at least the first leg forming an integral part of the fan shaft. The second leg is rotatably supportable to a frame. The V-configuration increases the stiffness of the turbine support to reduce blade tip clearances. The present invention also provides an annular integral bolt heat shield and axial retention apparatus to axially retain bolts used for holding together two rotor elements during assembly when the bolts are otherwise subject to sliding into a closed cavity of the assembled engine or one of its modules. The integral retainer and heat shield engage the bolts disposed through bolt holes in a gas turbine engine rotor shaft so that the bolts remain straight during assembly when a second rotor element such as a second shaft is being attached to the first shaft, and bolt holes in the second shaft have to engage and fit over the bolts of the first shaft. One particular embodiment of the present invention provides a low pressure turbine rotor shaft assembly of a low pressure turbine module wherein forward and aft shafts are attached by bolts which have bolt heads in a closed cavity of the module and are slidably disposed through corresponding bolt holes of each shaft such that the bolt heads are disposed aft of the aft shaft. An integral heat shield and axial bolt retainer is mounted to the aft shaft aft of the bolt heads so as to trap and retain the bolt heads between the shield and the aft shaft.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.