US 5,549,448 AGranted

Variable stator vane linkage system and method

AssigneeUnited Technolgies Corporation

InventorTodd A. Langston

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Abstract

The linkage system for the variable vane stators includes a pumphandle driven by the linear actuator and a cooperating pumphandle slider bracket where the slider bracket includes a machined hard coated stop for limiting travel of the pumphandle when the vanes are at the full opened position. The pumphandle through the drive link circumferentially positions a synchronizing ring that is connected through a plurality of drive links to each of the vanes circumferentially spaced in the stator for changing the angle of each of the vanes as scheduled by a control and actuator for optimizing the performance of the compressor and gas turbine engine. The steps for assembling the linkage system and actuator for synchronizing the positions of the stops on the actuator and slider bracket relative to a given position of the stator vanes defines a method for providing a rigless variable vane system.

Claims10

Dependent claims

The method of assembling a rigless variable vane system to a compressor section encased in a gas turbine engine which is independent of a linear actuator and external connections of the system and adjusting the system so that vanes in the compressor section are always in a given position for all positions of the linear actuator including the steps of:

providing a case for the gas turbine engine, the vanes of the compressor section comprising variable area vanes movable to a full opened position in said case;
providing the linear actuator with an adjustable stop to limit the travel thereof;
providing a pumphandle and pumphandle slider bracket and attaching the pumphandle slider bracket to the case;
providing a bellcrank and connecting the pumphandle to the variable area vanes;
providing a stop having a contact surface on the pumphandle slider bracket that engages the pumphandle;
adjusting the pumphandle relative to the stop provided in the next above step so that the variable area vanes are in the full opened position when the pumphandle is in contact with the stop;
connecting the linear actuator to the bellcrank when the variable vanes are in the full opened position;
adjusting the adjustable stop of the linear actuator so that the stop on the linear actuator and the stop on the slider bracket are in synchronous relationship relative to each other;
and
machining the stop directly on the pumphandle slider bracket to assure that the stop on the linear actuator and the stop on the slider bracket are in synchronous relationship relative to each other.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.