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US 6,733,240 B2Granted
Serrated fan blade
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorPhilip Roger Gliebe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A turbofan engine includes a row of fan blades disposed upstream from a row of stator vanes, and is powered by a core engine. The fan blades are serrated for mixing wakes therefrom to attenuate fan noise.
Claims24
A turbofan engine fan blade comprising:
- an airfoil having opposite pressure and suction sides extending axially between leading and trailing edges and radially between an inner root and an outer tip;
- an integral dovetail joined to said airfoil at a platform disposed at said airfoil root;
- said pressure and suction sides being joined in flow communication by a row of notches extending therebetween for interrupting radial continuity thereof along said trailing edge;
- and
- said notches diverge aft to define therebetween chevrons converging aft in a axial serpentine configuration of said trailing edge, with said chevrons and notches being substantially identical in profile for increasing effective surface area along said trailing edge.
2 more elements
A turbofan rotor blade comprising an airfoil having a serrated trailing edge including a row of notches defining chevrons therebetween, and wherein said chevrons are disposed obliquely with said airfoil.
A turbofan comprising:
- a row of fan blades disposed upstream from a row of stator vanes;
- each of said fan blades including an airfoil having leading and trailing edges;
- said trailing edge is serrated by a row of notches defining chevrons therebetween;
- and
- each of said airfoils includes inboard and outboard portions extending in span from root to tip thereof, and said chevrons are disposed along said inboard portion, with said outboard portion being devoid of said chevrons adjacent said tip.
2 more elements
A turbofan comprising:
- a row of fan blades disposed upstream from a row of deswirling stator vanes surrounding a core engine including a multistage axial compressor;
- each of said blades including an airfoil having opposite pressure and suction sides extending axially between leading and trailing edges and radially between an inner root and an outer tip;
- said airfoil being joined to an integral dovetail at a platform disposed at said airfoil root;
- said airfoil pressure and suction sides being joined together in flow communication by a row of notches extending therebetween for interrupting radial continuity thereof along said trailing edge;
- and
- said notches diverge aft to define therebetween chevrons converging aft in a serpentine configuration of said trailing edge, with said chevrons and notches being substantially identical in profile for increasing effective surface area along said trailing edge.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.