Probe cleaning method and apparatus
AssigneePratt & Whitney Line Maintenance Services, Inc.
InventorsPeter Asplund, Carl-Johan Hjerpe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cleaning apparatus for cleaning measuring probes (18) of a gas turbine engine (1). The invention further relates to a method for cleaning measuring probes (18) of an gas turbine engine (1). The apparatus comprises distribution means (30) comprising a plurality of supply means (31, 32, 33), each comprising connection means (33) arranged for connection to a probe (18), and each supply means (31, 32, 33) being arranged to, when connected to a probe (18), distribute pressurized cleaning liquid to said measuring probe (18), wherein a substantially simultaneous cleaning of probes connected to said distribution means (30) via said supply means (31, 32, 33) can be obtained.
Claims13
A cleaning apparatus for cleaning air passages in measuring probes of a gas turbine engine comprising:
- a distributor body for containing pressurized cleaning liquid;
- a plurality of hoses for delivering the pressurized cleaning liquid from the distributor body to the air passage;
- a plurality of connectors for sealing the plurality of hoses to the measuring probes so that an inlet of each air passage is connected to one of the hoses and the liquid delivered from each hose to each air passage must flow through the air passage to which the hose is connected;
- a plurality of valves for independently controlling flow rates of cleaning liquid through each hose and the air passage connected to that hose;
- a flow meter for sensing the flow through the air passages in each probe;
- and
- a controller to determine when the air passages in the measuring probes are clean by reading the flow rates through each air passage, determining the highest flow rate through any of the air passages, and setting the highest flow rate as the flow rate each air passage must achieve to be clean.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.