# US 9,038,398 B2 · Gas turbine engine buffer cooling system

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- Number: US 9,038,398 B2
- Document ID: US9038398B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/405,466
- Filed: 2012-02-27
- Published: 2013-08-29
- Granted: 2015-05-26
- Earliest claimed: 2012-02-27
- Assignees: United Technologies Corporation
- Applicants: Gabriel L. Suciu; Ioannis Alvanos
- Inventors: Gabriel L. Suciu; Ioannis Alvanos
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9038398B2

## CPC

- F02C 7/185: {Cooling means for reducing the temperature of the cooling air or gas}
- F01D 5/081: {Cooling fluid being directed on the side of the rotor disc or at the roots of the blades (F01D5/087 takes precedence)}
- F01D 25/125: {of bearings}
- F02C 6/08: the gas being bled from the gas-turbine compressor
- F02C 7/06: Arrangements of bearings (bearings F16C); Lubricating ({of turbo machines F01D25/18; of machines or} engines in general F01M)
- F05D 2220/32: in gas turbines
- F05D 2260/232: characterized by the cooling medium
- F02C: GAS-TURBINE PLANTS; AIR INTAKES FOR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS; CONTROLLING FUEL SUPPLY IN AIR-BREATHING JET-PROPULSION PLANTS (construction of turbines F01D; jet-propulsion plants F02K; construction of compressors or fans F04; generating combustion products of high pressure or high velocity F23R; using gas turbines in compression refrigeration plants F25B11/00)
- F01D: NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAM TURBINES (machines or engines for liquids F03; non-positive displacement pumps F04D)
- F05D: INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TO NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES OR JET-PROPULSION PLANTS

## Abstract

A gas turbine engine includes a heat exchanger, a bearing compartment, and a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with the bearing compartment. The heat exchanger exchanges heat with a bleed airflow to provide a conditioned airflow. The bearing compartment is in fluid communication with the heat exchanger. A first passageway communicates the conditioned airflow from the heat exchanger to the bearing compartment. A second passageway communicates the conditioned airflow from the bearing compartment to the nozzle assembly.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A gas turbine engine, comprising:
a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section circumferentially disposed about an engine centerline axis;
a buffer cooling system that establishes a buffer cooled cooling air path that conditions a part of at least one of said compressor section and said turbine section, wherein said buffer cooling system includes a heat exchanger, a passageway and a nozzle assembly, and said buffer cooled cooling air path extends from said heat exchanger, through said passageway, and then through said nozzle assembly to condition hardware of at least one of said compressor section and said turbine section; and
a second nozzle assembly, wherein a first portion of a conditioned airflow of said buffer cooled cooling air path is communicated through said nozzle assembly to condition said turbine section and a second portion of said conditioned airflow is communicated through said second nozzle assembly to condition said compressor section.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said hardware includes a rotor assembly.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly is a tangential onboard injection (TOBI) nozzle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, comprising a bearing compartment, wherein said buffer cooled cooling air path extends through a portion of said bearing compartment between said passageway and said nozzle assembly.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 4, wherein said buffer cooled cooling air path communicates a conditioned airflow radially outwardly from a bearing housing of said bearing compartment.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said heat exchanger exchanges heat between a bleed airflow and a fan airflow to render a conditioned airflow that is communicated along said buffer cooled cooling air path.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said first portion of said conditioned airflow is communicated downstream through said passageway and said second portion is communicated upstream through a second, different passageway.