Gas turbine engine cooling system
AssigneeUnited Technologies Corporation
InventorsGabriel L. Suciu, Ioannis Alvanos
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas turbine engine includes a heat exchanger, a diffuser case, a passageway and a nozzle assembly. The heat exchanger exchanges heat with a bleed airflow to provide a conditioned airflow. The diffuser case includes a plenum that receives the conditioned airflow. The passageway is fluidly connected between the heat exchanger and the diffuser case, and the conditioned airflow is communicated through the passageway and into the plenum. The nozzle assembly is in fluid communication with the plenum of the diffuser case to receive the conditioned airflow from the plenum.
Claims19
A gas turbine engine, comprising:
- a heat exchanger that exchanges heat with a bleed airflow to provide a conditioned airflow;
- a diffuser case having a plenum disposed inside said diffuser case that receives said conditioned airflow, said diffuser case including an outer circumferential wall and an inner circumferential wall that is circumscribed by said outer circumferential wall, said plenum extends radially from said outer circumferential wall to said inner circumferential wall, and said plenum extends along an entire axial length of said diffuser case;
- a passageway fluidly connected between said heat exchanger and said diffuser case, wherein said conditioned airflow is communicated through said passageway and into said plenum;
- and
- a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with said plenum of said diffuser case to receive said conditioned airflow from said plenum.
A method of conditioning a portion of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
- removing heat from a bleed airflow to render a conditioned airflow;
- communicating the conditioned airflow through a plenum disposed inside a diffuser case, the diffuser case including an outer circumferential wall and an inner circumferential wall that is circumscribed by the outer circumferential wall, the plenum extends radially from the outer circumferential wall to the inner circumferential wall, and said plenum extends along an entire axial length of said diffuser case;
- and
- feeding the conditioned airflow through a nozzle assembly to a downstream location of the gas turbine engine.
A gas turbine engine, comprising:
- a compressor section;
- a turbine section downstream from said compressor section;
- a combustor section positioned between said compressor section and said turbine section;
- and a cooled cooling air system that includes a heat exchanger, a diffuser case and a nozzle assembly, said diffuser case including an outer circumferential wall and an inner circumferential wall that is circumscribed by said outer circumferential wall, and a plenum is disposed inside said diffuser case and extends radially from said outer circumferential wall to said inner circumferential wall, wherein said plenum extends along an entire axial length of said diffuser case, and wherein said cooled cooling air system establishes a formed plenum path that extends from said heat exchanger, through an inside of said plenum and then through said nozzle assembly to condition hardware of said turbine section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.