# US 9,435,259 B2 · Gas turbine engine cooling system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,435,259 B2 - Document ID: US9435259B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/405,527 - Filed: 2012-02-27 - Published: 2013-08-29 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - 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/US9435259B2 ## CPC - F02C 6/08: the gas being bled from the gas-turbine compressor - F01D 5/08: Heating, heat-insulating or cooling means {(specially adapted for radial flow machines or engines F01D5/04)} - F02C 7/08: Heating air supply before combustion, e.g. by exhaust gases - 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) ## 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. ## Claims ### Claim 1 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. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly is a tangential onboard injection (TOBI) nozzle. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, comprising a rotor assembly downstream from said nozzle assembly, wherein said rotor assembly is conditioned by said conditioned airflow from said nozzle assembly. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 3, wherein said rotor assembly is a component of a turbine section of the gas turbine engine. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said passageway includes tubing. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said bleed airflow is communicated from a compressor section of the gas turbine engine. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said heat exchanger exchanges heat between said bleed airflow and a fan airflow to render said conditioned airflow. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said plenum includes a plurality of castellations circumferentially disposed about said plenum. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 8, wherein said plurality of castellations divide said plenum into a plurality of passages. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said diffuser case extends radially inwardly from a combustor of the gas turbine engine and divides an interior of a portion of the gas turbine engine into an outer cavity and an inner cavity. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 10, wherein the gas turbine engine excludes a bearing compartment anywhere directly radially inward from said combustor. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, comprising a plurality of castellations radially extending between said outer circumferential wall and said inner circumferential wall to divide said plenum into a plurality of passages. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein the gas turbine engine excludes any bearing compartments located in a space between a first radial plane that extends through a leading edge of a combustor and a second radial plane that extends through a trailing edge of said combustor. ### Claim 14 (depends on 2) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 2, wherein said TOBI nozzle includes a plurality of openings configured to tangentially direct said conditioned airflow to downstream hardware. ### Claim 15 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. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method as recited in claim 15, comprising the step of cooling a rotor assembly of the gas turbine engine with the conditioned airflow. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the step of communicating the conditioned airflow includes: communicating the conditioned airflow along a formed plenum path that extends from a heat exchanger, through a passageway, then through the plenum, and then through the nozzle assembly. ### Claim 18 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. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 18, wherein the gas turbine engine excludes a bearing compartment located at any location that is directly radially inward from said combustor.