Aerodynamically active stiffening feature for gas turbine recuperator

A gas turbine engine comprising:

• a compressor which pressurizes an air flow;
• a combustor receiving the pressurized air flow and which ignites a mixture of fuel and the pressurized air flow to develop an output flow of expanded combustion gasses through one or more turbine sections for generating propulsion;
• a turbine receiving the output flow of expanded combustion gasses from the combustor and extracting energy from the combustion gases;
• and
• a recuperator disposed downstream of the turbine and receiving hot exhaust gasses therefrom, the recuperator comprising a plurality of elongated recuperator plates extending in a longitudinal direction between an upstream end and a downstream end spaced apart along a longitudinal axis, the recuperator plates transversely extending in a transverse direction between a leading edge and a trailing edge, the transverse direction being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the plurality of recuperator plates arranged in a spaced-apart relationship to define therebetween a plurality of interstices directing therethrough at least one first stream of the hot exhaust gasses flowing in the transverse direction and received at the leading edge of the recuperator plates, each of the recuperator plates enclosing at least one fluid channel therein through which at least one second stream of colder compressor airflow, received from the compressor, flows in the longitudinal direction, the recuperator plates effecting heat exchange between the at least one first stream of hot exhaust gasses and the at least one second stream of colder compressor airflow, each of the recuperator plates having at the leading edge thereof a first concavity extending linearly along the leading edge in the longitudinal direction and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the recuperator plate and to the leading edge, the first concavity thereby extending in the transverse direction of the at least one first stream flowing over each said recuperator plate, a cross-sectional profile of the at least one fluid channel having a height relative to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction, the height being non-uniform along the transverse direction and narrowing toward the leading edge.