Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines

    公开(公告)号:US11371440B2

    公开(公告)日:2022-06-28

    申请号:US17197311

    申请日:2021-03-10

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. A gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine includes: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.

    High power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

    公开(公告)号:US11143112B2

    公开(公告)日:2021-10-12

    申请号:US17119379

    申请日:2020-12-11

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: An engine for an aircraft comprises an engine core comprising a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox. The gearbox is an epicyclic gearbox and comprises a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The radial bending stiffness of the planet carrier is equal to or greater than 1.20×109 N/m, and/or the tilt stiffness of the planet carrier is greater than or equal to 6.00×108 Nm/rad. A method of operation of such an engine is also disclosed.

    Geared gas turbine engine
    13.
    发明授权

    公开(公告)号:US11022044B1

    公开(公告)日:2021-06-01

    申请号:US16820903

    申请日:2020-03-17

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: A gas turbine engine including: an engine core including turbine, compressor, and core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan; an epicyclic gearbox that: (i) receives input from the core shaft to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, and (ii) includes a sun gear, ring gear, planet carrier, and planet gears; and a gearbox support. The gearbox has a cross sectional area greater than or equal to 2.4×10−1 m2. A first gearbox support strength ratio of: torsional ⁢ ⁢ strength ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ gearbox ⁢ ⁢ support radial ⁢ ⁢ bending ⁢ ⁢ stiffness ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ gearbox ⁢ ⁢ support ⁢ × cross ⁢ ⁢ sectional ⁢ ⁢ area ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ gearbox is greater than or equal to 7.0×10−3; and/or a second gearbox support strength ratio of: torsional ⁢ ⁢ strength ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ gearbox ⁢ ⁢ support tilt ⁢ ⁢ stiffness ⁢ ⁢ of ⁢ ⁢ gearbox ⁢ ⁢ support ⁢ × planet ⁢ ⁢ gear ⁢ ⁢ spacing ⁢ ⁢ angle ( β ) is greater than or equal to 1.0×10−1, where the angle (β) is 2π/N, and N is the number of planet gears.

    High power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

    公开(公告)号:US10851715B1

    公开(公告)日:2020-12-01

    申请号:US16821227

    申请日:2020-03-17

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft including: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan including a plurality of fan blades; a gearbox that receives an input from the core shaft and outputs drive to a fan shaft via an output of the gearbox so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft; and a fan shaft mounting structure arranged to mount the fan shaft within the engine, the fan shaft mounting structure including at least two supporting bearings connected to the fan shaft. A fan-gearbox axial distance is defined as the axial distance between the output of the gearbox and the fan axial centreline, the fan-gearbox axial distance being greater than or equal to 0.35 m.

    High power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

    公开(公告)号:US12221929B2

    公开(公告)日:2025-02-11

    申请号:US18237580

    申请日:2023-08-24

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft includes an engine core with a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine and compressor; a fan upstream of the engine core including a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox that receives an input from a gearbox input shaft portion of the core shaft and outputs drive to a fan shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the core shaft, the gearbox being an epicyclic gearbox including a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier arranged to have the plurality of planet gears mounted thereon, and wherein the sun gear receives input from the core shaft. At cruise conditions the product of the torque on the core shaft and radial bending stiffness or tilt stiffness of the gearbox input shaft portion is within a specified range.

    High-power epicyclic gearbox and operation thereof

    公开(公告)号:US12065975B2

    公开(公告)日:2024-08-20

    申请号:US18130225

    申请日:2023-04-03

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: An engine for an aircraft includes an engine core having a turbine, a compressor, and a core shaft connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan having a plurality of fan blades; and a gearbox. The gearbox is an epicyclic gearbox and comprises a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears, a ring gear, and a planet carrier on which the planet gears are mounted. The radial bending stiffness of the planet carrier is equal to or greater than 1.20×109 N/m, and/or the tilt stiffness of the planet carrier is greater than or equal to 6.00×108 Nm/rad. A method of operation of such an engine is also disclosed.

    Gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines

    公开(公告)号:US11692492B2

    公开(公告)日:2023-07-04

    申请号:US17473181

    申请日:2021-09-13

    Inventor: Mark Spruce

    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to gearboxes for aircraft gas turbine engines, in particular to arrangements for journal bearings such gearboxes, and to related methods of operating such gearboxes and gas turbine engines. Example embodiments include a gearbox for an aircraft gas turbine engine, the gearbox comprising: a sun gear; a plurality of planet gears surrounding and engaged with the sun gear; and a ring gear surrounding and engaged with the plurality of planet gears, each of the plurality of planet gears being rotatably mounted around a pin of a planet gear carrier with a journal bearing having an internal sliding surface on the planet gear and an external sliding surface on the pin.

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