公开(公告)号：US12152542B2

公开(公告)日：2024-11-26

申请号：US18328991

申请日：2023-06-05

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  David M. Beaven ,  Craig W. Bemment ,  Alastair G. Hobday ,  Benjamin J. Keeler ,  Christopher P. Madden ,  Martin K. Yates

IPC: F02C9/40 ,  F02C9/28

Abstract: The present application provides a method of determining one or more fuel characteristics of an aviation fuel suitable for powering a gas turbine engine of an aircraft. The method includes: passing UV-visual spectrum light through the fuel; measuring a transmittance parameter indicating the transmittance of light through the fuel; determining one or more fuel characteristics of the fuel based on the transmittance parameter; and communicating the one or more fuel characteristic to a control module of the gas turbine engine or the aircraft. Also disclosed is a fuel characteristic determination system, a method of operating an aircraft, and an aircraft.

公开(公告)号：US12123362B2

公开(公告)日：2024-10-22

申请号：US18225427

申请日：2023-07-24

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  Christopher P Madden ,  Craig W Bemment

IPC: F02C9/40 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/34

CPC classification number: F02C9/40 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/343 ,  F05D2220/323 ,  F05D2270/08 ,  F05D2270/306 ,  F05D2270/31 ,  F05D2270/71

Abstract: An aircraft has first and second fuel sources containing fuels with different characteristics, and one or more gas turbine engines powered by the fuels and each having a staged combustion system having pilot and main fuel injectors and being operable in pilot-only and pilot-and-main ranges of operation. The gas turbine engines each have a fuel delivery regulator arranged to control fuel delivery to the pilot and main fuel injectors. The method includes: obtaining a proposed mission description; obtaining nvPM impact parameters for the gas turbine engines, the impact parameters being associated with each operating condition of the proposed mission; calculating an optimised set of one or more fuel characteristics for each flight condition of the proposed flight defined in the flight description based on the nvPM impact parameters; and determining a fuel allocation based on the optimised set of one or more fuel characteristics.

公开(公告)号：US12098684B2

公开(公告)日：2024-09-24

申请号：US18098433

申请日：2023-01-18

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  Christopher P Madden ,  Craig W Bemment

IPC: F02C9/40 ,  F02C9/28

CPC classification number: F02C9/40 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F05D2220/323 ,  F05D2220/80 ,  F05D2270/306 ,  F05D2270/31

Abstract: A aircraft gas turbine engine and operation method, the engine including: a staged combustion system having pilot and main fuel injectors, and operates in a pilot-only range wherein fuel delivers to pilot fuel injectors, and a pilot-and-main operation range wherein fuel is delivered to at least the main fuel injectors. The engine further includes a fuel delivery regulator to pilot and main fuel injectors, which receives fuel from a first and second source containing fuels each with different characteristics. The staged combustion system switches between pilot-only and pilot-and-main range operation when in steady cruise mode, the mode defining a boundary between first and second engine cruise operation range. The fuel delivery regulator delivers fuel to pilot fuel injectors during at least part of the first engine cruise operation with different fuel characteristics from fuel delivered to one or both pilot and main fuel injectors the second engine cruise operation range.

公开(公告)号：US12085029B2

公开(公告)日：2024-09-10

申请号：US18084083

申请日：2022-12-19

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  Craig W Bemment ,  Alastair G Hobday ,  Benjamin J Keeler ,  Christopher P Madden

IPC: F02C9/40 ,  F01D21/00 ,  F02C9/28

CPC classification number: F02C9/40 ,  F01D21/003 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F05D2220/323 ,  F05D2260/83 ,  F05D2270/07 ,  F05D2270/71

Abstract: A method of operating an aircraft that includes a propulsion system. The propulsion system includes a gas turbine engine and a fuel tank arranged to provide fuel to the gas turbine engine. The method includes: determining at least one fuel characteristic of the fuel arranged to be provided to the gas turbine engine; and controlling the propulsion system based on the at least one fuel characteristic.

公开(公告)号：US12060838B2

公开(公告)日：2024-08-13

申请号：US18099490

申请日：2023-01-20

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE PLC

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  David M Beaven ,  Craig W Bemment ,  Alastair G Hobday ,  Benjamin J Keeler ,  Christopher P Madden ,  Martin K Yates

IPC: G01N21/33 ,  B64D27/10 ,  B64D47/00 ,  F02C9/00 ,  G01N21/3577 ,  G01N21/64 ,  G01N33/28 ,  B64D37/00 ,  G01N21/35

CPC classification number: F02C9/00 ,  B64D27/10 ,  B64D47/00 ,  G01N21/33 ,  G01N21/3577 ,  G01N21/64 ,  G01N33/287 ,  B64D37/00 ,  G01N2021/3595

Abstract: A method of generating a maintenance schedule for an aircraft including one or more gas turbine engines powered by an aviation fuel. The method includes: determining one or more fuel characteristics of the fuel; and generating a maintenance schedule according to the one or more fuel characteristics. Also disclosed is a method of maintaining an aircraft, a maintenance schedule generation system and an aircraft.

公开(公告)号：US12044177B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-23

申请号：US18337636

申请日：2023-06-20

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Craig W Bemment ,  Alastair G Hobday ,  Benjamin J Keeler ,  Christopher P Madden ,  Andrea Minelli ,  Andrew T Smith ,  Peter Swann ,  Martin K Yates

IPC: F02C7/224 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/28

CPC classification number: F02C7/224 ,  F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/28 ,  F05D2260/221

Abstract: A method of operating a gas turbine engine is disclosed, the gas turbine engine comprising a combustor arranged to combust a fuel; and a fuel management system arranged to provide the fuel to the combustor. The fuel management system comprises two fuel-oil heat exchangers through which oil and the fuel flow, the heat exchangers arranged to transfer heat to the fuel and comprising a primary fuel-oil heat exchanger and a secondary fuel-oil heat exchanger; and a fuel pump arranged to deliver the fuel to the combustor, wherein the fuel pump is located between the two heat exchangers. The method comprises controlling the fuel management system so as to transfer between 200 and 600 kJ/m3 of heat to the fuel from the oil in the primary fuel-oil heat exchanger at cruise conditions.

公开(公告)号：US12031493B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-09

申请号：US18162949

申请日：2023-02-01

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann

IPC: F02C9/40 ,  F02C7/22

CPC classification number: F02C9/40 ,  F02C7/22 ,  F05D2220/323 ,  F05D2270/053 ,  F05D2270/08 ,  F05D2270/303

Abstract: A system has first and second fuel stores for first and second fuels, an engine, a fuel distribution system, first and second flow rates of the fuel contributing to a total flow rate of fuel; and a controller for controlling the relative fractions of the total flow rate of fuel to the engine according to the required power output of the engine such that the relative fraction of the total flow rate of fuel to the engine represented by the second flow rate increases with increasing required power output of the engine. The fuels are selected such that using only the second fuel results in a lower engine temperature than using only the first fuel, for the same mechanical power and/or the second fuel has a lower specific energy than the first and/or the second fuel produces more water during combustion than the first fuel per unit of fuel energy.

公开(公告)号：US11821373B2

公开(公告)日：2023-11-21

申请号：US18053124

申请日：2022-11-07

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Christopher P. Madden ,  Peter Swann

IPC: F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/34 ,  F02C3/30 ,  F02C9/26 ,  F02C9/40

CPC classification number: F02C9/28 ,  F02C3/30 ,  F23R3/346 ,  F02C9/263 ,  F02C9/40 ,  F05D2270/08 ,  F05D2270/804

Abstract: A gas turbine engine for an aircraft. The gas turbine comprises a staged combustion system having pilot injectors and main injectors, a fuel metering system configured to control fuel flow to the pilot injectors and the main injectors, and a fuel system controller. The controller is configured to identify an atmospheric condition, determine a ratio of pilot fuel flow rate for the pilot injectors to main fuel flow rate for the main injectors in response to the atmospheric condition, and inject fuel by the pilot injectors and the main injectors in accordance with said ratio to control an index of soot emissions caused by combustion of fuel therein.

公开(公告)号：US11643978B2

公开(公告)日：2023-05-09

申请号：US17570433

申请日：2022-01-07

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  Christopher P Madden

IPC: F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/34 ,  F02C7/22

CPC classification number: F02C9/28 ,  F23R3/343 ,  F02C7/22 ,  F05D2220/323 ,  F05D2270/07 ,  F05D2270/13 ,  F05D2270/303 ,  F05D2270/311 ,  F05D2270/313 ,  F05D2270/335

Abstract: An aircraft including lean-burn gas turbine engines operating in pilot-plus-mains mode with a given initial fuel flow W0, a method of controlling the optical depth of contrails produced by a first group of engines includes the steps of (i) reducing fuel flow to each engine in the first group to change the operation of each engine from pilot-plus-mains mode to pilot-only mode, and (ii) adjusting fuel flow to one or more engines in a second group of engines such that the total fuel flow to engines of the second group is increased, all engines of the second group remaining in pilot-plus-mains mode, and wherein the set of lean-burn engines consists of the first and second groups. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the average optical depth of contrails produced by the engines may be enhanced or reduced compared to when all engines operate in pilot-plus-mains mode with a fuel flow W0.

公开(公告)号：US11585278B1

公开(公告)日：2023-02-21

申请号：US17853144

申请日：2022-06-29

Applicant: ROLLS-ROYCE plc

Inventor： Peter Swann ,  David M Beaven ,  Craig W Bemment ,  Alastair G Hobday ,  Benjamin J Keeler ,  Christopher P Madden ,  Martin K Yates

IPC: G01N21/35 ,  F02C9/00 ,  B64D27/10 ,  B64D47/00 ,  G01N33/28 ,  G01N21/64 ,  G01N21/33 ,  G01N21/3577 ,  B64D37/00

Abstract: A method of determining one or more fuel characteristics of an aviation fuel for powering a gas turbine engine of an aircraft includes: measuring one or more trace substance parameters of the fuel, the one or more trace substance parameters each associated with a respective trace substance in the fuel; and determining one or more fuel characteristics of the fuel based on the one or more trace substance parameters. Further, a fuel characteristic determination system, a method of operating an aircraft, and an aircraft.