CORE DIFFUSER FOR DEOILER/BREATHER
First Claim
1. A breather assembly for use with a gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising:
- a static housing for accepting a fluidic mixture of substances;
a rotatable separator having one or more fluid inlets and arranged about an axis of rotation;
an exhaust outlet defined in the housing and positioned coaxially with the rotatable separator, wherein the exhaust outlet accepts fluidic exhaust from the rotatable separator; and
a static diffuser supported by the housing at or near the exhaust outlet downstream from the rotatable separator, wherein a portion of the static diffuser extends within the rotatable separator, the static diffuser including a flow-straightening structure configured to reduce vortex flows in fluid flows passing through the exhaust outlet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A breather assembly for use with a gas turbine engine includes a static housing for accepting a fluidic mixture of substances, a rotatable separator having one or more fluid inlets and arranged about an axis of rotation, an exhaust outlet defined in the housing and positioned coaxially with the rotatable separator to accept fluidic exhaust from the rotatable separator, and a static diffuser supported by the housing at or near the exhaust outlet downstream from the rotatable separator. A portion of the static diffuser extends within the rotatable separator. The static diffuser includes a flow-straightening structure configured to reduce vortex flows in fluid flows passing through the exhaust outlet.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A breather assembly for use with a gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising:
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a static housing for accepting a fluidic mixture of substances; a rotatable separator having one or more fluid inlets and arranged about an axis of rotation; an exhaust outlet defined in the housing and positioned coaxially with the rotatable separator, wherein the exhaust outlet accepts fluidic exhaust from the rotatable separator; and a static diffuser supported by the housing at or near the exhaust outlet downstream from the rotatable separator, wherein a portion of the static diffuser extends within the rotatable separator, the static diffuser including a flow-straightening structure configured to reduce vortex flows in fluid flows passing through the exhaust outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for reducing adiabatic condensation of oil in gas turbine engine exhaust streams containing an oil and air mixture, the method comprising:
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directing a fluid to a rotating separator assembly; separating oil from the fluid within the rotating separator assembly to produce a remaining portion of the fluid; directing the remaining portion of the fluid radially inward from the rotating separator assembly to a static diffuser assembly; and converting rotational momentum of the remaining portion of the fluid into axial movement with the static diffuser assembly to reduce vortex formation in the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A gas turbine engine assembly comprising:
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a housing; one or more inlets defined in the housing for accepting a fluidic mixture of oil and air, wherein at least one of the one or more inlets has a generally tangential orientation to impart circumferential rotational motion to the fluidic mixture of oil and air entering the housing; a rotatable oil separator having one or more fluid inlets and arranged about an axis of rotation to accept the fluidic mixture of oil and air; a breather outlet defined in the housing and positioned coaxially with the rotatable oil separator, wherein the breather outlet accepts fluidic output from the rotatable oil separator after oil has been removed from the fluidic mixture; and a static diffuser supported by the housing in a cantilevered configuration and in fluid communication with both the breather outlet and the rotatable oil separator, the static diffuser comprising; a substantially cylindrical support tube; a plurality of diffuser stage plates supported by the support tube; and a plurality of flow straightening passages defined in each diffuser stage plate, wherein each flow straightening passage is configured to redirect fluid flow from a generally radial direction to a generally axial direction to reduce vortex flows. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification