Compartment cooling for a gas turbine engine

• US 9,200,569 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2011
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rtx Corporation
• Original Assignee: United Technologies Corporation (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Suciu, Gabriel L., Marry, Brian D., McCune, Michael E., Dye, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wongwian, Phutthiwat
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera, Carlos A
• Application Number:
  US13/278,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20130098047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,502 Days
• Field of Search: 60/390.8, 60/398.3, 608/02, 607/82, 607/85, 602/261, 602/62, 184/6.11, 244/58
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/08 the gas being bled from the gas-turbine compressor
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/08 Heating air supply before combustion, e.g. by exhaust gases
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/14 of fluids in the plant , e.g. lubricant or fuel F02C7/185 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 7/32 Arrangement, mounting, or driving, of auxiliaries
• CPC Class Codes: F02K 3/115 by means of indirect heat exchange
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/213 by the provision of a heat exchanger within the cooling circuit
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A gas turbine engine includes a first pump driven by a spool, an air-oil cooler downstream of the first pump. A second pump driven by the spool and an air-air precooler downstream of the second pump, the air-air precooler downstream of the air-oil cooler. A compartment is downstream of the precooler to receive a cooling air from the precooler.

Claims

1. A gas turbine engine comprising:

a spool;

a first pump driven by said spool;

an air-oil cooler downstream of said first pump;

a second pump driven by said spool, wherein said first pump and said second pump are driven by said spool through a constant speed transmission;

an air-air precooler downstream of said second pump, said air-air precooler downstream of said air-oil cooler; and

a compartment downstream of said precooler to receive a cooling air from said air-air precooler.

2. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said compartment is a bearing compartment.

3. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said compartment is adjacent to a turbine section.

4. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said cooling air is at approximately 50 psi.

5. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said cooling air is less than 450 F.

6. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said spool is a low spool.

7. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said precooler ejects a hot air into an annular bypass flow path to provide thrust recovery.

8. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said constant speed transmission is driven by a towershaft geared to said spool.

9. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said spool operates at speed excursions of up to 80% between a first operating condition and a second operating condition.

10. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said spool drives a fan through a geared architecture.

11. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said compartment is within a mid-turbine frame.

12. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 11, wherein said cooling air is communicated through tubing external to an engine case to said compartment.

13. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1, wherein said first pump and said second pump are in fluid communication with an annular fan bypass.

14. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 13, wherein said air-air precooler exhausts into said annular fan bypass to provide thrust recovery.

15. A method of thermal control for a gas turbine engine comprising:

selectively communicating either a fan bypass flow from an annular bypass flow path or a bleed flow from a low pressure compressor to an Air-Oil Cooler and an Air-Air PreCooler, the Air-Air PreCooler immediately downstream of the Air-Oil Cooler, wherein the Air-Oil Cooler is downstream of a first pump and the Air-Air PreCooler is downstream of a second pump and the first pump and the second pump are driven by a spool through a constant speed transmission; and

communicating a cooling air from the Air-Air Precooler to a compartment downstream of the Air-Air Precooler.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising pumping from the fan bypass flow.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising pumping the bleed flow.

18. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising communicating the cooling air through tubing external to an engine case.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising exhausting the air-air precooler into the annular bypass flow path to provide thrust recovery.