Aerodynamic track fairing for a gas turbine engine fan nacelle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10240561-B2
Application number	US-201414776062-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2014
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

A gas turbine engine includes an aerodynamic track fairing adjacent to a convergent-divergent nozzle, the aerodynamic track fairing including a localized curvature along an outside edge. The aerodynamic track fairing is configured to offset a circumferential pressure gradient otherwise introduced in part by a transition between the convergent-divergent nozzle with the aerodynamic track fairing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gas turbine engine comprising:
a convergent-divergent nozzle including an outlet having a trailing edge; and
an aerodynamic track fairing adjacent to said convergent-divergent nozzle, said aerodynamic track fairing defining a compound edge extending aft from the trailing edge, the aerodynamic fairing including an aft portion that extends toward an aft end of said aerodynamic track fairing to define a primary curvature and a forward portion extending between the trailing edge and said aft portion, the forward portion of the compound edge defining a substantially reverse curvature relative to said primary curvature thereby minimizing a pressure gradient between said convergent-divergent nozzle and said aerodynamic track fairing;
wherein a width of the aerodynamic fairing at the forward portion is less than a width of the aerodynamic track fairing at the aft portion.

2. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said aerodynamic track fairing is adjacent to an engine pylon.

3. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 2 , wherein said aft portion defining said reverse curvature extends toward said engine pylon.

4. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said aerodynamic track fairing is adjacent to a Bi-Fi splitter.

5. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 4 , wherein said aft portion defining said reverse curvature extends toward said Bi-Fi splitter.

6. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a thrust reverser system upstream of said aerodynamic track fairing.

7. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said reverse curvature decreases a magnitude of said circumferential pressure gradient to reduce said non-axial component of flow adjacent to said fan nozzle exit plane.

8. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said reverse curvature initiates at the trailing edge of a fan nacelle.

9. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said reverse curvature initiates at the trailing edge of a fan nacelle adjacent said convergent-divergent nozzle.

10. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said primary curvature is convex and said reverse curvature is concave.

11. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein
the convergent-divergent nozzle comprises a convergent portion and a divergent portion;
the convergent portion extends radially inward as the convergent portion extends axially, in a downstream direction, to the divergent portion; and
the divergent portion extends radially outward as the divergent portion extends axially, in the downstream direction, away from the convergent portion.

12. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the convergent-divergent nozzle comprises a convergent-divergent surface that forms an outer peripheral boundary portion of a bypass flowpath.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Zsurka Mark

Classifications

• B64D29/06

  Attaching of nacelles, fairings or cowlings · CPC title

• B64D29/00

  Power-plant nacelles, fairings or cowlings · CPC title

• F05D2240/10

  Stators · CPC title

• F05D2250/712

  concave · CPC title

• F01D5/143

  Contour of the outer or inner working fluid flow path wall, i.e. shroud or hub contour · CPC title