Low compressor having variable vanes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10612410-B2
Application number	US-201314431953-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2013
Priority date	Oct 1, 2012
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

An example gas turbine engine compressor includes a first compressor section. The first compressor section includes a rotating stage that includes rotating blades and a stationary stage upstream thereof that includes stationary guide vanes. The stationary vanes controllably pivot about respective pivot axes for providing flow control into the rotating stage.

First claim

We claim:

1. A gas turbine engine compressor, comprising:
a first compressor section, the first compressor section including:
at least one rotating stage that includes rotating blades and at least one stationary stage upstream thereof that includes stationary guide vanes, which controllably pivot about respective pivot axes for providing flow control into the rotating stage,
wherein the stationary guide vanes are configured to pivot from a first position to a second position to influence the flow, the first position corresponding to a first throat area and the second position corresponding to a second throat area that is between 62 percent and 65 percent of the first throat area, the first position corresponding to a maximum open position of the stationary guide vanes, the second position corresponding to a maximum closed position of the stationary guide vanes.

2. The gas turbine engine compressor of claim 1 , wherein the first compressor section is a low pressure compressor section and the gas turbine engine compressor further comprises a second compressor section that is a high pressure section, wherein the low pressure compressor section experiences lower pressures than the high pressure compressor section during operation.

3. The gas turbine engine compressor of claim 1 , wherein the first compressor section is an axially forwardmost compressor section of a gas turbine engine relative to a direction of flow through the gas turbine engine.

4. The gas turbine engine compressor of claim 1 , wherein the stationary vane stage is the axially forwardmost vane stage of the first compressor section.

5. The gas turbine engine compressor of claim 1 , wherein a first stage of the first compressor section is the stationary stage.

6. A gas turbine engine comprising the compressor of claim 1 , wherein the first compressor section is operatively coupled to a fan drive shaft of a gas turbine engine.

7. The gas turbine engine of claim 6 , wherein the fan drive shaft is operatively coupled to a geared architecture configured to drive a fan of the gas turbine engine at a different rotational speed than a rotational speed of the fan drive shaft.

8. A gas turbine engine comprising the compressor of claim 2 , wherein the low pressure compressor is positioned axially between a fan of a gas turbine engine and a high pressure compressor of the gas turbine engine.

9. The gas turbine engine compressor of claim 1 , wherein the stationary guide vanes are inlet guide vanes.

10. A method of controlling flow into a compressor of a gas turbine engine, wherein the compressor has a first compressor section, the first compressor section including:
at least one rotating stage that includes rotating blades and at least one stationary stage upstream thereof that includes stationary guide vanes, which controllably pivot about respective pivot axes for providing flow control into the at least one rotating stage; the method comprising:
pivoting the stationary guide vanes to influence flow to the rotating blades, the pivoting including pivoting the stationary vanes from a first position to a second position to influence the flow, the first position defining a first throat area in the compressor, the second position corresponding to a second throat area in the compressor that is between 62 percent and 65 percent of the first throat area, the first position corresponding to a maximum open position of the stationary guide vanes, the second position corresponding to a maximum closed position of the stationary guide vanes.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the stationary guide vanes form a portion of a first stage of the compressor.

12. A gas turbine engine, comprising:
a fan including a plurality of fan blades rotatable about an axis;
a compressor section including a first compressor section;
a combustor in fluid communication with the compressor section;
a turbine section in fluid communication with the combustor;
a geared architecture driven by the turbine section for rotating both the fan and the first compressor section about the axis; and
at least one rotating stage that includes rotating blades and at least one stationary stage upstream thereof that includes stationary guide vanes, which controllably pivot about respective pivot axes for providing flow control into the rotation stage,
wherein the first compressor section is a low pressure compressor section and the gas turbine engine further comprises a second compressor section that is a high pressure compressor section,
wherein the low pressure compressor section experiences lower pressures than the high pressure compressor section during operation,
wherein the at least one stationary vane stage is the forwardmost stage of the low pressure compressor section relative to a direction of flow through the gas turbine engine,
wherein the stationary guide vanes are configured to move from a first position to a second position to influence the flow, the first position corresponding to a first compressor section first throat area, the second position corresponding to a first compressor section second throat area that is between 62 percent and 65 percent of the first throat area, the first position corresponding to a maximum open position of the stationary guide vanes, the second position corresponding to a maximum closed position of the stationary guide vanes.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Blake Sean D J
• Tempelman William G
• Teicholz Matthew D
• Gendron John R
• Wojcik Kerri A
• Spiesman Paul H
• Hatch Stewart B
• Daentl Wyatt S
• Bartkowski Glenn D

Classifications

• F01D17/162 Primary

  for axial flow, i.e. the vanes turning around axes which are essentially perpendicular to the rotor centre line (F01D17/167 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2260/4031

  as in toothed gearing · CPC title

• F04D29/563

  specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D27/0246

  by varying geometry within the pumps, e.g. by adjusting vanes · CPC title