Air-flow circuit for air flow through a bearing enclosure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10830248-B2
Application number	US-201515311045-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2015
Priority date	May 15, 2014
Publication date	Nov 10, 2020
Grant date	Nov 10, 2020

Abstract

An air-flow circuit for air flow through a bearing enclosure of a turbine engine, the air-flow circuit including a supply system arranged such as to supply the air into the bearing enclosure; a discharge system arranged such as to discharge at least some of the air from the bearing enclosure; an oil-removal system connected to the discharge system, the oil-removal system being capable of reducing the amount of lubricant contained in the air coming from the discharge system; and a compressor arranged between the discharge system and the oil-removal system, the compressor being capable of increasing the air pressure at the intake of the oil-removal system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A turbine engine comprising a bearing enclosure, said bearing enclosure being delimited between a rotor rotatably movable about a reference axis and a stator including a bearing bracket to which a bearing laying against said rotor is mounted, said bearing enclosure including a system for feeding lubricant to said bearing and a recovery system for recovering lubricant, said bearing enclosure including an air-flow circuit for an air flow through said bearing enclosure of the turbine engine in which the lubricant can be injected, the air-flow circuit including:
an air supply system arranged to supply air into the bearing enclosure;
a discharge system arranged to discharge at least some of the air-lubricant mixture contained in the bearing enclosure;
an oil-removal system connected to the discharge system, the oil-removal system being capable of separating the lubricant from the air contained in the air-lubricant mixture coming from the discharge system, and
a compressor disposed between the discharge system and the oil-removal system, the compressor being capable of increasing the pressure of the air-lubricant mixture at an intake of the oil-removal system;

a drawing system containing air at atmospheric pressure, the supply system of the air-flow circuit being connected to the drawing system.

2. The turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the oil-removal system generates a head loss, the compressor being capable of compensating for at least some of the head loss generated by the oil-removal system.

3. The turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the compressor is a centrifugal compressor.

4. The turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the compressor is a positive displacement compressor.

5. The turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the compressor includes at least one rotating shaft, the air-flow circuit further including a power transmission system configured to rotatably drive the rotating shaft of the compressor.

6. The turbine engine according to claim 5 , wherein the power transmission system includes an accessory gear box capable of transmitting the movement of a radial shaft of the turbine engine to the rotating shaft of the compressor, the accessory gear box including:
a power take-off member capable of meshing with a radial shaft of the turbine engine; and
at least one kinematic chain capable of transmitting the rotational movement of the power take-off member to the rotating shaft of the compressor, the kinematic chain including a central shaft connected to the power take-off member through a gear, the central shaft being arranged to transmit the movement of the power take-off member to the rotating shaft of the compressor.

7. The turbine engine according to claim 6 , wherein the central shaft includes a distal end, the compressor being attached to the distal end of the central shaft.

Assignees

• Safran Trans Systems

Inventors

• Bauduin Lionel
• Guillemont Maxence
• Viel Julien
• Prunera-Usach Stéphane

Classifications

• F01D25/20 Primary

  using lubrication pumps · CPC title

• F16N31/00

  Means for collecting, retaining, or draining-off lubricant in or on machines or apparatus (oil separators for separating oil from exhaust steam F22G) · CPC title

• F01M1/12

  Closed-circuit lubricating systems not provided for in groups F01M1/02 - F01M1/10 · CPC title

• F01M2013/026

  with pumps sucking air or blow-by gases from the crankcase · CPC title

• F01M2001/126

  Dry-sumps · CPC title