Passively controlled inline bleed valves

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11053949-B2
Application number	US-201816054889-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2018
Priority date	Aug 3, 2018
Publication date	Jul 6, 2021
Grant date	Jul 6, 2021

Abstract

A bleed valve includes a housing with an inlet coupled to an outlet by a duct. A guide tube is fixed within the housing between the inlet and the outlet. A piston with a piston orifice is slideably supported on the guide tube and movable between an open position and a closed position. The duct fluidly couples the inlet to the outlet in the open position, the duct fluidly separates the inlet from the outlet in the closed position, and the piston orifice fluidly couples the inlet with the outlet in the open position and the closed position to move piston between the open position and the closed position according to differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the bleed valve. Compressors, gas turbine engines, and methods of controlling fluid flow are also described.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A bleed valve, comprising:
a housing with an inlet, an outlet, and a duct coupling the inlet to the outlet;
a guide tube fixed within the housing between the inlet and the outlet; and
a piston, with a piston orifice, slideably supported on the guide tube and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the duct fluidly couples the inlet to the outlet in the open position, wherein the duct fluidly separates the inlet from the outlet in the closed position, and wherein the piston orifice fluidly couples the inlet with the outlet in the open position and the closed position to move the piston between the open position and the closed position according to differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the bleed valve, further comprising a biasing member seated between the housing and the piston, the biasing member arranged to bias the piston towards the inlet.

2. The bleed valve of claim 1 , wherein the piston orifice has a flow area that is smaller than a flow area of at least one of the inlet and the outlet.

3. The bleed valve of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the inlet and the outlet has a flow area 20 greater than a flow area of the piston orifice by an order of magnitude or greater.

4. The bleed valve of claim 1 , wherein the guide tube has a guide tube orifice in fluid communication with the piston orifice.

5. The bleed valve of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises an inlet portion and an outlet portion, the inlet portion defining the inlet, the outlet portion defining the outlet, and the inlet portion sealably connected to the outlet portion.

6. The bleed valve of claim 1 , wherein the housing has an open seat and a closed seat, the piston seating against the open seat in the open position, the piston seating against the closed seat in the closed position.

7. The bleed valve of claim 1 , further comprising an inner sealing ring disposed between the piston and the housing, the inner sealing ring arranged between the guide tube and the piston.

8. The bleed valve of claim 1 , further comprising an outer sealing ring disposed between the housing and the piston, the outer sealing ring arranged on a side of the piston opposite the guide tube.

9. A compressor, comprising:
a plenum; and
a bleed valve as recited in claim 1 coupled to the plenum, the housing arranged in series between the plenum and an external environment such that the differential pressure between the plenum and a bleed valve outlet passively controls movement of the piston between the open position and an outlet position.

10. A gas turbine engine, comprising:
a compressor with a plenum;
a turbine operably connected to the compressor; and
a bleed valve as recited in claim 1 coupling the plenum with an external environment, wherein flow area of the piston orifice is smaller than flow areas of the inlet and the outlet such that the piston remains in the open position during engine starting and remains in the closed position during engine steady state operation.

11. A bleed valve, comprising:
a housing with an inlet, an outlet, and a duct coupling the inlet to the outlet;
a guide tube fixed within the housing between the inlet and the outlet; and
a piston, with a piston orifice, slideably supported on the guide tube and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the duct fluidly couples the inlet to the outlet in the open position, wherein the duct fluidly separates the inlet from the outlet in the closed position, and wherein the piston orifice fluidly couples the inlet with the outlet in the open position and the closed position to move the piston between the open position and the closed position according to differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the bleed valve wherein the guide tube has a guide tube orifice in fluid communication with the piston orifice, wherein the guide tube orifice is in fluid communication with the outlet when the piston is in both the open position and the closed position, wherein the guide tube orifice is downstream of the piston orifice.

12. The bleed valve of claim 11 , wherein the guide tube orifice is in fluid communication with the inlet when the piston is in both the open position and the closed position.

13. The bleed valve of claim 11 , wherein the guide tube orifice has a flow area that is smaller than a flow area of at least one of the inlet and the outlet.

14. The bleed valve of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the inlet and the outlet has a flow area greater than a flow area of the guide tube orifice by an order of magnitude or greater.

15. A bleed valve, comprising:
a housing with an inlet, an outlet, and a duct coupling the inlet to the outlet;
a guide tube fixed within the housing between the inlet and the outlet; and
a piston, with a piston orifice, slideably supported on the guide tube and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the duct fluidly couples the inlet to the outlet in the open position, wherein the duct fluidly separates the inlet from the outlet in the closed position, and wherein the piston orifice fluidly couples the inlet with the outlet in the open position and the closed position to move the piston between the open position and the closed position according to differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the bleed valve, wherein the piston has a face portion and a skirt portion, the piston face portion opposing the inlet, the skirt portion extending from the face portion towards the outlet, the piston orifice extending through the piston face portion, wherein the face portion is an upstream most portion of the piston.

16. A method of controlling fluid flow through a bleed valve, the bleed valve comprising: a housing with an inlet, an outlet, and a duct coupling the inlet to the outlet; a guide tube fixed within the housing between the inlet and the outlet; and a piston, with a piston orifice, slideably supported on the guide tube and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the duct fluidly couples the inlet to the outlet in the open position, wherein the duct fluidly separates the inlet from the outlet in the closed position, and wherein the piston orifice fluidly couples the inlet with the outlet in the open position and the closed position to move the piston between the open position and the closed position according to differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet of the bleed valve, further comprising a biasing member seated between the housing and the piston, the biasing member arranged to bias the piston towards the inlet, the method comprising: fluidly coupling the inlet to the outlet with the duct by moving the piston to the open position; and fluidly separating the inlet from the outlet by moving the piston to the closed position, wherein the inlet is in fluid communication with the outlet through the piston orifice when the piston is in the open and the closed position.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising passively moving the piston to the closed position when the differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet exceeds a predetermined value.

18. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising passively moving the piston to the open position when the differential in pressure between the inlet and the outlet is below a predetermined value.

19. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising flowing the fluid flow through the bleed valve with the piston in the closed position.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Defelice Robert
• Zawilinski David J
• Simpson Scott W

Classifications

• F01D17/145

  by means of valves, e.g. for steam turbines (valves in general F16K) · CPC title

• F05D2270/3015

  differential pressure · CPC title

• F04D27/0215 Primary

  Arrangements therefor, e.g. bleed or by-pass valves · CPC title

• F05D2270/10

  to cope with, or avoid, compressor flow instabilities · CPC title

• F05D2270/101

  Compressor surge or stall · CPC title