Actuator with thermal protection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11668251-B2
Application number	US-202117160983-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2021
Priority date	Jan 28, 2021
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

An actuator includes a housing that defines a first inlet to receive a fluid, a second inlet to receive the fluid and a chamber. The actuator includes an actuator rod movably coupled to the housing. The actuator rod includes a head. A first face of the head is responsive to the fluid from the first inlet, and a second face of the head is responsive to the fluid from the second inlet to move the actuator rod. The head defines at least one cross-bore. The actuator includes at least one plug coupled to the cross-bore to inhibit a flow of the fluid through the cross-bore in a first state such that the plug fluidly isolates the fluid from the first inlet from the fluid from the second inlet. The plug is to enable the flow of the fluid through the at least one plug in a second state.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An actuator, comprising:
a housing that defines a first inlet configured to receive a fluid, a second inlet configured to receive the fluid and a chamber fluidly coupled to the first inlet and the second inlet;
an actuator rod movably coupled to the housing, the actuator rod including a head movably disposed in the chamber, the head having a first face opposite a second face, the first face configured to be responsive to the fluid from the first inlet to move the actuator rod relative to the housing, the second face configured to be responsive to the fluid from the second inlet to move the actuator rod relative to the housing, and the head defines at least one cross-bore that extends through the first face and the second face; and
at least one plug coupled to the at least one cross-bore configured to inhibit a flow of the fluid through the at least one cross-bore in a first state such that the at least one plug fluidly isolates the fluid from the first inlet from the fluid from the second inlet within the chamber in the first state, the at least one plug is configured to enable the flow of the fluid through the at least one plug in a second state, the at least one plug defines a central plug bore and a eutectic material is disposed in the central plug bore in the first state, and in the second state, the eutectic material is removed to enable the flow of the fluid through the central plug bore.

2. The actuator of claim 1 , further comprising a first fluid source configured to supply the fluid at a first pressure, a second fluid source configured to supply the fluid at a second pressure, a valve fluidly coupled to the first fluid source, the second fluid source, the first inlet and the second inlet, the valve configured to supply the fluid at one of the first pressure and the second pressure to the first inlet and to supply the fluid at the other of the first pressure and the second pressure to the second inlet, and the second pressure is different than the first pressure.

3. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug transitions from the first state to the second state based on a temperature associated with the actuator rod.

4. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug is offset from a longitudinal axis of the actuator rod.

5. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the at least one plug includes a plug head and a plug shaft, and the plug shaft cooperates with the at least one cross-bore to retain the at least one plug within the at least one cross-bore.

6. The actuator of claim 5 , wherein the plug head is configured to be in contact with the fluid from the first inlet, and the plug shaft is configured to be in contact with the fluid from the second inlet.

7. The actuator of claim 4 , wherein the at least one cross-bore defines a plurality of threads between the first face and the second face, and the at least one plug includes a second plurality of threads to couple the at least one plug to the at least one cross-bore.

8. The actuator of claim 5 , wherein the central plug bore transitions from a first diameter to a second diameter within the plug head, and the second diameter is greater than the first diameter to retain the eutectic material within the central plug bore.

9. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the at least one cross-bore has a first diameter at the first face, a second diameter at the second face, and the second diameter is different than the first diameter to retain the eutectic material within the central plug bore.

10. The actuator of claim 7 , wherein the second plurality of threads are defined on the at least one plug on a portion of the at least one plug that has a diameter that is different than an adjacent portion of the at least one plug.

11. The actuator of claim 9 , wherein the second diameter is less than the first diameter.

12. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the second face includes an annular protrusion that extends axially, and the at least one cross-bore is defined through the first face and extends through the annular protrusion of the second face.

13. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the actuator further comprises a sensor, and the actuator rod includes a shaft coupled to the head, with a central bore defined through the actuator rod from the head toward an end of the shaft, and the sensor is at least partially received within the central bore.

14. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the housing further comprises a drain chamber defined within the housing proximate the chamber that is configured to receive the fluid from the chamber and a drain outlet is fluidly coupled to the drain chamber to drain the fluid from the housing.

15. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the actuator rod includes a shaft coupled to the head, and the shaft includes a flange configured to couple to a component associated with a gas turbine engine.

16. An actuator system for a gas turbine engine, comprising:
a first fluid source that is configured to supply a fluid at a first pressure;
a second fluid source that is configured to supply the fluid at a second pressure, the second pressure different than the first pressure; and
an actuator having a housing that defines a first inlet configured to receive the fluid, a second inlet configured to receive the fluid and a chamber fluidly coupled to the first inlet and the second inlet, the actuator including an actuator rod movably coupled to the housing that extends along a longitudinal axis, the actuator rod including a head movably disposed in the chamber, the head having a first face opposite a second face, the first face configured to be responsive to the fluid from the first inlet to move the actuator rod relative to the housing, the second face configured to be responsive to the fluid from the second inlet to move the actuator rod relative to the housing, and the head defines at least one cross-bore that extends through the first face and the second face, the at least one cross-bore extends along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis, and at least one plug coupled to the at least one cross-bore is configured to inhibit a flow of the fluid through the at least one cross-bore in a first state such that the at least one plug fluidly isolates the fluid from the first inlet from the fluid from the second inlet within the chamber in the first state, the at least one plug is configured to enable the flow of at least one of the fluid through the at least one plug in a second state and the at least one plug transitions from the first state to the second state based on a temperature associated with the actuator rod.

17. The actuator system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one plug includes a plug head, a plug shaft and defines a central plug bore that extends through the at least one plug from the plug head to the plug shaft, a eutectic material is disposed in the central plug bore so as to extend through the central plug bore from the plug head to the plug shaft in the first state, and in the second state, the eutectic material is removed to enable the flow of the fluid through the central plug bore.

18. The actuator system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one cross-bore has a first diameter at the first face, a second diameter at the second face, and the second diameter is less than the first diameter to retain the eutectic material within the central plug bore.

19. The actuator system of claim 17 , wherein the plug head is configured to be in contact with the fluid from the first inlet, the plug shaft is configured to be in contact with the fluid fr

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Parsons Abigail
• Walejewski Charles
• Tillich Sammuel
• Gogola Michael

Classifications

• F15B15/1447

  Pistons; Piston to piston rod assemblies · CPC title

• F05D2220/32

  in gas turbines · CPC title

• F05D2270/64

  Hydraulic actuators · CPC title

• F15B21/042

  Controlling the temperature of the fluid · CPC title

• F01D17/10

  Final actuators (valves in general F16K {; blades with variable camber F01D5/148}) · CPC title