Gas turbine engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11840960-B2
Application number	US-202117799004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2021
Priority date	Feb 14, 2020
Publication date	Dec 12, 2023
Grant date	Dec 12, 2023

Abstract

A gas turbine engine including a compressor that compresses air taken in; a combustor that sprays a fuel into the compressed air and combusts the fuel; a turbine rotated by energy of the combustion gas generated by the combustor; a rotating shaft coupling the compressor and the turbine; a rear bearing that is a cageless ball bearing including an inner race, an outer race, and a ball, the inner race being fixed to a portion of the rotating shaft which portion is close to the turbine; a housing to which the rear bearing is attached; and a rear bearing holding member that is interposed between the rear bearing and the housing and holds the outer race of the rear bearing such that the outer race of the rear bearing is movable in an axial direction relative to the housing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A gas turbine engine comprising:
a compressor that compresses air which has been taken in;
a combustor that sprays a fuel to the air compressed by the compressor and combusts the fuel;
a turbine that is rotated by energy of a combustion gas generated by the combustor;
a rotating shaft that couples the compressor and the turbine;
a rear bearing that is a cageless ball bearing including an inner race, an outer race, and a ball, the inner race being fixed to a portion of the rotating shaft which portion is close to the turbine;
a housing to which the rear bearing is attached; and
a rear bearing holding member that is interposed between the rear bearing and the housing, is fixed to the housing, holds the outer race of the rear bearing such that the outer race of the rear bearing is movable in an axial direction relative to the rear bearing holding member, and therefore, holds the outer race of the rear bearing such that the outer race of the rear bearing is movable in the axial direction relative to the housing.

2. The gas turbine engine according to claim 1 , further comprising a front bearing including an inner race, an outer race, and a ball, the inner race being fixed to a portion of the rotating shaft which portion is close to the compressor, the outer race being fixed to the housing so as not to be movable in the axial direction relative to the housing.

3. The gas turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the rear bearing holding member holds the outer race of the rear bearing such that the rear bearing is movable in a radial direction relative to the housing.

4. The gas turbine engine according to claim 3 , wherein a portion of the rear bearing holding member which portion holds the outer race of the rear bearing is movable in the radial direction relative to the housing while attenuating vibration of the rear bearing.

5. The gas turbine engine according to claim 3 , wherein:
the rear bearing holding member includes an elastic member that is elastically deformable in the axial direction and the radial direction relative to the housing; and
the rear bearing holding member holds the rear bearing through the elastic member.

6. The gas turbine engine according to claim 1 , wherein the rear bearing is a ceramic bearing in which the inner race, the outer race, and the ball are made of ceramics or a hybrid bearing in which the inner race and the outer race are made of metal, and the ball is made of ceramics.

7. The gas turbine engine according to claim 1 , further comprising a non-circulation lubricator that injects lubricating oil to the rear bearing.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Okuwa Tatsuya
• Fujii Takafumi
• Arai Atsunori
• Hirota Hayato
• Matsuoka Atsuki

Classifications

• F05D2300/6033

  Ceramic matrix composites [CMC] · CPC title

• F02C7/06 Primary

  Arrangements of bearings (bearings F16C); Lubricating ({of turbo machines F01D25/18; of machines or} engines in general F01M) · CPC title

• F01D25/16

  Arrangement of bearings; Supporting or mounting bearings in casings (bearings per se F16C) · CPC title

• F01D25/18

  Lubricating arrangements (of machines or engines in general F01M) · CPC title

• F05D2220/32

  in gas turbines · CPC title