Rotatable heat exchanger for a gas turbine engine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12416263-B2
Application number	US-202318310116-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 1, 2023
Priority date	May 1, 2023
Publication date	Sep 16, 2025
Grant date	Sep 16, 2025

Abstract

A rotatable heat exchanger includes a first manifold assembly, a second manifold assembly, and a core extending axially from the first manifold assembly to the second manifold assembly. The first manifold assembly, the core, and the second manifold assembly are formed to mount around and rotate with a shaft. The core includes a plurality of helical passages that extend from the first manifold assembly to the second manifold assembly. The plurality of helical passages includes a plurality of first-fluid passages fluidly coupled to the first manifold assembly and to the second manifold assembly, and a plurality of second-fluid passages fluidly coupled to the first manifold assembly and the second manifold assembly.

First claim

I claim:

1. A gas turbine engine having a shaft coupled to a compressor section and defining a longitudinal axis, a radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, a circumferential direction around the longitudinal axis, and an axial direction extending parallel to the longitudinal axis, the shaft extends circumferentially about the longitudinal axis, the gas turbine engine comprising:
a bearing compartment including a bearing cavity, a buffer cavity, and a seal disposed between the buffer cavity and the bearing cavity;
a first-fluid source providing a first fluid;
a second-fluid source providing a second fluid; and
a rotatable heat exchanger extending circumferentially around and coupled to the shaft, the rotatable heat exchanger having a core including an annular inner casing and a plurality of helical passages extending helically about the annular inner casing, the plurality of helical passages comprising:
a plurality of first-fluid passages fluidly coupled to the first-fluid source, wherein the first fluid flows in a first helical flow direction through the plurality of first-fluid passages; and
a plurality of second-fluid passages fluidly coupled to, in serial flow order, the second-fluid source and to the buffer cavity of the bearing compartment, wherein the second fluid flows in a second helical flow direction;

wherein the rotatable heat exchanger further comprises:
a first manifold assembly disposed at a first end of the core, the first manifold assembly defining a first-fluid inlet manifold having a first-fluid inlet and a second-fluid outlet manifold having a second-fluid outlet, wherein the first-fluid inlet and the second-fluid outlet are each annular and extend around the longitudinal axis and each face in a same axial direction; and
a second manifold assembly disposed at a second end of the core opposite the first end of the core, the second manifold assembly defining a first-fluid outlet manifold having a first-fluid outlet and a second-fluid inlet manifold having a second-fluid inlet.

2. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the first helical flow direction is counter to the second helical flow direction.

3. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the first-fluid source comprises an oil reservoir of the gas turbine engine;
and wherein the second-fluid source comprises the compressor section of the gas turbine engine.

4. The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the first-fluid inlet is radially inward of the second-fluid outlet.

5. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of first-fluid passages fluidly couples the first-fluid inlet manifold to the first-fluid outlet manifold; and
wherein the plurality of second-fluid passages fluidly couples the second-fluid inlet manifold to the second-fluid outlet manifold.

6. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the first manifold assembly comprises a plate positioned to fluidly isolate the first-fluid inlet manifold from the second-fluid outlet manifold, wherein the first manifold assembly further comprises a plurality of tubes arranged in tube sets, wherein each tube set of the plurality of tubes extends through the second-fluid outlet manifold, and wherein each tube set fluidly couples the first-fluid inlet manifold to a respective first-fluid passage of the plurality of first-fluid passages.

7. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the second manifold assembly comprises a plate positioned to fluidly isolate the second-fluid inlet manifold from the first-fluid outlet manifold, wherein the second manifold assembly further comprises a plurality of tubes arranged in tube sets, wherein each tube set extends through the second-fluid inlet manifold and fluidly couples the first-fluid outlet manifold to a respective first-fluid passage of the plurality of first-fluid passages.

8. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the bearing cavity of the bearing compartment is fluidly coupled between the first-fluid outlet manifold and the first-fluid inlet manifold.

9. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , further comprising an additional heat exchanger in thermal communication with the first fluid between the first-fluid outlet manifold and the first-fluid inlet manifold.

10. The gas turbine engine of claim 9 , wherein the first fluid travels in a first-fluid flowpath from the first-fluid source to the first-fluid inlet via a pump, through the plurality of first-fluid passages of the rotatable heat exchanger in the first helical flow direction, out the first-fluid outlet, to a bearing cavity inlet of the bearing compartment, through the bearing cavity to provide cooling to a bearing assembly contained in the bearing cavity, out a bearing cavity outlet, to the additional heat exchanger that cools the first fluid before traveling back to the first-fluid source.

11. The gas turbine engine of claim 10 , wherein the second fluid travels in a second-fluid flowpath from a second-fluid source outlet of the second-fluid source to the second-fluid inlet, through the plurality of second-fluid passages of the rotatable heat exchanger in the second helical flow direction, out the second-fluid outlet, to a buffer cavity inlet of the bearing compartment, through the buffer cavity to provide an air gap and to pressurize the seal between the buffer cavity and the bearing cavity, out a buffer cavity outlet, and back to the second-fluid source via a second-fluid source inlet.

12. The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the second-fluid source outlet is in fluid communication with the compressor section of the gas turbine engine, and wherein the second fluid is a high pressure compressed air from the compressor section.

13. The gas turbine engine of claim 12 , wherein the second-fluid source inlet is in fluid communication with the compressor section and a turbine section of the gas turbine engine.

14. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the buffer cavity of the bearing compartment is fluidly coupled to the second-fluid outlet manifold and wherein the second-fluid inlet manifold is fluidly coupled to the compressor section.

15. The gas turbine engine of claim 4 , wherein the core comprises an outer casing, wherein the plurality of first-fluid passages and the plurality of second-fluid passages are arranged circumferentially about the annular inner casing and radially stacked between the annular inner casing and the outer casing.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Owoeye Eyitayo James

Classifications

• F28D9/04

  the conduits being formed by spirally-wound plates or laminae · CPC title

• F28D7/02

  the conduits being helically coiled (F28D7/10 takes precedence {F28D7/0016 and F28D7/0033 take precedence}) · CPC title

• F28D11/04 Primary

  performed by a tube or a bundle of tubes · CPC title

• F05D2240/50

  Bearings · CPC title

• F05D2260/98

  Lubrication · CPC title