Gearbox efficiency rating for turbomachine engines
US-11802516-B2 · Oct 31, 2023 · US
Turbine engine having a lubrication system with a gearbox lubrication system parameter
US12448903B1 · US · B1
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-12448903-B1 |
| Application number | US-202418975887-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B1 |
| Filing date | Dec 10, 2024 |
| Priority date | Dec 10, 2024 |
| Publication date | Oct 21, 2025 |
| Grant date | Oct 21, 2025 |
How to read this patent
A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.
- Title
What the patent document calls the invention.
- Abstract
A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.
- Assignees and inventors
Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.
- Key dates
Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.
- First independent claim
The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.
- CPC / IPC classifications
Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.
- Citations and related patents
Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.
Abstract
Official abstract text for this publication.
A turbine engine including a turbo-engine, a gearbox assembly, a propulsor, and a lubrication system. The turbo-engine includes a compressor section, a combustor, a turbine section, and an input shaft. The gearbox assembly includes a first gear, a plurality of second gears, and a third gear. The propulsor has an output shaft drivingly coupled to the input shaft through the gear assembly. The lubrication system is characterized by a Gearbox Lubrication System Parameter (GLSP) between 0.2 and 140 when a mass flow rate of the lubricant is linear with a lubricant pump speed, where the GLSP is given by: ( 1 - η D P ) N D P 3 × V G B X × N S × α d T O C d T D P × P DP P OC × ( N DP N OC ) 2 × 10 8 . The GLSP is between 0.2 and 70 when the mass flow rate of the lubricant is modulated, where the GLSP is given by: ( 1 - η D P ) N D P 3 × V G B X × N S × α d T O C d T D P × P DP P OC × ( N DP N OC ) 2 × 10 8 .
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
The invention claimed is: 1. A turbine engine comprising: a turbo-engine including a compressor section, a combustor, and a turbine section, the turbo-engine having an input shaft that couples the compressor section to the turbine section; a gearbox assembly including a gear assembly having a plurality of gears including a first gear, a plurality of second gears meshing with the first gear, and a third gear meshing with the plurality of second gears; a propulsor having an output shaft drivingly coupled to the input shaft through the gear assembly; and a lubrication system including a lubricant supply that stores lubricant therein, one or more lubricant supply lines, and a lubricant pump for supplying the lubricant to the gearbox assembly from the lubricant supply through the one or more lubricant supply lines at a mass flow rate that is linear with a lubricant pump speed of the lubricant pump, the lubrication system being characterized by a Gearbox Lubrication System Parameter (GLSP) between 0.2 and 140, the GLSP being given by: ( 1 - η DP ) N DP 3 × V GBX × N S × α dT OC dT DP × P DP P OC × ( N DP N OC ) 2 × 10 8 wherein η DP is a gearbox efficiency of the gearbox assembly at a design point operating condition, N DP is an input shaft speed of the input shaft at the design point operating condition, V GBX is a gearbox volume of the gearbox assembly, N S is a number of the plurality of second gears, dT OC /dT DP is a gearbox temperature ratio of a change in a temperature of the lubricant at a particular operating condition to the change in the temperature of the lubricant at the design point operating condition, P DP /P OC is a gearbox power ratio of a power of the output shaft at the design point operating condition to the power of the output shaft at the particular operating condition, and N DP /N OC is a gearbox speed ratio of the input shaft speed at the design point operating condition to the input shaft speed at the particular operating condition. 2. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein η DP is between 99.2% and 99.8%. 3. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein N DP is between 116 Hertz and 167 Hertz. 4. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein V GBX is between 0.009 m 3 and 0.03 m 3 . 5. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein N S is between 4 and 8. 6. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein dT OC /dT DP is between 0.25 and 1. 7. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein P OC /P DP is between 10% and 100%, and P OC /P DP is an inverse of P DP /P OC . 8. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein N OC /N DP is between 50% and 100%, and N OC /N DP is an inverse of N DP /N OC . 9. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein P DP is between 12 megawatts and 30 megawatts. 10. The turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein dT DP is between 25° C. and 50° C. 11. A turbine engine comprising: a turbo-engine including a compressor section, a combustor, and a turbine section, the turbo-engine having an input shaft that couples the compressor section to the turbine section; a gearbox assembly including a gear assembly having a plurality of gears including a first gear, a plurality of second gears meshing with the first gear, and a third gear meshing with the plurality of second gears; a propulsor having an output shaft drivingly coupled to the input shaft through the gear assembly; and a lubrication system including a lubricant supply that stores lubricant therein, one or more lubricant supply lines, and a lubricant pump for supplying the lubricant to the gearbox assembly from the lubricant supply, the lubrication system modulating a mass flow rate of the lubricant to the gearbox assembly, and the lubrication system being characterized by a Gearbox Lubrication System Parameter (GLSP) between 0.2 and 70, the GLSP being given by: ( 1 - η DP ) N DP 3 × V GBX × N S × α dT OC dT DP × P DP P OC × ( N DP N OC ) 2 × 10 8 wherein η DP is a gearbox efficiency of the gearbox assembly at a design point operating condition, N DP is an input shaft speed of the input shaft at the design point operating condition, V GBX is a gearbox volume of the gearbox assembly, N S is a number of the plurality of second gears, dT OC /dT DP is a gearbox temperature ratio of a change in a temperature of the lubricant at a particular operating condition to the change in the temperature of the lubricant at the design point operating condition, a is proportionality between 0.5 and 1.0, P DP /P OC is a gearbox power ratio of a power of the output shaft at the design point operatin
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
with two or more rotors connected by power transmission · CPC title
- F01D25/18Primary
Lubricating arrangements (of machines or engines in general F01M) · CPC title
Power transmission arrangements between the different shafts of the gas turbine plant, or between the gas-turbine plant and the power user ({F02C3/107 - F02C3/13 and} F02C7/32 take precedence; couplings for transmitting rotation F16D; gearing in general F16H) · CPC title
using lubrication pumps · CPC title
Lubrication · CPC title
Patent family
Related publications grouped by family.
External sources
Frequently asked questions
Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.
- What does patent US12448903B1 cover?
- A turbine engine including a turbo-engine, a gearbox assembly, a propulsor, and a lubrication system. The turbo-engine includes a compressor section, a combustor, a turbine section, and an input shaft. The gearbox assembly includes a first gear, a plurality of second gears, and a third gear. The propulsor has an output shaft drivingly coupled to the input shaft through the gear assembly. The lu…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Gen Electric, Ge Avio Srl
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification F01D25/18. Mapped technology areas include Mechanical Engineering.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Oct 21 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B1). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 7 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).