Propulsion system for an aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12540560-B2
Application number	US-202418739778-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2024
Priority date	Jun 30, 2017
Publication date	Feb 3, 2026
Grant date	Feb 3, 2026

Abstract

A hybrid-electric propulsion system includes a propulsor, a turbomachine, and an electrical system having an electric machine coupled to the turbomachine. A method for operating the propulsion system includes operating, by one or more computing devices, the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft; receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor; and providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for operating a turbomachine of a hybrid-electric propulsion system of an aircraft, the hybrid-electric propulsion system comprising a propulsor, a turbomachine, and an electrical system having an electric machine coupled to the turbomachine, the method comprising:
operating, by one or more computing devices, the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft; receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor, and receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of a temperature of the electric machine; providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust; and terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine in response to receiving the data indicative of the temperature of the electric machine.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust comprises receiving data indicative of an un-commanded increased vibration of one or more components of the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both, wherein the data indicative of the un-commanded increased vibration includes at least one of receiving data indicative of a vibration of the propulsor being above a predetermined threshold, a vibration of a low pressure compressor of the turbomachine being above a predetermined threshold, a vibration of one or more support members within the turbomachine being above a predetermined threshold, or a combination thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust comprises providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both in response to receiving the data indicative of the un-commanded loss of thrust to make up for the un-commanded loss of thrust.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrical system further comprises an electric energy storage unit, and wherein providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine comprises providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine from the electric energy storage unit.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the turbomachine is a first turbomachine, wherein the electric machine is a first electric machine, wherein the hybrid-electric propulsion system further comprises a second turbomachine, wherein the electrical system further comprises a second electric machine coupled to the second turbomachine, and wherein providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine comprises providing, by the one or more computing devices, generated electrical power to the first electric machine from the second electric machine.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of the un-commanded loss of the thrust comprises receiving, by one or more computing devices, data indicative of an un-commanded reduced pressure within the turbomachine.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine to add mechanical power to the turbomachine, the propulsor, or both.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of a restoration of engine operability equal to the engine operability prior to the un-commanded loss of thrust, and wherein terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine comprises terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine in response to receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of the restoration of engine operability.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of the restoration of engine operability equal to the engine operability prior to the un-commanded loss of thrust comprises receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of a restoration of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor, and wherein the data indicative of the restoration of the thrust comprises data indicative of an operability parameter of the turbomachine being within a certain operability range.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of the restoration of engine operability equal to the engine operability prior to the un-commanded loss of thrust comprises receiving, by the one or more computing devices, data indicative of a restoration of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor, and wherein the data indicative of the restoration of the thrust comprises data indicative of at least one of a rotational speed of the turbomachine being above a determined threshold or a pressure within the turbomachine being above a determined threshold.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine comprises transferring, by one or more computing devices, at least ten amps of electrical power to the electric machine.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine comprises providing, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power to the electric machine such that the electric machine provides at least fifteen horsepower of mechanical power to the turbomachine.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein operating, by the one or more computing devices, the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft comprises extracting, by the one or more computing devices, electrical power from the electric machine.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein terminating, by the one or more computing devices, the provision of electrical power to the electric machine in response to receiving the data indicative of the temperature of the electric machine comprises terminating the provision of electrical power when the temperature is at a temperature threshold.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data indicative of an un-commanded loss of thrust includes data indicating that the loss of thrust is a partial or temporary loss of thrust.

16 . A hybrid-electric propulsion system for an aircraft comprising:
a propulsor; a turbomachine coupled to the propulsor for driving the propulsor and generating thrust; an electrical system comprising an electric machine, the electric machine coupled to the turbomachine; and a controller configured for:
operating the turbomachine to rotate the propulsor and generate thrust for the aircraft;
receiving data indicative of an un-commanded loss of the thrust generated from the turbomachine rotating the propulsor and receiving data indicative of a temperature of the electric machine;
providing electrical power

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Gansler Michael Thomas
• Hon Robert Charles

Classifications

• B64D27/31

  within, or attached to, wings · CPC title

• B64D27/026

  comprising different types of power plants, e.g. combination of a piston engine and a gas-turbine (Hybrid electric aircraft B64D27/33) · CPC title

• B60L2200/10

  Air crafts · CPC title

• G05D1/854

  in response to motor or actuator failures · CPC title

• G05D1/0072

  to counteract a motor failure · CPC title