Fan exit guide vane thermal management system for conventional gas turbine engines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12560126-B2
Application number	US-202418744179-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 14, 2024
Priority date	Jun 14, 2024
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A system includes a fan exit guide vane located aft of a rotor fan. The fan exit guide vane defines a first channel for a fluid from a thermal management system and a second channel therein for receiving bleed air from a low-pressure compressor. An inlet connects to a first end of the first channel to receive the fluid. An outlet connected to a second end of the first channel provides a cooled fluid. In a first mode, the fluid passing through the first channel is cooled by air from the rotor fan passing over exit guide vane and is further cooled by the bleed air passing through the second channel. In a second mode, the hot fluid passing through the first channel is cooled only by air from the rotor fan passing over the exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid and bleed air is not provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for cooling a hot fluid from a thermal management system of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
at least one fan exit guide vane located aft of a rotor fan of the gas turbine engine, wherein the at least one fan exit guide vane defines at least one first channel therein for the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine and at least one second channel therein for receiving bleed air from a low-pressure compressor of the gas turbine engine; at least one inlet connected to a first end of the at least one first channel for receiving the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine; at least one outlet connected to a second end of the at least one first channel for providing a cooled fluid to the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine; wherein in a ground idle mode of operation the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane is cooled by air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane and is further cooled by the bleed air passing through the at least one second channel defined by the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid; and wherein in a maximum takeoff mode of operation the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane is cooled only by the air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid and the bleed air is not provided to the at least one second channel.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet are located at a top of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet are located at a bottom of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

4 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:
wherein the at least one fan exit guide vane further defines a plurality of trailing edge channels connected to a trailing edge of the at least one fan exit guide vane; and
wherein the at least one second channel further comprises a plurality of outlets, each of the plurality of outlets associated with one of the plurality of trailing edge channels connected to the trailing edge of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

5 . The system of claim 1 further comprising a dirt rejection apparatus for removing dirt from the bleed air within the at least one second channel.

6 . The system of claim 1 wherein the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane is cooled only by the air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid and the bleed air is not provided to the at least one second channel in a cruising mode of operation of the gas turbine engine.

7 . A method for cooling a hot fluid from a thermal management system of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
receiving the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine through at least one inlet connected to a first end of at least one first channel defined within at least one fan exit guide vane of the gas turbine engine; passing the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine through the at least one first channel defined within the at least one fan exit guide vane located aft of a rotor fan of the gas turbine engine; receiving bleed air from a low-pressure compressor of the gas turbine engine through at least one second channel defined within the at least one fan exit guide vane; cooling the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane by air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane in a ground idle mode of operation to provide a cooled fluid; cooling the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel by the bleed air passing through the at least one second channel defined by the at least one fan exit guide vane in the first ground idle mode of operation to provide the cooled fluid; cooling the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane only by the air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid wherein the bleed air is not provided to the at least one second channel in a maximum takeoff mode of operation; and providing the cooled fluid to the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine via at least one outlet connected to a second end of the at least one first channel.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet are located at a top of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet are located at a bottom of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

10 . The method of claim 7 wherein the step of receiving the bleed air further comprises outputting heated bleed air from the at least one fan exit guide vane via a plurality of trailing edge channels connected to a trailing edge of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

11 . The method of claim 7 further comprises removing dirt from the bleed air within the at least one second channel using a dirt rejection apparatus.

12 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising cooling the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane only by the air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid wherein the bleed air is not provided to the at least one second channel in a cruising mode of operation of the gas turbine engine.

13 . A system for cooling a hot fluid from a thermal management system of a gas turbine engine, comprising:
at least one fan exit guide vane located aft of a rotor fan of the gas turbine engine, wherein the at least one fan exit guide vane defines at least one first channel therein for the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine and at least one second channel therein for receiving bleed air from a low-pressure compressor of the gas turbine engine; at least one inlet connected to a first end of the at least one first channel for receiving the hot fluid from the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine; at least one outlet connected to a second end of the at least one first channel for providing a cooled fluid to the thermal management system of the gas turbine engine; wherein in a ground idle mode of operation of the gas turbine engine the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane is cooled by air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane and is further cooled by the bleed air passing through the at least one second channel defined by the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid; and wherein in at least one of a maximum takeoff mode or cruising mode of operation of the gas turbine engine the hot fluid passing through the at least one first channel within the at least one fan exit guide vane is cooled only by the air from the rotor fan passing over the at least one fan exit guide vane to provide the cooled fluid and the bleed air is not provided to the at least one second channel.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one inlet and the at least one outlet are located at a top of the at least one fan exit guide vane.

15 . The system of claim 1

Assignees

• Rtx Corp

Inventors

• Yazici Murat
• Clark Thomas E

Classifications

• F05D2260/607

  Preventing clogging or obstruction of flow paths by dirt, dust, or foreign particles · CPC title

• F05D2260/232

  characterized by the cooling medium · CPC title

• F05D2260/213

  by the provision of a heat exchanger within the cooling circuit · CPC title

• F05D2260/20

  Heat transfer, e.g. cooling · CPC title

• F04D29/701

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title