Gearbox assembly with lubricant extraction volume ratio

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025122842-A1
Application number	US-202418990617-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 20, 2024
Priority date	Jun 22, 2022
Publication date	Apr 17, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A gearbox assembly includes a gearbox and a gutter for collecting a gearbox lubricant scavenge flow from the gearbox. The gutter is characterized by a lubricant extraction volume ratio between 0.01 and 0.3, inclusive of the endpoints. The lubricant extraction volume ratio defined by: VG/VGB. VG is a gutter volume of the gutter and VGB is a gearbox volume. A gas turbine engine includes the gearbox assembly. The gas turbine engine includes an electric power system including at least one electric machine. The electric power system includes a plurality of power converters and a plurality of power distribution management units. At least two of the plurality of power converters or the plurality of power distribution management units are integrated together in a single housing.

First claim

1 . A gas turbine engine comprising:
a fan, a compressor section, a turbine section that includes a rotating shaft, and a combustion section in flow communication with the compressor section and the turbine section; an engine static structure; an electric power system comprising:
at least one electric machine drivingly coupled to the rotating shaft and generating electricity as a first type of current;
a plurality of power converters electrically coupled with the at least one electric machine, the plurality of power converters converting the electricity as the first type of current from the at least one electric machine to a second type of current; and
a plurality of power distribution management units electrically coupled with the plurality of power converters, the plurality of power distribution management units supplying the electricity as the second type of current to at least one of the gas turbine engine or one or more aircraft systems of an aircraft, wherein at least two of the plurality of power converters or the plurality of power distribution management units are integrated together in a single housing; and
a gearbox assembly comprising:
a gearbox having a gearbox volume defined by an outer diameter of the gearbox and a gearbox length of the gearbox; and
a gutter for collecting a gearbox lubricant scavenge flow from the gearbox, the gutter having a gutter volume defined by an inner surface of a gutter wall of the gutter and being characterized by a lubricant extraction volume ratio between 0.01 and 0.3, inclusive of the endpoints, the lubricant extraction volume ratio defined by:
V G /V GB ,

wherein V G is the gutter volume of the gutter and V GB is the gearbox volume.

2 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of power converters is integrated together with the at least one electric machine in a power converter housing.

3 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a plurality of low-pressure power converters thermally coupled together by a first power converter cold plate that cools the plurality of low-pressure power converters.

4 . The gas turbine engine of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a plurality of high-pressure power converters thermally coupled together by a second power converter cold plate that cools the plurality of high-pressure power converters.

5 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the rotating shaft is a low-pressure shaft, the turbine section includes a high-pressure shaft, and the at least one electric machine includes a low-pressure electric machine drivingly coupled to the low-pressure shaft and a high-pressure electric machine drivingly coupled to the high-pressure shaft.

6 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a plurality of low-pressure power converters integrated together with the low-pressure electric machine in a low-pressure power converter housing.

7 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a plurality of high-pressure power converters integrated together with the high-pressure electric machine in a high-pressure power converter housing.

8 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of power distribution management units includes a first power distribution management unit and a second power distribution management unit that are integrated together in a power distribution management unit housing.

9 . The gas turbine engine of claim 8 , wherein the first power distribution management unit is thermally coupled with the second power distribution management unit via a power distribution management unit cold plate that cools the first power distribution management unit and the second power distribution management unit.

10 . The gas turbine engine of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the plurality of power converters is integrated together with the plurality of power distribution management units in the power distribution management unit housing.

11 . The gas turbine engine of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a first low-pressure power converter and a first high-pressure power converter thermally coupled together by a first power converter cold plate.

12 . The gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of power converters includes a second low-pressure power converter and a second high-pressure power converter thermally coupled together by a second power converter cold plate.

13 . A gas turbine engine comprising:
a fan, a compressor section, a turbine section that includes a low-pressure shaft and a high-pressure shaft, and a combustion section in flow communication with the compressor section and the turbine section; an engine static structure; an electric power system comprising:
a low-pressure electric machine drivingly coupled to the low-pressure shaft and generating electricity as a first type of current;
a high-pressure electric machine drivingly coupled to the high-pressure shaft and generating electricity as the first type of current;
a plurality of low-pressure power converters electrically coupled with the low-pressure electric machine, the plurality of low-pressure power converters converting the electricity as the first type of current from the low-pressure electric machine to a second type of current;
a plurality of high-pressure power converters electrically coupled with the high-pressure electric machine, the plurality of high-pressure power converters converting the electricity as the first type of current from the high-pressure electric machine to the second type of current; and
a plurality of power distribution management units electrically coupled with the plurality of low-pressure power converters and the plurality of high-pressure power converters, the plurality of power distribution management units supplying the electricity as the second type of current to at least one of the gas turbine engine or one or more aircraft systems of an aircraft, wherein the plurality of power distribution management units includes a first power distribution management unit and a second power distribution management unit that are integrated together in a power distribution management unit housing; and
a gearbox assembly comprising:
a gearbox having a gearbox volume defined by an outer diameter of the gearbox and a gearbox length of the gearbox; and
a gutter for collecting a gearbox lubricant scavenge flow from the gearbox, the gutter having a gutter volume defined by an inner surface of a gutter wall of the gutter and being characterized by a lubricant extraction volume ratio between 0.01 and 0.3, inclusive of the endpoints, the lubricant extraction volume ratio defined by:
V G /V GB ,

wherein V G is the gutter volume of the gutter and V GB is the gearbox volume.

14 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the plurality of low-pressure power converters is integrated together with the low-pressure electric machine or the plurality of high-pressure power converters is integrated together with the high-pressure electric machine.

15 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of low-pressure power converters is thermally coupled together by a first power converter cold plate that cools the plurality of low-pressure power converters.

16 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of high-pressure power converters is thermally coupled together by a second power converter cold plate that cools the

Assignees

• Gen Electric
• Ge Avio Srl

Inventors

• Ertas Bugra H
• Zhang Xiaohua
• Manzoni Miriam
• Turi Flavia
• Piazza Andrea
• Sibbach Arthur W

Classifications

• F16H57/0409

  characterised by increasing efficiency, e.g. by reducing splash losses · CPC title

• F16H57/0423

  Lubricant guiding means mounted or supported on the casing, e.g. shields or baffles for collecting lubricant, tubes or pipes · CPC title

• F16H57/043

  within rotary parts, e.g. axial channels or radial openings in shafts · CPC title

• F16H57/0479

  Gears or bearings on planet carriers · CPC title

• F16H57/0486

  with fixed gear ratio  (axle or inter-axle differentials F16H57/0483) · CPC title