Gas turbine engine and electric machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9714609-B2
Application number	US-201414461721-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2014
Priority date	Feb 16, 2012
Publication date	Jul 25, 2017
Grant date	Jul 25, 2017

Abstract

An electric machine is disclosed integrated to rotate with a shaft of a gas turbine engine. In one form the electric machine is integrated with a fan of the gas turbine engine. A rotor of the electric machine can be disposed at the end of the fan blades and the stator integrated into a flow path forming surface of the gas turbine engine. In one form the windings of the electric machine can change configuration permitting some windings to be placed in parallel with one or more other windings, and then connected together in series with remaining windings, if any. The voltage of the electric machine can change as a result of a change in configuration of the windings. A moveable member can also be used to alter a magnetic field produced from the electric machine when operated such that a voltage can be changed as a result of altering the magnetic field.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a gas turbine engine comprising:
a rotatable turbomachinery component comprising a plurality of blades;
a surface defining a flow path boundary;
an electrical machine, wherein the electrical machine comprises a stator portion and a rotor portion configured to interact and produce electrical power when the rotor portion is rotated relative to the stator portion, wherein the stator portion comprises conductive coils, wherein the rotor portion of the electrical machine is integrated with the rotatable turbomachinery component, wherein the rotor portion comprises a magnetic field element extending between respective blades of the plurality of blades and located radially inward from the surface defining a flow path boundary, and wherein the conductive coils are located radially outwardly of the flow path boundary such that the flow path boundary protects the conductive coils from a working fluid that flows through the turbomachinery component; and
a magnetic field adjuster, wherein the magnetic field adjuster comprises a moveable member capable of altering a magnetic field that interacts with the conductive coils, wherein the moveable member is urged from a first position to a second position via centripetal acceleration, and wherein the moveable member is configured to move in both a radial and an axial direction along a conical surface of a blade of the plurality of blades to alter the magnetic field as a function of rotational speed of the shaft.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the gas turbine engine comprises a turbofan engine, wherein the rotatable turbomachinery component comprises a bladed fan.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rotor portion forms a bridge between respective blades of the plurality of blades.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the bridge forms an annular construction around the entirety of the plurality of blades.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a voltage adjuster.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conductive coils are covered by a material covering.

7. An apparatus comprising:
a gas turbine engine comprising:
a bladed turbomachinery component structured to rotate through an annulus and change a pressure of a working fluid flowing through the annulus;
an electric machine comprising a stator and a rotor structured to rotate relative to the stator at the same speed as the bladed turbomachinery component of the gas turbine engine, wherein the rotor comprises a magnetic field element extending between respective blades of the bladed turbomachinery component, the electric machine having a plurality of windings coupled with a voltage adjuster structured to interconnect the plurality of windings in a plurality of configurations, wherein each configuration of the plurality of configurations is associated with a respective voltage of a plurality of voltages provided by the electric machine, wherein the voltage adjuster includes a selector member configured to connect one or more of the plurality of windings in parallel to create a parallel winding configuration in series with the remaining of the plurality of windings such that the electric machine generates a selected voltage of the plurality of voltages, wherein the rotor is radially inward of a surface forming a flow path boundary of the gas turbine engine; and
a magnetic field adjuster, wherein the magnetic field adjuster comprises a moveable member capable of altering a magnetic field that interacts with the plurality of windings, wherein the moveable member is urged from a first position to a second position via centripetal acceleration, wherein the moveable member is configured to move in both a radial and an axial direction along a conical surface of a blade of the plurality of blades to alter the magnetic field as a function of rotational speed of the shaft.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the selector member includes a plurality of switches, and wherein the electric machine includes a plurality of coils each having the plurality of windings.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the electric machine is an electric generator.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the rotor is disposed at a radially outer end of the bladed turbomachinery component.

11. An apparatus comprising:
a gas turbine engine comprising a shaft drivingly connected to a plurality of blades structured to rotate within a passage and change a total pressure of a working fluid traversing the passage, the gas turbine engine also comprising an electric machine having a first component with coils and a second component including a magnetic field element and having a moveable member capable of altering a magnetic field of the magnetic field element that interacts with the coils of the first component, the shaft configured to rotate the second component relative to the first component at substantially the same rate as the shaft of the gas turbine engine, wherein the moveable member is urged from a first position to a second position via centripetal acceleration, the gas turbine engine further comprising a biasing member configured to provide a force to the moveable member in the second position; and
wherein the second component is configured to allow the moveable member to move in both a radial and an axial direction along a conical surface of a blade of the plurality of blades to alter the magnetic field as a function of rotational speed of the shaft.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the moveable member is slideable from the first position to the second position.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second component is a rotor of the electric machine, the rotor being located radially inward of a surface of the gas turbine engine defining a flow path boundary.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the moveable member reduces the magnetic field created by the magnetic field element as a velocity of the shaft is increased.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the coils of the first component are covered by a material covering.

Assignees

• Rolls Royce Nam Tech Inc

Inventors

• French Mat
• Siegel William L
• Blackwelder Mark J

Classifications

• H02K3/28

  Layout of windings or of connections between windings (windings for pole-changing H02K17/06, H02K17/14, H02K19/12, H02K19/32) · CPC title

• H02K7/1823

  structurally associated with turbines or similar engines · CPC title

• H02K21/028

  by modifying the magnetic circuit within the field or the armature, e.g. by using shunts, by adjusting the magnets position, by vectorial combination of field or armature sections · CPC title

• F02C7/266

  Electric (sparking plugs H01T) · CPC title

• F05D2220/76

  an electrical generator · CPC title