Gas turbine engine architecture with intercooled twin centrifugal compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9752585-B2
Application number	US-201414209326-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2014
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A gas turbine engine includes an intercooled twin centrifugal compressor. A pipe diffuser extends from the intercooled twin centrifugal compressor into an airflow path.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gas turbine engine comprising:
an intercooled twin centrifugal compressor; and
a pipe diffuser that extends from said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor into an airflow path,
wherein said pipe diffuser extends around a Common Inlet Plenum in communication with said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor.

2. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
an outer case structure; and
an intermediate case structure,
wherein said airflow path is defined by the outer case structure and the intermediate case structure.

3. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 2 , further comprising:
an inner case structure.

4. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said airflow path is a bypass airflow path.

5. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor includes a forward centrifugal impeller and an aft centrifugal impeller located respectively at the fore end and aft end of said Common Inlet Plenum.

6. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 5 , wherein said forward centrifugal impeller communicates with said aft centrifugal impeller through said pipe diffuser.

7. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 6 , wherein said pipe diffuser includes a forward manifold and an aft manifold.

8. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 7 , wherein said forward manifold includes a multiple of manifold pipes, each of said multiple of manifold pipes includes a radial outward pipe, an axial pipe downstream of said radial outward pipe and a radial inward pipe downstream of said axial pipe.

9. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 8 , wherein said radial inward pipe and said aft manifold combine downstream into a full annular duct.

10. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 9 , wherein said full annular duct communicates with a second compressor axially aft of said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor.

11. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 8 , further comprising a heat exchanger within said airflow path, said heat exchanger in communication with said axial pipe.

12. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 11 , further comprising:
an outer case structure; and
an intermediate case structure,
wherein said airflow path is defined by the outer case structure and the intermediate case structure.

13. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 12 , further comprising:
an inner case structure.

14. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchanger within said airflow path, said heat exchanger in communication with said pipe diffuser.

15. The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 14 , further comprising:
an outer case structure;
an intermediate case structure; and
an inner case structure,
wherein said airflow path is defined by the outer case structure and the intermediate case structure.

16. A method of operating a gas turbine engine comprising:
extending a pipe diffuser from an intercooled twin centrifugal compressor into an airflow path; and
mixing half of a core airflow from the intercooled twin centrifugal compressor with a cooled half of the core airflow from the intercooled twin centrifugal compressor.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein the gas turbine engine includes an outer case structure and an intermediate case structure, and wherein the airflow path is defined by the outer case structure and the intermediate case structure.

18. The method as recited in claim 17 , further comprising:
communicating the pipe diffuser with a heat exchanger within the airflow path.

19. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein said mixing occurs upstream of a second compressor that is located axially aft of said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor.

20. A gas turbine engine comprising:
an intercooled twin centrifugal compressor; and
a pipe diffuser that extends from said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor into an airflow path,
wherein said pipe diffuser foul's a screen around a Common Inlet Plenum in communication with said intercooled twin centrifugal compressor.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Kupratis Daniel B

Classifications

• F04D29/441

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F05D2250/311

  the axes being in line · CPC title

• F01D9/02

  Nozzles; Nozzle boxes; Stator blades; Guide conduits {, e.g. individual nozzles (nozzle boxes F01D9/047)} · CPC title

• F02C3/107

  with two or more rotors connected by power transmission · CPC title

• Y02T50/675

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic