IP Library › Granted Patent US 12674468
Granted Patent B2
US 12674468 · App. 18/667,564 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Turbomachine and method of assembly

Inventors: Jixian Yao (Niskayuna, NY); Trevor H. Wood (Clifton Park, NY); Kishore Ramakrishnan (Rexford, NY); William J. Solomon (Montgomery, OH); Giridhar Jothiprasad (Clifton Park, NY); Aaron J. King (West Harrison, IN)
Assignee: General Electric Company
F04D29/384F04D19/002
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12674468
App. No.
18/667,564
Granted
Jul 7, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A turbomachine includes an annular casing and a fan disposed inside the annular casing and mounted for rotation about an axial centerline. The fan includes fan blades that extend radially outwardly toward the annular casing. The fan has an average chord fan width according to a first performance factor. The fan has a quantity of fan blades according to a second performance factor.

Claims (496)

1 . A turbomachine for an aircraft comprising:

an annular casing; and

a fan disposed inside the annular casing and mounted for rotation about an axial centerline, the fan including fan blades that extend radially outwardly toward the annular casing, a fan blade including:

a plurality of fiber composite layers; and

at least one high elongation fiber composite strip joining one of the fiber composite layers at a joint;

wherein the fan includes an average fan chord width of the fan blades (“c”), a diameter of the fan (“D”), a fan pressure ratio (“FPR”), and a redline corrected fan tip Mach number

(

″

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

″

)

 according to a First Performance Factor (“FPF”),

wherein

FPF

=

[

c

0.15

·

D

]

⁢

/

[

[

FPR

-

1

0.4

]

/

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

]

-

1.23

,

wherein

m

1

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

+

9.14

>

F

⁢

P

⁢

F

>

m

2

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

,

 and

wherein m 1 is equal to 9.43 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 27.02 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1, and

wherein m 2 is equal to 0.87 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 3.34 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1.

2 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the at least one high elongation fiber composite strip includes a plurality of high elongation fiber strips that include a first high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a first direction, a second high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, and a third high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a third direction different than the first direction and the second direction.

3 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the modulus of the high elongation fiber composite strips is from about 13,790 MPa to about 96,530 MPa.

4 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the tensile elongation of the high elongation fiber composite strips is at least about 1.75%.

5 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein:

FPF is within a range equal to or greater than −0.8 and equal to or less than 8.4;

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is within a range equal to or greater than 0.8 and equal to or less than 1.5;

a ratio c/D is within a range equal to or greater than 0.1 and equal to or less than 0.3; and

FPR is within a range equal to or greater than 1.2 and equal to or less than 1.6.

6 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein the turbomachine has a gear ratio within a range equal to or greater than 3.2 and equal to or less than 5.0.

7 . The turbomachine of claim 1 , wherein a ratio c/D is between 0.16 and 0.21, and the fan has between 16 and 25 fan blades.

8 . A turbomachine comprising:

an annular casing; and

a fan disposed inside the annular casing and mounted for rotation about an axial centerline, the fan including fan blades that extend radially outwardly toward the annular casing, a fan blade including:

a plurality of fiber composite layers; and

at least one high elongation fiber composite strip joining one of the fiber composite layers at a joint;

wherein the fan includes a fan hub-to-tip ratio (“HTR”), a fan blade count (“BC”), a fan pressure ratio (“FPR”), and a redline corrected fan tip Mach number

(

″

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

″

)

 according to a Second Performance Factor (“SPF”),

wherein

SPF

=

π

4

⁢

(

1

-

HTR

2

)

/

(

BC

20

)

(

FPR

-

1

0.4

)

/

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

0.97

,

wherein

m

3

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

+

2.52

>

SPF

>

m

4

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

wherein m 3 is equal to 3.17, and

wherein m 4 is equal to 0.41 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 0.55 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1.

9 . The turbomachine of claim 8 , wherein the at least one high elongation fiber composite strip includes a plurality of high elongation fiber strips that include a first high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a first direction, a second high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, and a third high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a third direction different than the first direction and the second direction.

10 . The turbomachine of claim 8 , wherein the modulus of the high elongation fiber composite strips is from about 13,790 MPa to about 96,530 MPa.

11 . The turbomachine of claim 8 , wherein the tensile elongation of the high elongation fiber composite strips is at least about 1.75%.

12 . The turbomachine of claim 8 , wherein:

SPF is within a range equal to or greater than 0.087 and equal to or less than 2.4;

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is within a range equal to or greater than 0.8 and equal to or less than 1.5;

HTR is within a range equal to or greater than 0.2 and equal to or less than 0.4;

FPR is within a range equal to or greater than 1.2 and equal to or less than 1.6; and

BC is within a range equal to or greater than 3 and equal to or less than 18.

13 . The turbomachine of claim 8 , wherein the turbomachine has a gear ratio within a range equal to or greater than 3.2 and equal to or less than 5.0.

14 . A turbomachine for an aircraft comprising:

an annular casing; and

a fan disposed inside the annular casing and mounted for rotation about an axial centerline, the fan including fan blades that extend radially outwardly toward the annular casing, a fan blade including:

a plurality of fiber composite layers; and

at least one high elongation fiber composite strip joining one of the fiber composite layers at a joint;

wherein the fan includes an average fan chord width of the fan blades (“c”), a diameter of the fan (“D”), a fan pressure ratio (“FPR”), and a redline corrected fan tip Mach number

(

“

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

”

)

 according to a First Performance Factor (“FPF”),

wherein

FPF

=

[

c

0.15

·

D

]

⁢

/

[

[

FPR

-

1

0.4

]

/

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

]

-

1.23

,

wherein

m

1

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

+

9.14

>

FPF

>

m

2

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

,

 and

wherein m 1 is equal to 9.43 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 27.02 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1, and

wherein m 2 is equal to 0.87 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 3.34 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1;

wherein the fan includes a fan hub-to-tip ratio (“HTR”), a fan blade count (“BC”), the fan pressure ratio (“FPR”), and the redline corrected fan tip Mach number

(

“

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

”

)

 according to a Second Performance Factor (“SPF”),

SPF

=

π

4

⁢

(

1

-

HTR

2

)

/

(

BC

20

)

(

FPR

-

1

0.4

)

/

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

0.97

,

wherein

m

3

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

+

2.52

>

SPF

>

m

4

·

[

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

-

1.1

]

wherein m 3 is equal to 3.17, and

wherein m 4 is equal to 0.41 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is greater than or equal to 1.1 and is equal to 0.55 when

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is less than 1.1.

15 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein the at least one high elongation fiber composite strip includes a plurality of high elongation fiber strips that include a first high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a first direction, a second high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a second direction different than the first direction, and a third high elongation fiber composite strip having fibers oriented in a third direction different than the first direction and the second direction.

16 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein the modulus of the high elongation fiber composite strips is from about 13,790 MPa to about 96,530 MPa.

17 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein the tensile elongation of the high elongation fiber composite strips is at least about 1.75%.

18 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein:

FPF is within a range equal to or greater than −0.8 and equal to or less than 8.4;

SPF is within a range equal to or greater than 0.087 and equal to or less than 2.4;

M

tip

,

c

(

RL

)

 is within a range equal to or greater than 0.8 and equal to or less than 1.5; and

FPR is within a range equal to or greater than 1.2 and equal to or less than 1.6.

19 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein:

a ratio c/D is within a range equal to or greater than 0.1 and equal to or less than 0.3;

HTR is within a range equal to or greater than 0.2 and equal to or less than 0.4; and

BC is within a range equal to or greater than 3 and equal to or less than 18.

20 . The turbomachine of claim 14 , wherein the turbomachine has a gear ratio within a range equal to or greater than 3.2 and equal to or less than 5.0.