GAS TURBINE ENGINE WITH FAN CASE HAVING INTEGRATED STATOR VANES
A gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a fan case and a plurality of stator vanes integrally formed with the fan case. A method is also disclosed.
1 . A gas turbine engine, comprising:
a fan case; and
a plurality of stator vanes integrally formed with the fan case.
2 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of stator vanes includes an array of stator vanes.
3 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 2 , wherein each stator vane in the array projects radially inward from the case.
4 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 3 , further comprising an inner platform, wherein each stator vane in the array projects radially inward from the case to the inner platform.
5 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 4 , wherein the inner platform is integrally formed with each of the stator vanes in the array.
6 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fan case and stator vanes are integrally molded of a composite material.
7 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 6 , wherein the fan case and stator vanes are formed using a resin transfer molding process.
8 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 6 , wherein the composite material is a polymer matrix composite material.
9 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 8 , wherein the polymer matrix composite material includes reinforcing fibers bound together by a polymer matrix.
10 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 9 , wherein the polymer matrix is provided by a polyimide material.
11 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 9 , wherein the polymer matrix is provided by a bismaleimide (BMI) material.
12 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 9 , wherein the reinforcing fibers include one of carbon fibers, aramid fibers, glass fibers, and ceramic fibers.
13 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of stator vanes includes a first array of stator vanes and a second array of stator vanes axially spaced-apart from the first array of stator vanes.
14 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 13 , wherein the fan case includes a fore section integrally formed with the first array of stator vanes and an aft section integrally formed with the second array of stator vanes.
15 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 14 , wherein the fore section is made of a polymer matrix composite including reinforcing fibers held together by a matrix provided by a bismaleimide (BMI) material.
16 . The gas turbine engine as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fan case is configured to radially surround fan blades of the gas turbine engine.
17 . A method, comprising:
inserting a reinforcement structure into a mold cavity; and
injecting a polymer resin into the mold cavity to integrally form a fan case of a gas turbine engine with a plurality of stator vanes.
18 . The method as recited in claim 17 , wherein the polymer resin is one of polyimide and bismaleimide (BMI).
19 . The method as recited in claim 17 , further comprising:
allowing the polymer resin and reinforcement structure to cool such that the polymer resin and the reinforcement structure form a polymer matrix composite (PMC) material.
20 . The method as recited in claim 19 , wherein the reinforcement structure includes one of carbon fibers, aramid fibers, glass fibers, and ceramic fibers.