Granted Patent B2

US 12,577,925 · App. 18/680,469 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventors: Brandon Wayne Miller (Middletown, OH); Randy M. Vondrell (Newport, KY); David Marion Ostdiek (Liberty Township, OH); Craig William Higgins (Liberty Township, OH); Alexander Kimberley Simpson (Cincinnati, OH); Syed J. Khalid (Palm Beach Gardens, FL); Jeffrey S. Spruill (Hillsboro, OH); Daniel Lawrence Tweedt (West Chester, OH); William Joseph Solomon (Montgomery, OH); Kevin Edward Hinderliter (Cincinnati, OH)

Assignee: General Electric Company

F02K3/065F02C3/06

Abstract

Claims (28)

1 . A gas turbine engine comprising:

a turbomachine comprising a compressor section, a combustion section, and a turbine section arranged in serial flow order, the turbomachine defining an engine inlet to an inlet duct, a fan duct inlet to a fan duct, and a core inlet to a core duct;

a primary fan driven by the turbomachine;

a secondary fan located downstream of the primary fan within the inlet duct, the gas turbine engine defining a thrust to power airflow ratio between 3.5 and 100 and a core bypass ratio between 0.1 and 10, wherein the thrust to power airflow ratio is a ratio of an airflow through a bypass passage over the turbomachine plus an airflow through the fan duct to an airflow through the core duct, and wherein the core bypass ratio is a ratio of the airflow through the fan duct to the airflow through the core duct; and

a means for reducing a thickness of a boundary layer of a fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, for reenergizing the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, or both.

2 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the means for reducing the thickness of the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, for reenergizing the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, or both comprises a plurality of boundary layer openings defined in an airflow surface and configured to ingest at least a portion of the boundary layer of the fan airflow over the airflow surface during operation of the gas turbine engine.

3 . The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , wherein the gas turbine engine defines an axial direction, and wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings are spaced along the axial direction.

4 . The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings includes one or more boundary layer openings located forward of the primary fan, wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings includes one or more boundary layer openings located aft of the primary fan, or both.

5 . The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of diffusers, wherein each diffuser is associated with a respective one of the plurality of boundary layer openings.

6 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings includes a first boundary layer opening, wherein the plurality of diffusers includes a first diffuser associated with the first boundary layer opening, wherein the first diffuser includes an inlet located at the first boundary layer opening and an outlet, wherein an area ratio between the outlet and the inlet is greater than 1:1 and up to 6:1.

7 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings includes a first boundary layer opening, wherein the plurality of diffusers includes a first diffuser associated with the first boundary layer opening, wherein the first diffuser includes an inlet located at the first boundary layer opening and an outlet, wherein the first diffuser defines a mean airflow direction from the inlet to the outlet, and wherein the mean airflow direction defines an angle with a reference plane defined by a radial direction and a circumferential direction greater than 0 degrees and less than 60 degrees.

8 . The gas turbine engine of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings includes a first boundary layer opening, wherein the plurality of diffusers includes a first diffuser associated with the first boundary layer opening, wherein the first diffuser includes an inlet located at the first boundary layer opening and an outlet, wherein the first diffuser defines a mean airflow direction from the inlet to the outlet, and wherein the mean airflow direction defines an angle with a reference plane defined by a radial direction and an axial direction greater than 0 degrees and less than 60 degrees.

9 . The gas turbine engine of claim 2 , wherein the airflow surface forms at least in part a nose cone for the gas turbine engine, and wherein the nose cone defines an internal cavity, and wherein the plurality of boundary layer openings are in airflow communication with the internal cavity.

10 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , further comprising:

an inlet section located downstream of the primary fan and upstream of the compressor section, the inlet section comprising an inner liner along a radial direction of the gas turbine engine, wherein the means for reducing the thickness of the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, for reenergizing the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, or both comprises a boundary layer opening defined by the inner liner for receiving at least a portion of the boundary layer of the fan airflow during operation of the gas turbine engine.

11 . The gas turbine engine of claim 10 , wherein the inlet section further comprises a scoop oriented in an upstream direction and associated with the boundary layer opening of the inner liner.

12 . The gas turbine engine of claim 10 , wherein the inlet section comprises an inlet duct, wherein the inlet duct includes the inner liner, wherein the inlet duct defines an engine inlet, and wherein the boundary layer opening is located downstream of the engine inlet.

13 . The gas turbine engine of claim 12 , wherein the inlet duct comprises a strut extending therethrough, and wherein the boundary layer opening is aligned with the strut along an axial direction of the gas turbine engine.

14 . The gas turbine engine of claim 13 , wherein the boundary layer opening is positioned proximate a trailing edge of the strut.

15 . The gas turbine engine of claim 10 , wherein the boundary layer opening is a first boundary layer opening of a plurality of boundary layer openings arranged along a circumferential direction of the gas turbine engine.

16 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , further comprising:

an inlet section located downstream of the fan and upstream of the compressor section, the inlet section comprising an inner liner along a radial direction of the gas turbine engine, wherein the means for reducing the thickness of the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, for reenergizing the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, or both comprises an airflow injection assembly comprising an airflow injection nozzle coupled to the inner liner and oriented in the downstream direction.

17 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the thrust to power airflow ratio and the core bypass ratio are defined when the gas turbine engine is operated at a rated speed during standard day operating conditions.

18 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the thrust to power airflow ratio is between 4 and 75.

19 . The gas turbine engine of claim 1 , wherein the primary fan is an unducted primary fan, and wherein the thrust to power airflow ratio is between 30 and 60.

20 . A method of operating a gas turbine engine, comprising:

operating the gas turbine engine at a rated speed, wherein operating the gas turbine engine at the rated speed comprises operating the gas turbine engine to define a thrust to power airflow ratio between 3.5 and 100 and a core bypass ratio between 0.1 and 5, wherein the thrust to power airflow ratio is a ratio of an airflow through a bypass passage over a turbomachine of the gas turbine engine plus an airflow through a fan duct to an airflow through a core duct, and wherein the core bypass ratio is a ratio of the airflow through the fan duct to the airflow through the core duct; and

reducing a thickness of a boundary layer of a fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, reenergizing the boundary layer of the fan airflow that is ingested into the turbomachine, or both.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (159)