Granted Patent B1

US 12,735,997 · App. 19/310,698 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Inventors: Guy Lefebvre (St-Bruno-de-Montarville, CA); François Doyon (Ste-Julie, CA)

Assignee: PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP.

F01D25/24F05D2220/32

Abstract

Claims (27)

1 . An exhaust system for an aircraft engine, comprising:

a turbine exhaust duct (TED) having an annular inlet conduit extending around a central axis for directing combustion gases generally in an axial direction, and outlet conduits fluidly communicating with the annular inlet conduit and extending generally radially outward relative to the annular inlet conduit;

an exhaust case surrounding the TED, the exhaust case having openings, each of the outlet conduits received through a respective one of the openings; and

exhaust conduits secured to the exhaust case and each extending around a respective one of the openings of the exhaust case, an exhaust conduit of the exhaust conduits including a duct protruding away from the exhaust case along a port axis and fluidly communicating with a respective one of the outlet conduits, a stiffener disposed radially outwardly of the duct relative to the port axis and extending away from the exhaust case, and a reinforcement member secured to the stiffener to increase an effective thickness of the stiffener.

2 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust conduit includes a flange interconnecting the stiffener to the duct, the flange secured to the exhaust case.

3 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement member is secured to the stiffener via a weld or braze joint.

4 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement member includes two sections each extending from a forward end to a rearward end relative to a direction of travel of an aircraft equipped with the aircraft engine, the forward ends and the rearward ends being separated from each other via gaps.

5 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement member is secured to an outer face of the stiffener, the outer face oriented away from the port axis.

6 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the reinforcement member is greater than that of the stiffener, the thickness taken along a direction being normal to a contact plane between the reinforcement member and the stiffener.

7 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein a height of the reinforcement member is greater than or equal to that of the stiffener, the height taken in a direction normal to the exhaust case.

8 . The exhaust system of claim 2 , wherein the stiffener, the duct, and the flange are parts of a single monolithic body of the exhaust conduit.

9 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein outlet ends of the outlet conduits are secured to the exhaust conduits.

10 . The exhaust system of claim 1 , wherein a portion of a respective one of the outlet conduits extends inside the duct.

11 . A reverse-flow gas turbine engine for an aircraft engine, comprising:

an outer case assembly extending around a central axis and enclosing a core, the core including a compressor section and a turbine section, the turbine section located forward of the compressor section relative to a direction of travel of the aircraft engine, the outer case assembly including an exhaust case defining openings; and

a turbine exhaust duct (TED) having an annular inlet conduit extending around the central axis for directing combustion gases generally in an axial direction and outlet conduits communicating with the annular inlet conduit and extending generally radially outward relative to the annular inlet conduit;

exhaust conduits secured to the exhaust case and each extending around a respective one of the openings of the exhaust case, the exhaust conduits secured to the exhaust case via flanges thereof, the exhaust conduits further including stiffening lips extending transversally to the exhaust case and extending at least partially around the openings; and

reinforcement members secured to the stiffening lips and configured to increase a stiffness of the exhaust case.

12 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the exhaust conduits include ducts communicating with the outlet conduits and flanges interconnecting the stiffening lips to the ducts, the flanges secured to the exhaust case.

13 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the reinforcement members are secured to the stiffening lips via weld or braze joints.

14 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein each of the reinforcement members includes two sections each extending from a forward end to a rearward end relative to the direction of travel, the forward ends and the rearward ends being separated from each other via gaps.

15 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein the reinforcement members are secured to outer faces of the stiffening lips, the outer faces oriented away from the outlet conduits.

16 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein a thickness of the reinforcement members is greater than that of the stiffening lips, the thickness taken along a direction being normal to contact planes between the reinforcement members and the stiffening lips.

17 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein a height of the reinforcement members is greater than or equal to that of the stiffening lips, the height taken in a direction normal to the exhaust case.

18 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 12 , wherein each of the exhaust conduits is a single monolithic body defining a respective one of the stiffening lips, a respective one of the ducts, and a respective one of the flanges.

19 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein outlet ends of the outlet conduits are secured to the exhaust conduits.

20 . The reverse-flow gas turbine engine of claim 11 , wherein a portion of a respective one of the outlet conduits extends inside the duct.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (45)