阅读说明：本技术 飞行器引擎 (Aircraft engine ) 是由 M·西尔维斯特 G·休斯 于 2021-06-03 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于飞行器的气体涡轮引擎(10)包括风扇系统,该风扇系统具有逆向行波第一襟翼模式、即风扇RTW,并且包括：风扇(23),其位于引擎核心的上游；和风扇轴(36)；和前引擎结构(42),其布置为支撑风扇轴(36)并具有前引擎结构点头模式,该前引擎结构点头模式包括在正交方向上处于类似但不相等的固有频率的一对模式；和齿轮箱(30)。包括风扇系统(23、36)和布置成驱动风扇轴(36)的齿轮箱输出轴(35)的LP转子系统具有第一逆向涡动转子动态模式、即转子RW和第一正向涡动转子动态模式1FW。引擎(10)具有最大起飞速度MTO。下述公式的反向涡动频率裕度在15％到50％的范围内：(A gas turbine engine (10) for an aircraft comprises a fan system having a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, fan RTW, and comprising: a fan (23) located upstream of the engine core; and a fan shaft (36); and a front engine structure (42) arranged to support the fan shaft (36) and having a front engine structure nodding pattern comprising a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions; and a gearbox (30). The LP rotor system comprising a fan system (23, 36) and a gearbox output shaft (35) arranged to drive the fan shaft (36) has a first reverse whirling rotor dynamic mode, i.e. rotor RW and a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1 FW. The engine (10) has a maximum takeoff speed MTO. The reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 15% to 50%:)

1. A gas turbine engine (10) for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising:

an engine core (11) comprising a turbine (19), a compressor (14) and a spindle (26) connecting the turbine to the compressor;

fan system having a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, fan RTW, and comprising:

a fan (23) located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and

a fan shaft (36); and

a gearbox (30) and a gearbox output shaft (35) arranged to couple an output of the gearbox (30) to the fan shaft (36), wherein the gearbox (30) receives an input from the spindle (26) and outputs a drive to the fan (23) via the gearbox output shaft (35) so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle;

wherein the fan system (23, 36) and the gearbox output shaft (35) together form a LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW; and is

Wherein the engine (10) has a maximum takeoff speed MTO, and

the reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 15% to 50%:

2. the gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein the reverse whirl frequency margin is greater than 25%.

3. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein the reverse whirl frequency margin is less than 45%, optionally less than 40%.

4. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein

The LP rotor system has a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1FW and a forward whirling frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 10% to 100%:

5. the gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein the lowest frequency of a mode fan RTW or rotor RW is in a range of 4Hz to 22Hz at the MTO speed.

6. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein the lowest frequency of a mode fan RTW or rotor RW is in a range of 5Hz to 15Hz at the MTO speed.

7. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1 wherein the MTO speed is in a range of 25Hz to 45 Hz.

8. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 7 wherein the MTO speed is in a range of 25Hz to 30 Hz.

9. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 8 wherein the fan has a fan diameter greater than 216 cm.

10. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 7 wherein the MTO speed is in a range of 35Hz to 45 Hz.

11. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 10 wherein the fan has a fan diameter of less than 216 cm.

12. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein a mutual frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

13. the gas turbine engine (10) of claim 12, wherein a frequency difference between mode fan RTW and mode rotor RW at the MTO speed is in a range of 2Hz to 15Hz, optionally in a range of 5Hz to 15 Hz.

14. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 1, wherein the engine (10) includes a forward engine structure (42) arranged to support the fan shaft (36); and the front engine structure (42) has a front engine structure nodding pattern comprising a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions, and a front engine structure frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

15. the gas turbine engine (10) according to claim 14, wherein the frequency difference between the highest frequency of the synchronous fan RTW or synchronous rotor RW and the mode FSN is in the range of 2Hz to 15Hz, optionally in the range of 2Hz to 10 Hz.

16. The gas turbine engine (10) of claim 14, wherein the lowest natural frequency of the front structure nod-head mode pair is in the range of 14Hz to 26Hz, optionally in the range of 15Hz to 25 Hz.

17. A method (1000) of operating a gas turbine engine (10) for an aircraft, the engine (10) having a Maximum Takeoff (MTO) speed and comprising:

an engine core (11) comprising a turbine (19), a compressor (14) and a spindle (26) connecting the turbine to the compressor;

a fan system having a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, fan RTW, and including a fan (23) upstream of the engine core, the fan including a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft (36); and

a gearbox (30) and a gearbox output shaft (35) arranged to couple an output of the gearbox (30) to the fan shaft (36), wherein the gearbox (30) receives an input from the spindle (26) and outputs a drive to the fan (23) via the gearbox output shaft (35) so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle;

wherein the fan system (23, 36) and the gearbox output shaft (35) together form a LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW,

the method (1000) comprises:

operating (1004) the engine (10) such that a reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in a range of 15% to 50%:

18. the method (1000) according to claim 17, comprising operating (1004) the engine (10) such that the lowest frequency of a mode fan RTW or rotor RW at the MTO speed is in the range of 4Hz to 22Hz, optionally in the range of 5Hz to 15 Hz.

19. A method (1000) according to claim 17, wherein the fan system (23, 36) and the gearbox output shaft (35) together form a LP rotor system with a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1 FW.

The method (1000) comprises:

operating (1004) the engine (10) such that a forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in a range of 10% to 100%:

20. the method (1000) of claim 19, comprising operating (1004) the engine (10) such that a frequency difference between synchronization 1FW and a first engine instruction line at the MTO speed is in a range of 8Hz to 45Hz, optionally in a range of 20Hz to 40 Hz.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an aircraft engine with improved dynamic characteristics, and more particularly to an engine with improved vibration mode handling by avoiding frequency coincidence between the natural frequency and its potential excitation source, and methods of using such an engine.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, there is provided a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, comprising: an engine core (engine core) including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle (core flush) connecting the turbine to the compressor; and a fan system having a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, fan RTW. The fan system includes: a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and a fan shaft. The engine also includes a gearbox and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to the fan shaft. The gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via a gearbox output shaft to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle. The fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form a Low Pressure (LP) rotor system having a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, namely rotor RW. The engine has a maximum takeoff speed MTO. The reverse whirl frequency margin (backward while frequency margin) of the following formula is in the range of 15% to 50%:

the reverse whirl frequency margin may be greater than 25%.

The reverse whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 25%, 30% or 35%, and/or alternatively less than 50%, 45% or 40%. The reverse whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the previous sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

If the rotor first reverse whirl mode (rotor RW) and/or the reverse traveling wave first fan blade flap mode (fan RTW) have insufficient frequency margin above the maximum fan shaft speed (MTO, defined herein in terms of the rotational frequency of the shaft), one or both of these modes may be excited by a stationary forced load in the inertial frame of reference (as viewed by an external observer looking at the engine). Thus, keeping the reverse whirl frequency margin within the claimed range may allow for reducing or avoiding this response amplification.

The lowest frequency of the mode fan RTW or rotor RW at MTO speed may be in the range of 4Hz to 22Hz, optionally 5Hz to 15 Hz.

The MTO speed may be in the range of 25Hz to 45 Hz.

The MTO speed may be in the range of 25Hz to 30Hz and the fan has a fan diameter greater than 216cm (85 inches).

The MTO speed may be in the range of 35Hz to 45Hz, and the fan has a fan diameter of less than 216cm (85 inches).

The LP rotor system may have a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1FW, and the forward whirling frequency margin (forward while frequency margin) of the following formula may be in the range of 10% to 100%:

the forward whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%, and/or alternatively less than 100%, 90%, 80%, 70% or 60%. The forward whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The frequency of the 1FW mode in the case where it intersects the first engine instruction line (1EO) may be calculated or read from a Campbell Diagram. Similarly, the frequency of 1EO at MTO speed can be calculated or read from a campbell diagram, where 1EO intersects the MTO line.

The intersection of the 1FW and the synchronization (first engine instruction) line 1EO on the Campbell diagram is commonly referred to as "synchronization 1 FW". Thus, the above equation can be rewritten as:

the mutual frequency margin (mutual frequency margin) of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

the mutual frequency margin may be greater than 10%.

The mutual frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 50%, 45%, 40% or 35%. The mutual frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The frequency difference between mode fan RTW and mode rotor RW may be in the range of 2Hz to 15Hz, optionally 5Hz to 15Hz at MTO speed.

The engine may comprise a front engine structure arranged to support the fan shaft. The front engine structure may have a front engine structure nodding mode, i.e., mode FSN, which may include a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions. The frequency margin of the front engine structure, defined by the following formula, may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

the front engine structure frequency margin may be greater than 10%.

The front engine structure frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 50%, 45%, 40% or 35%. The pre-engine structure frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit).

The frequency difference between the highest frequency of the synchronous fan RTW or the synchronous rotor RW and the mode FSN may be in the range of 2Hz to 15Hz, optionally in the range of 2Hz to 10 Hz.

The lowest natural frequency of the front structure nod-head mode pair may be in the range 14Hz to 26Hz, optionally 15Hz to 25 Hz.

As mentioned above in relation to 1FW, "synchronous" fan RTW or rotor RW refers to the intersection of the respective pattern (fan RTW or rotor RW) with the first engine command line-i.e. using the frequency value at which the lines intersect. The use of either of the fan RTW and the rotor RW with the highest synchronous frequency is selected in the ratios indicated above.

It will be appreciated that in many embodiments, the mode FSN has a generally constant frequency. In the case where there is any variation, the sync frequency value (i.e., the frequency value at the time the mode FSN line intersects the first engine instruction line) is used.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of operating a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan system having a reverse traveling first flap mode, fan RTW, and comprising a fan upstream of an engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft; and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to the fan shaft, wherein the gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via the gearbox output shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle; and wherein the fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system having a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW.

The method includes operating the engine such that the reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 15% to 50%:

the reverse whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 25%, 30% or 35%, and/or alternatively less than 50%, 45% or 40%. The reverse whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the previous sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The method may include operating the engine at a speed up to a maximum takeoff MTO speed of the engine. The method may include operating the engine at an MTO speed.

The method may include operating the engine such that the lowest frequency of the mode fan RTW or rotor RW at MTO speed is in the range of 4Hz to 22Hz, optionally 5Hz to 15 Hz.

The fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form a LP rotor system with a first reverse whirl rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW, and the method includes operating the engine such that a forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 10% to 100%:

the forward whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%, and/or alternatively less than 100%, 90%, 80%, 70% or 60%. The forward whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The method may comprise operating the engine such that a frequency difference between the synchronisation 1FW and the first engine instruction line at MTO speed is in the range 8Hz to 45Hz, optionally in the range 20Hz to 40 Hz.

According to an aspect, there is provided a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; and a fan system including a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan including a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft. The engine further comprises a gearbox and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple the output of the gearbox to the fan shaft. The gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via a gearbox output shaft to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle. The fan system and gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system having a first forward vorticity rotor dynamic mode 1 FW. The engine has a maximum takeoff speed MTO. The forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 10% to 100%:

the forward whirl frequency margin may be greater than 30%.

The forward whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%, and/or alternatively less than 90%, 80%, 70% or 60%. The forward whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

If the rotor first forward vortex mode (1FW) has insufficient frequency margin above the maximum fan speed (MTO speed), this mode can be excited by an imbalance on the rotor. Thus, the forward whirl frequency margin may be appropriately adjusted, with values selected to fall within the claimed range to reduce or avoid excitation of this mode.

The fan system may have a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, i.e., fan RTW. The LP rotor system may have a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW.

The reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 15% to 50%:

the mutual frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

the engine may comprise a front engine structure arranged to support the fan shaft. The front engine structure may have a front engine structure nodding mode that may include a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions. The frequency margin of the front engine structure of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

according to an aspect, there is provided a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; and a fan system having a reverse traveling wave first flap mode, fan RTW. The fan system includes: a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and a fan shaft. The engine further comprises a gearbox and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple the output of the gearbox to the fan shaft. The gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via a gearbox output shaft to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle. The fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW. The engine has a maximum takeoff speed MTO. The mutual frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

the mutual frequency margin may be greater than 10%.

The mutual frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 50%, 45%, 40% or 35%. The mutual frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

If the rotor first reverse vortex mode (rotor RW) and the reverse traveling wave first fan blade flap mode (fan RTW) have insufficient mutual frequency margins (i.e., if they are too close to each other in frequency), these modes may interact such that any forcing as described above may excite both modes, rather than just one. This may again lead to a detrimental increase in the amplitude of the vibrational response. Thus, the mutual frequency margins may be suitably adjusted, and values falling within the claimed ranges are selected to reduce or avoid such interactions.

The reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 15% to 50%:

the LP rotor system may have a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1 FW. The forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 10% to 100%:

the engine may comprise a front engine structure arranged to support the fan shaft. The front engine structure may have a front engine structure nodding pattern, which may include a pair of patterns. The pair of modes may be at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions. The frequency margin of the front engine structure of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

according to an aspect, there is provided a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, comprising: an engine core comprising a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; and a fan system having a reverse traveling first flap mode, fan RTW. The fan system includes: a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades; and a fan shaft. The engine also includes a front engine structure arranged to support the fan shaft, the front engine structure having a front engine structure nodding pattern comprising a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions. The engine also includes a gearbox and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to the fan shaft. The gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via a gearbox output shaft to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle. The fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW. The engine has a maximum takeoff speed MTO. The frequency margin of the front engine structure of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

the front engine structure frequency margin may be greater than 10%.

The front engine structure frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 45%, 40% or 35%. The pre-engine structure frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit).

This combination of orthogonal modes results in the front engine structure vibrating in an elliptical orbit in response to rotor imbalance. The elliptical orbit may include both a forward traveling wave component and a reverse traveling wave component; therefore, a mechanism is proposed to excite the reverse swirl mode fan RTW or rotor RW if they coincide or nearly coincide with the front engine structure point-to-head (FSN) frequency. This combination of actions can rapidly increase the vibration response amplitude to the level of nuisance (nuisance) or, in extreme cases, to potentially damaging/dangerous levels. Thus, the front engine structure frequency margin may be appropriately adjusted, selecting values that fall within the claimed range to reduce or avoid such amplification mechanisms.

The engine may be arranged to be mounted within a nacelle having a mass of 1000kg to 3000kg, and optionally 1500kg to 2500 kg. The mass of the nacelle may be selected or adjusted to adjust the FSN frequency.

The reverse whirl frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 15% to 50%:

the LP rotor system may have a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1 FW. The forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 10% to 100%:

the mutual frequency margin of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

in any of the foregoing aspects, one or more of the following features may be applied:

the diameter of the fan may be in the range 215cm to 420 cm.

The diameter of the fan may be greater than or equal to 250 cm.

The mass of the fan may be in the range 300kg to 1000 kg.

The moment of inertia of the fan about the engine axis may be 100kg · m²To 600kg m²Within the range of (1).

The tilting stiffness of the fan shaft can be 5X 10⁹N.mm/rad to 12X 10⁹N.mm/rad.

The radial bending stiffness of the front engine structure may be in the range of 80kN/mm to 180 kN/mm.

The engine may comprise a front engine structure arranged to support the fan shaft. The front engine structure cantilever distance, defined as the distance between the forwardmost fan shaft bearing mounted on the front engine structure and a radial plane at an axial position along the front engine structure where a front mount (front mount) for the engine is located, may be in the range 800mm to 1700 mm.

The fan shaft may be supported by two bearings. The length of the fan shaft between the bearings may be in the range 900mm to 1800 mm.

The turbine may be a first turbine, the compressor may be a first compressor, and the spindle may be a first spindle. The engine core may also include a second turbine, a second compressor, and a second spindle connecting the second turbine to the second compressor. The second turbine, the second compressor and the second spindle may be arranged to rotate at a higher rotational speed than the first spindle.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan system including a fan located upstream of the engine core, the fan including a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft; and a gearbox; and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to the fan shaft, wherein the gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via the gearbox output shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle, and wherein the fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system having a first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode 1 FW.

The method includes operating the engine such that a forward whirl frequency margin of the following formula is in a range of 10% to 100%:

the forward whirl frequency margin may be greater than 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%, and/or alternatively less than 90%, 80%, 70% or 60%. The forward whirl frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The method may include operating the engine at a speed up to a maximum takeoff speed MTO of the engine. The method may include operating the engine at an MTO speed.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; and a fan system having a reverse traveling first flap mode, fan RTW, and comprising a fan upstream of the engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft; a gearbox and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to a fan shaft, wherein the gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via the gearbox output shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle; wherein the fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW.

The method comprises operating the engine such that the mutual frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

the mutual frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 45%, 40% or 35%. The mutual frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit).

The method may include operating the engine at a speed up to a maximum takeoff MTO speed of the engine. The method may include operating the engine at an MTO speed.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the gas turbine engine comprising: an engine core including a turbine, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor; a fan system having a reverse traveling first flap mode, fan RTW, and comprising a fan upstream of an engine core, the fan comprising a plurality of fan blades, and a fan shaft; a front engine structure arranged to support a fan shaft, the front engine structure having a front engine structure nodding pattern comprising a pair of modes at similar but unequal natural frequencies in orthogonal directions; and a gearbox output shaft arranged to couple an output of the gearbox to the fan shaft, wherein the gearbox receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan via the gearbox output shaft so as to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle; wherein the fan system and the gearbox output shaft together form an LP rotor system with a first reverse vortex rotor dynamic mode, rotor RW.

The method includes operating the engine such that a pre-engine structure frequency margin of the following formula is in the range of 5% to 50%:

the front engine structure frequency margin may be greater than 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, and/or alternatively less than 45%, 40% or 35%. The pre-engine structure frequency margin may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit).

The method may include operating the engine at a speed up to a maximum takeoff MTO speed of the engine. The method may include operating the engine at an MTO speed.

The engine of any of the preceding aspects may be used to perform the method of any of the preceding aspects.

In the various aspects and embodiments described above, the defined frequency margin may be arranged to remain within a defined range during normal operation of the aircraft, the engine being arranged to power said aircraft.

The skilled artisan understands that the most demanding conditions for engine vibration management do not occur near maximum speed (e.g., MTO speed), but rather within the operating speed range near the speed at which one or more of FSN, fan RTW, and rotor RW modes intersect the 1EO line.

The inventors have appreciated that a geared turbofan engine, having a large fan diameter and a rotor system cantilevered forward of the front engine mount, introduces novel mass and stiffness characteristics and therefore novel dynamic characteristics. Thus, the rotor stiffness and the pre-engine structural stiffness may be adjusted so as to reduce or avoid frequency coincidence between the natural frequency and its potential excitation source.

As used herein, a "large" fan diameter may refer to a fan diameter greater than 216cm (85 inches) and optionally greater than 250cm (100 inches).

As noted elsewhere herein, the present disclosure relates to gas turbine engines. Such gas turbine engines may include an engine core including a turbine, a combustor, a compressor, and a spindle connecting the turbine to the compressor. Such gas turbine engines may include a fan (having fan blades) located upstream of the engine core.

Although not exclusive, the arrangement of the present disclosure is particularly advantageous for fans driven via a gearbox. Thus, the gas turbine engine may include a gearbox that receives an input from the spindle and outputs a drive to the fan to drive the fan at a lower rotational speed than the spindle. The input to the gearbox may come directly from the spindle or indirectly from the spindle, for example via a spur shaft (spur) and/or spur gear. The spindle may rigidly connect the turbine and compressor such that the turbine and compressor rotate at the same speed (with the fan rotating at a lower speed).

A gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein may have any suitable overall architecture. For example, the gas turbine engine may have any desired number of shafts connecting the turbine and the compressor, such as one, two, or three shafts. For example only, the turbine connected to the spindle may be a first turbine, the compressor connected to the spindle may be a first compressor, and the spindle may be a first spindle. The engine core may also include a second turbine, a second compressor, and a second spindle connecting the second turbine to the second compressor. The second turbine, the second compressor and the second spindle may be arranged to rotate at a higher rotational speed than the first spindle.

In such an arrangement, the second compressor may be positioned axially downstream of the first compressor. The second compressor may be arranged to receive (e.g. directly via a generally annular duct) the flow from the first compressor.

The gearbox may be arranged to be driven by a spindle (e.g. the first spindle in the above example) configured (e.g. in use) to rotate at the lowest rotational speed. For example, the gearbox may be arranged to be driven only by the spindle (e.g. only the first spindle and not the second spindle in the above example) which is configured (e.g. in use) to rotate at the lowest rotational speed. Alternatively, the gearbox may be arranged to be driven by any one or more shafts, for example by the first and/or second shaft in the above examples.

The gearbox may be a reduction gearbox (since the rotational rate output to the fan is lower than the rotational rate of the input from the spindle). Any type of gearbox may be used. For example, the gearbox may be a "planetary" or "star" gearbox, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. The gearbox may have any desired reduction ratio (defined as the rotational speed of the input shaft divided by the rotational speed of the output shaft), for example greater than 2.5, for example in the range 3 to 4.2, or 3.2 to 3.8, for example around or at least 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4, 4.1 or 4.2. The gear ratio may for example be between any two values in the previous sentence. For example only, the gearbox may be a "star" gearbox having a ratio in the range of 3.1 or 3.2 to 3.8. In some arrangements, the gear ratio may be outside of these ranges.

In any gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein, a combustor may be disposed axially downstream of the fan and the compressor. For example, where a second compressor is provided, the combustor may be located just downstream of the second compressor (e.g., at the outlet of the second compressor). As other examples, where a second turbine is provided, the flow at the outlet of the combustor may be provided to the inlet of the second turbine. The combustor may be disposed upstream of the turbine.

The or each compressor (e.g. the first and second compressors as described above) may comprise any number of stages, for example a plurality of stages. Each stage may include a row of rotor blades and a row of stator vanes, which may be variable stator vanes (as their angle of incidence may be variable). The row of rotor blades and the row of stator vanes may be axially offset from each other.

The or each turbine (e.g. the first and second turbines as described above) may comprise any number of stages, for example a plurality of stages. Each stage may include a row of rotor blades and a row of stator vanes. The row of rotor blades and the row of stator vanes may be axially offset from each other.

Each fan blade may be defined as having a radial span extending from a root (or hub) at a radially inner gas wash position or 0% span position to a tip at a 100% span position. The ratio of the radius of the fan blade at the hub to the radius of the fan blade at the tip may be less than (or about) any of: 0.4, 0.39, 0.38, 0.37, 0.36, 0.35, 0.34, 0.33, 0.32, 0.31, 0.3, 0.29, 0.28, 0.27, 0.26 or 0.25. The ratio of the radius of the fan blade at the hub to the radius of the fan blade at the tip may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit), such as within a range of 0.28 to 0.32. These ratios may be generally referred to as hub to tip ratios. Both the radius at the hub and the radius at the tip may be measured at the leading edge (or axially forwardmost) portion of the blade. Of course, the hub to tip ratio refers to the air-washed portion of the fan blade, i.e., the portion radially outward of any platform.

The radius of the fan may be measured between the engine centerline and the tip of the fan blade at its leading edge. The fan diameter (which may be only twice the fan radius) may be greater than (or about) any of: 220cm, 230cm, 240cm, 250cm (about 100 inches), 260cm, 270cm (about 105 inches), 280cm (about 110 inches), 290cm (about 115 inches), 300cm (about 120 inches), 310cm, 320cm (about 125 inches), 330cm (about 130 inches), 340cm (about 135 inches), 350cm, 360cm (about 140 inches), 370cm (about 145 inches), 380cm (about 150 inches), 390cm (about 155 inches), 400cm, 410cm (about 160 inches), or 420cm (about 165 inches). The fan diameter may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (e.g., the values may form an upper or lower limit), for example, within a range of 240cm to 280cm or 330cm to 380 cm.

The speed of rotation of the fan may vary during use. In general, for fans with larger diameters, the rotational speed is lower. By way of non-limiting example only, the fan speed at cruise conditions may be less than 2500rpm, such as less than 2300 rpm. By way of further non-limiting example only, for an engine having a fan diameter in the range of 220cm to 300cm (e.g. 240cm to 280cm or 250cm to 270cm), the fan speed at cruise conditions may be in the range of 1700rpm to 2500rpm, for example 1800rpm to 2300rpm, for example 1900rpm to 2100 rpm. By way of further non-limiting example only, for an engine having a fan diameter in the range of 330cm to 380cm, the fan speed at cruise conditions may be in the range of 1200rpm to 2000rpm, such as in the range of 1300rpm to 1800rpm, such as in the range of 1400rpm to 1800 rpm.

In use of the gas turbine engine, a fan (with associated fan blades) rotates about an axis of rotation. This rotation causes the tips of the fan blades to rotate at a speed U_{Tip end}And (4) moving. The work done by the fan blades 13 on the flow results in an enthalpy rise dH for the flow. The fan tip load may be defined as dH/U_{Tip end} ²Where dH is the enthalpy rise across the fan (e.g., 1-D average enthalpy rise), and U_{Tip end}Is the (translational) speed of the fan tip, e.g. at the leading edge of the tip (which may be defined as the fan tip radius at the leading edge multiplied by the angular speed). The fan tip load at cruise conditions may be greater than (or about) any one of: 0.28, 0.29, 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 0.39 or 0.4. The fan tip load may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., the values may form an upper or lower limit), such as within a range of 0.28 to 0.31 or 0.29 to 0.3.

The gas turbine engine according to the present disclosure may have any desired bypass ratio, where the bypass ratio is defined as the ratio of the mass flow rate of flow through the bypass duct to the mass flow rate of flow through the core at cruise conditions. In some arrangements, the bypass ratio may be greater than (or about) any one of: 10. 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12, 12.5, 13, 13.5, 14, 14.5, 15, 15.5, 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18, 18.5, 19, 19.5 or 20. The bypass ratio may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (e.g., the values may form an upper or lower limit), such as within a range of 12 to 16, 13 to 15, or 13 to 14. The bypass conduit may be substantially annular. The bypass duct may be located radially outward of the core engine. The radially outer surface of the bypass duct may be defined by the nacelle and/or the fan casing.

The overall pressure ratio of a gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein may be defined as the ratio of the stagnation pressure upstream of the fan to the stagnation pressure at the outlet of the highest pressure compressor (prior to entering the combustor). By way of non-limiting example, the overall pressure ratio at cruise of a gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein may be greater than (or about) any one of: 35. 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75. The overall pressure ratio may be within the inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (e.g., these values may form an upper or lower limit), such as within the range of 50 to 70.

The specific thrust of the engine may be defined as the net thrust of the engine divided by the total mass flow through the engine. At cruise conditions, the specific thrust of the engines described and/or claimed herein may be less than (or about) any of the following: 110Nkg^-1s、105Nkg^-1s、100Nkg^-1s、95Nkg^-1s、90Nkg^-1s、85Nkg^-1s or 80Nkg^-1And s. The specific thrust may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (e.g., the values may form an upper or lower limit), e.g., at 80Nkg^-1s to 100Nkg^-1s, or 85Nkg^-1s to 95Nkg^-1s is in the range of. With conventional gasesSuch engines may be particularly efficient compared to turbine engines.

A gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein may have any desired maximum thrust. By way of non-limiting example only, a gas turbine as described and/or claimed herein is capable of producing a maximum thrust of at least (or about) any one of: 160kN, 170kN, 180kN, 190kN, 200kN, 250kN, 300kN, 350kN, 400kN, 450kN, 500kN or 550 kN. The maximum thrust may be within the inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit). For example only, a gas turbine as described and/or claimed herein may be capable of producing a maximum thrust in a range of 330kN to 420kN, such as 350kN to 400 kN. The thrust referred to above may be the maximum net thrust at standard atmospheric conditions at sea level, plus 15 degrees celsius (ambient pressure 101.3kPa, temperature 30 degrees celsius), with the engine at rest.

In use, the temperature of the flow at the inlet of the high pressure turbine may be particularly high. This temperature (which may be referred to as TET) may be measured at the outlet of the combustor (e.g., immediately upstream of the first turbine bucket, which may itself be referred to as a nozzle guide bucket). At cruise, the TET may be at least (or about) any of the following: 1400K, 1450K, 1500K, 1550K, 1600K or 1650K. The TET at cruise may be within an inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit). The maximum TET of the engine when in use may be, for example, at least (or about) any of: 1700K, 1750K, 1800K, 1850K, 1900K, 1950K or 2000K. The maximum TET is within the inclusive range bounded by any two values in the preceding sentence (i.e., these values may form an upper or lower limit), such as within the range of 1800K to 1950K. The maximum TET may occur, for example, under high thrust conditions, such as under Maximum Takeoff (MTO) conditions.

As used herein, Maximum Takeoff (MTO) conditions have conventional meaning. Maximum takeoff conditions may be defined as operating the engine at the runway end maximum takeoff thrust at International Standard Atmospheric (ISA) sea level pressure and temperature conditions +15 ℃, which is typically defined when the aircraft speed is about 0.25Mn or about between 0.24Mn and 0.27 Mn. Thus, the maximum takeoff condition of the engine may be defined as: the engine is operated at International Standard Atmospheric (ISA) sea level pressure and temperature +15 ℃ with a fan inlet speed of 0.25Mn at maximum takeoff thrust for the engine (e.g., maximum throttle). The maximum takeoff speed (MTO speed) is the rotational speed of the fan (and attached fan shaft) under MTO conditions and is measured in units Hz (rotational frequency of the fan shaft).

The fan blades and/or airfoil portions of fan blades described and/or claimed herein may be fabricated from any suitable material or combination of materials. For example, at least a portion of the fan blade and/or airfoil may be at least partially fabricated from a composite material, such as a metal matrix composite material and/or an organic matrix composite material, such as carbon fiber. As other examples, at least a portion of the fan blade and/or airfoil may be at least partially fabricated from a metal, such as a titanium-based metal or an aluminum-based material (such as an aluminum lithium alloy) or a steel-based material. The fan blade may include at least two regions fabricated using different materials. For example, a fan blade may have a protective leading edge that may be manufactured using a material that is better able to withstand impacts (e.g., from birds, ice, or other materials) than the rest of the blade. Such a leading edge may be fabricated, for example, using titanium or a titanium-based alloy. Thus, by way of example only, a fan blade may have a carbon fiber or aluminum-based body (such as an aluminum lithium alloy) with a titanium leading edge.

A fan as described and/or claimed herein may include a central portion from which fan blades may extend, for example, in a radial direction. The fan blades may be attached to the central portion in any desired manner. For example, each fan blade may include a fastener that may engage a corresponding slot in the hub (or disk). By way of example only, such fasteners may be in the form of a dovetail that may be inserted into and/or engage a corresponding slot in the hub/disk to secure the fan blade to the hub/disk. As other examples, the fan blades may be integrally formed with the central portion. Such an arrangement may be referred to as a bladed disk or a bladed ring. Any suitable method may be used to manufacture such a bladed disk or bladed ring. For example, at least a portion of the fan blades may be machined from a block, and/or at least a portion of the fan blades may be attached to the hub/disk by welding, such as linear friction welding.

The gas turbine engines described and/or claimed herein may or may not be provided with Variable Area Nozzles (VANs). Such a variable area nozzle may allow the outlet area of the bypass duct to vary in use. The general principles of the present disclosure may be applied to engines with or without a VAN.

The fan of a gas turbine as described and/or claimed herein may have any desired number of fan blades, such as 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, or 26 fan blades.

As used herein, cruise conditions have the conventional meaning and will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Thus, for a given gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the skilled person will immediately recognize that cruise conditions refer to the operating point at which the gas turbine engine is designed to be attached to the engine of the aircraft at intermediate cruising of a given mission (which is referred to in the industry as an "economic mission"). In this regard, intermediate cruise is the point in the aircraft's flight cycle at which 50% of the total fuel burned between the peak of ascent and the beginning of descent has been burned (which may be approximately the midpoint between the peak of ascent and the beginning of descent in terms of time and/or distance). Thus, the cruise conditions define an operating point of the gas turbine engine that, taking into account the number of engines provided to the aircraft, provides a thrust that will ensure steady-state operation (i.e., maintaining a constant altitude and a constant mach number) of the aircraft to which the gas turbine engine is designed to be attached at intermediate cruising. For example, in the case where the engine is designed to be attached to an aircraft having two engines of the same type, then the engines provide half of the total thrust required for steady-state operation of the aircraft at intermediate cruise under cruise conditions.

In other words, for a given gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the cruise condition is defined as the operating point of the engine that provides a specific thrust at an intermediate cruise atmospheric condition (defined by the international standard atmosphere according to ISO 2533 at an intermediate cruise altitude) (it is necessary to provide, in combination with any other engine on the aircraft, a steady state operation of the aircraft to which the gas turbine engine is designed to be attached, at a given intermediate cruise mach number). For any given gas turbine engine for an aircraft, the intermediate cruise thrust, atmospheric conditions and mach number are known, and therefore the operating point of the engine at cruise conditions is well defined.

For example only, the forward speed at cruise conditions may be at any point in the range of mach 0.7 to mach 0.9, such as 0.75 to 0.85, such as 0.76 to 0.84, such as 0.77 to 0.83, such as 0.78 to 0.82, such as 0.79 to 0.81, such as about mach 0.8, about mach 0.85, or any point in the range of 0.8 to 0.85. Any single speed within these ranges may be part of the cruise conditions. For some aircraft, cruise conditions may be outside of these ranges, such as below mach 0.7 or above mach 0.9.

For example only, the cruise conditions may correspond to standard atmospheric conditions (according to the international standard atmospheric ISA) at an altitude within the following ranges: in the range 10000m to 15000m, such as 10000m to 12000m, such as 10400m to 11600m (about 38000ft), such as 10500m to 11500m, such as 10600m to 11400m, such as 10700m (about 35000ft) to 11300m, such as 10800m to 11200m, such as 10900m to 11100m, such as about 11000 m. Cruise conditions may correspond to standard atmospheric conditions at any given altitude within these ranges.

For example only, the cruise conditions may correspond to an operating point of the engine that provides a known desired thrust level at a forward mach number of 0.8 (e.g., a value in the range of 30kN to 35 kN) and standard atmospheric conditions (according to international standard atmosphere) at an altitude of 38000ft (11582 m). By way of further example only, the cruise conditions may correspond to an operating point of the engine providing a known desired thrust level at a forward mach number of 0.85 (e.g., a value in the range of 50kN to 65 kN) and standard atmospheric conditions (according to international standard atmosphere) at an altitude of 35000ft (10668 m).

In use, the gas turbine engine described and/or claimed herein may be operated at cruise conditions as defined elsewhere herein. Such cruise conditions may be determined by the cruise conditions (e.g., intermediate cruise conditions) of an aircraft on which at least one (e.g., 2 or 4) gas turbine engines may be mounted to provide propulsive thrust.

According to an aspect, there is provided an aircraft comprising a gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein. The aircraft according to this aspect is an aircraft to which the gas turbine engine has been designed to be attached. Thus, the cruise condition according to this aspect corresponds to an intermediate cruise of the aircraft, as defined elsewhere herein.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein. This operation may be performed at cruise conditions (e.g., in terms of thrust, atmospheric conditions, and mach number) as defined elsewhere herein.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating an aircraft comprising a gas turbine engine as described and/or claimed herein. Operations according to this aspect may include (or may be) operations at intermediate rounds of the aircraft, as defined elsewhere herein.

The skilled person will appreciate that features or parameters described in relation to any one of the above aspects are applicable to any other aspect unless mutually exclusive. Furthermore, unless mutually exclusive, any feature or parameter described herein may be applied to any aspect and/or combined with any other feature or parameter described herein.

Drawings

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a gas turbine engine;

FIG. 2 is a close-up cross-sectional side view of an upstream portion of a gas turbine engine;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a gearbox for a gas turbine engine;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of a forward portion of the gas turbine engine;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a forward portion of a gas turbine engine different from that shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a Campbell diagram in an inertial frame of reference illustrating various vibration modes;

FIG. 7 is a campbell diagram of FIG. 6 labeled with parameters A, B and C;

FIG. 8 is a campbell diagram of FIG. 6 labeled with parameters D, E and F;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the radial bending stiffness of a shaft;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of a forward portion of the gas turbine engine, as shown in FIG. 4, illustrating how the radial bending stiffness of the forward engine structure is determined;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the tilt stiffness of a shaft;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of a forward portion of the gas turbine engine as shown in FIG. 4, illustrating how the fan shaft tilt stiffness is determined;

FIG. 13 is a graph of displacement versus load illustrating the elastic region within which the stiffness of a component may be determined;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional side view of a gas turbine engine similar to that shown in FIG. 1, but with a different fan shaft arrangement;

FIG. 15 illustrates various methods;

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a whirling pattern of the fan and fan shaft (rotors RW, 1FW, fan FTW, rotor FW);

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a first nodding (bending) mode (FSN) of the front engine configuration; and

fig. 18 schematically illustrates a Reverse Traveling Wave (RTW) first flap mode (fan RTW) of the fan system.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 illustrates a gas turbine engine 10 having a main axis of rotation 9. The engine 10 comprises an air intake 12 and a propeller fan 23 which generates two air flows: core stream a and bypass stream B. The gas turbine engine 10 includes a core 11 that receives a core gas flow A. The engine core 11 includes, in axial flow series, a low pressure compressor 14, a high pressure compressor 15, a combustion apparatus 16, a high pressure turbine 17, a low pressure turbine 19, and a core exhaust nozzle 20. A nacelle 21 surrounds the gas turbine engine 10 and defines a bypass duct 22 and a bypass exhaust nozzle 18. The bypass airflow B flows through the bypass duct 22. The fan 23 is attached to and driven by the low pressure turbine 19 via a shaft 26 and an epicyclic gearbox 30.

In use, the core airflow A is accelerated and compressed by the low pressure compressor 14 and directed into the high pressure compressor 15 for further compression. The compressed air discharged from the high-pressure compressor 15 is led into a combustion device 16, where the compressed air is mixed with fuel and the mixture is combusted. The resulting hot combustion products are then expanded by the high pressure turbine 17 and the low pressure turbine 19 before being discharged through the nozzle 20 and thereby drive the high pressure turbine and the low pressure turbine to provide some propulsive thrust. The high pressure turbine 17 drives the high pressure compressor 15 through a suitable interconnecting shaft 27. The fan 23 provides the majority of the propulsive thrust as a whole. The epicyclic gearbox 30 is a reduction gearbox.

An exemplary arrangement for a geared fan gas turbine engine 10 is shown in FIG. 2. The low pressure turbine 19 (see fig. 1) drives a shaft 26 which is coupled to a sun gear or sun gear 28 of an epicyclic gear arrangement 30. Radially outward of and intermeshed with the sun gear 28 are a plurality of planet gears 32 that are coupled together by a carrier 34. The planet carrier 34 constrains the planet gears 32 to precess synchronously about the sun gear 28, while rotating each planet gear 32 about its own axis. The planet carrier 34 is coupled to the fan 23 via a connecting rod 36 for driving the fan in rotation about the engine axis 9. Radially outward of and intermeshes with the planet gears 32 is a ring gear or ring gear 38 that is coupled to the fixed support structure 24 via a linkage 40.

Note that as used herein, the terms "low pressure turbine" and "low pressure compressor" may refer to the lowest pressure turbine stage and lowest pressure compressor stage, respectively (i.e., not including fan 23), and/or the turbine stage and compressor stage that are connected together by an interconnecting shaft 26 having the lowest rotational speed in the engine (i.e., not including the gearbox output shaft that drives fan 23). In some documents, the "low pressure turbine" and "low pressure compressor" referred to herein may alternatively be referred to as an "intermediate pressure turbine" and an "intermediate pressure compressor". Where such alternative nomenclature is used, the fan 23 may be referred to as the first or lowest pressure compression stage.

The epicyclic gearbox 30 is shown in more detail in figure 3 as an example. Each of the sun gear 28, planet gears 32, and ring gear 38 includes teeth around its periphery for intermeshing with other gears. However, for clarity, only exemplary portions of the teeth are illustrated in fig. 3. Four planet gears 32 are illustrated, but it will be apparent to the skilled person that more or fewer planet gears 32 may be provided within the scope of the claimed invention. A practical application of the planetary epicyclic gearbox 30 generally comprises at least three planet gears 32.

The epicyclic gearbox 30, which is shown by way of example in fig. 2 and 3, is planetary in that the planet carrier 34 is coupled to the output shaft via a connecting rod 36, in which the ring gear 38 is fixed. However, any other suitable type of epicyclic gearbox 30 may be used. As another example, epicyclic gearbox 30 may be a star arrangement in which planet carrier 34 is held stationary, wherein ring gear (or ring gear) 38 is permitted to rotate. In this arrangement, the fan 23 is driven by the ring gear 38. As a further alternative example, the gearbox 30 may be a differential gearbox in which both the ring gear 38 and the planet carrier 34 are allowed to rotate.

It should be understood that the arrangements shown in fig. 2 and 3 are by way of example only, and that various alternatives are within the scope of the present disclosure. For example only, any suitable arrangement may be used to position the gearbox 30 in the engine 10 and/or to connect the gearbox 30 to the engine 10. As other examples, the connections (such as the links 36, 40 in the example of FIG. 2) between the gearbox 30 and other components of the engine 10 (such as the input shaft 26, the output shaft, and the fixed structure 24) may have any desired degree of stiffness or flexibility. As other examples, any suitable arrangement of bearings between rotating and stationary components of the engine (e.g., between input and output shafts from a gearbox and a stationary structure, such as a gearbox housing) may be used, and the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary arrangement of fig. 2. For example, where the gearbox 30 has a star-shaped arrangement (described above), the skilled person will readily appreciate that the arrangement of the output and support links and the bearing locations is generally different from that shown by way of example in fig. 2.

Accordingly, the present disclosure extends to gas turbine engines having any of a gearbox type (e.g., a star or planetary gearbox), a support structure, input and output shaft arrangements, and bearing locations.

Optionally, the gearbox may drive additional and/or alternative components (e.g., a medium pressure compressor and/or a booster compressor).

Other gas turbine engines to which the present disclosure may be applied may have alternative configurations. For example, such an engine may have an alternative number of compressors and/or turbines and/or an alternative number of interconnecting shafts. As other examples, the gas turbine engine shown in fig. 1 has split nozzles 18, 20, which means that the flow through the bypass duct 22 has its own nozzle 18 that is separate from and radially outside of the core engine nozzle 20. However, this is not limiting and any aspect of the disclosure may also be applied to engines in which the flow through the bypass duct 22 and the flow through the core 11 are mixed or combined before (or upstream of) a single nozzle, which may be referred to as a mixed flow nozzle. One or both nozzles (whether mixing or splitting) may have a fixed or variable area.

The geometry of the gas turbine engine 10 and its components are defined by a conventional shafting (axis system) including an axial direction (aligned with the axis of rotation 9), a radial direction (in the bottom-to-top direction in fig. 1), and a circumferential direction (perpendicular to the page in the view of fig. 1). The axial, radial and circumferential directions are mutually perpendicular.

The engine 10 is arranged to be mounted for use on a wing of an aircraft by means of one or more brackets 41. In the arrangement depicted, the nacelle 21 surrounds the engine 10, which surrounds the fan 23. In the example shown in fig. 4 (in which the nacelle 21 is not visible), the front engine mount 41 (i.e. the forward-most mount connecting the engine 10 to the wing, however, there may be many mounts) may be described as a front core mount 41, as it connects the core 11 directly to the wing. In an alternative example shown in FIG. 5, forward support 41 is a fan case forward support, rather than a core forward support, in that it connects fan case 45 to the wing of the aircraft (fan case 45 is positioned immediately within nacelle 21 generally about the axial location of the fan blade tips). The following description may be equally applied to an engine 10 having a core support 41 and/or a fan case support 41; the example with the core scaffold shown in FIG. 4 is discussed below as an example only; the present disclosure is not limited to such an arrangement.

The engine includes a fan shaft 36 that extends between a fan input position and a gearbox output position in the geared engine 10. In the arrangement shown in fig. 14, the fan shaft 36 additionally extends rearward of the gearbox output location, with the additional fan shaft length providing the option of mounting the fan shaft rearward of the gearbox 30. The fan shaft 36 transfers drive from the gear box 30 to the fan 23. The fan shaft 36 may define a torque transfer component that couples the output of the gearbox 30 to the fan input. For the purpose of defining the stiffness of the fan shaft 36, it is considered to extend between the fan input location (i.e., the axial location where the fan 23 is connected to the fan shaft 36) and the rear bearing b on the fan shaft 36, as described below.

In various arrangements, the fan shaft 36 is supported by two bearings: a first/forward bearing (forward bearing) a located closest to the fan 23; and a second/rear bearing (rear bearing) b located rearward of the first bearing a. The bearings a, b limit radial movement of the shaft 36 and are thus implemented as a point-head position for the whirling mode of the fan shaft 36. In alternative arrangements, such as shown in fig. 14, the fan shaft 36 may be supported by more than two bearings, for example by three bearings. Both (or all) of the bearings a, b are located behind the fan input location; the rotor system comprising the fan 23 and the fan shaft 36 can thus be described as a cantilevered rotor system, since the fan 23 is supported only by the fan shaft 36, which is supported behind the axial position at which the fan 23 is connected to the fan shaft 36.

For the arrangement described in detail below, the fan shaft 36 extends rearwardly through the gear box 30, as shown in FIG. 14. The additional length of the fan shaft 36 may be used to improve or facilitate the axial position of the fan shaft 36. In the arrangement shown in fig. 14, the gearbox 30 is a planetary gearbox and thus the fan shaft 36 is driven by a gearbox output shaft 35 connected to the planet carrier 34. Thus, the fan shaft 36 is driven by the rotation of the planet carrier 34, though through the gearbox 30, but does not otherwise interact with the gearbox. In an engine 10 with a star gearbox 30, the fan shaft 36 would instead be driven by the ring gear 38.

The forward bearing a on the fan shaft 36 of this arrangement is located near the fan 23, forward of the gear box 30, and more specifically near (and rearward of) the fan input location (i.e., the connection between the fan shaft 36 and the fan 23). The forward bearing a is a roller bearing that is mounted to a stationary structure of the engine 10 (and more particularly, in the example shown, is generally rigidly connected to a stationary structure 24 that includes fan outlet guide vanes/engine stator). The rear bearing b on the fan shaft 36 of this arrangement is located behind the gear box 30. The rear bearing b is a positioning bearing for axially positioning the fan shaft 36. Bearing b is an inter-shaft bearing in the arrangement shown; the fan shaft 36 is axially positioned relative to the spindle 26. Additional bearings axially position the spindle 26 within the engine 10.

In the arrangement shown in fig. 14, the third bearing c is provided on the fan shaft 36 between the bearing a and the bearing b. The bearing c is a protection bearing provided for safety. In an alternative arrangement, the bearing c may not be present. In various embodiments having more than two bearings on the fan shaft 36, the forwardmost bearing closest to the fan 23 may be considered bearing a and the rearwardmost bearing furthest from the fan may be considered bearing b.

The engine 10 also includes a front engine structure 42 and a power gearbox rear panel (PGB rear panel) 43.

The front engine structure 42 is substantially conical in shape in the arrangement shown in fig. 1 and 14, extending rearwardly and outwardly from the front bearing a towards the engine section stator 24. The front engine structure is rigidly mounted on the engine mount structure 24 (in the arrangement shown, the engine sector stator 24 is structural and forms part of the engine mount structure-in other arrangements, the engine mount structure 24 may not include the engine sector stator) and provides a support for the front bearing a and (where present) the intermediate bearing c. In the arrangement shown, the front engine structure 42 extends from an axial position forward of the gearbox 30 to an axial position along the length of the gearbox 30. Thus, the front engine structure 42 provides some support for the fan 23 and also provides a seal and containment (containment) for the power gearbox housing 30, which generally contains air/oil mist during operation. The front bearing a is mounted on the front engine structure 42 (or is an integral part of the engine structure 42).

The PGB rear panel 43 may function in sealing and positioning the gearbox 30; which may additionally provide rotor dynamic functionality for the intermediate pressure compressor 14. The PGB rear panel 43, which in the arrangement shown in fig. 1 and 14 is substantially conical in shape, extends rearwardly and inwardly from a location adjacent the engine section stator 24 towards the rear bearing b. The PGB rear panel is rigidly mounted on the engine mount structure 24 (in the arrangement shown, the engine section stator 24 is structural and forms part of the engine mount structure-in other arrangements, the engine mount structure 24 may not include an engine section stator). In the arrangement shown, the PGB rear face plate 43 extends from an axial position along the length of the gear case 30 to an axial position behind the gear case 30.

Thus, the PGB rear panel 43 provides some support for the fan shaft 36 via the spindle 26, and also provides sealing and containment at the rear side of the power gearbox chamber 30, which generally contains air/oil mist during operation.

The front engine structure 42 and the PGB rear panel 43 together form an enclosure around the gearbox chamber 30a, thereby isolating the remainder of the engine 10 from the air/oil mist generally generated by the gearbox 30 during operation. The front engine structure 42 and the PGB rear panel 43 are arranged not to rotate with the fan shaft 36 and may therefore be referred to as part of the stationary structure of the engine 10.

For ease of discussion, herein:

"fan system" is defined to include the fan 23 (fan blades and hub) and the fan shaft 36; and is

"Low pressure rotor System" (LP rotor System) is defined to include all components 23, 36 of the fan system and additionally includes a gearbox output shaft 35 that drives a fan shaft 36 (in the arrangement shown in FIG. 14, the gearbox output shaft 35 is a carrier output shaft because it is the planetary gearbox 30).

Vibration mode of engine

Fig. 4 and 5 each illustrate the front of a geared turbine engine 10 having a relatively large diameter fan 23, for example having a fan diameter greater than or equal to 215cm, and optionally greater than or equal to 250 cm. The fan 23 is located forward of the front engine mount 41 in a cantilevered mounting arrangement (i.e., the fan shaft 36 is supported on only one side of the mounting location of the fan 23, i.e., rearward of the axial location where the fan 23 is connected to the fan shaft 36, such that the fan shaft 36 may be considered as a cantilevered beam).

This type of engine 10 generally has three natural frequencies (modes) of interest, which may be frequency or near-coincident. These modes are:

1) a first nodding (bending) mode (FSN) of the front engine structure 42;

2) reverse Traveling Wave (RTW) first flap mode (fan RTW) of the fan 23 system; and

3) first reverse vortex (RW) rotor dynamic mode (rotor RW) of the LP rotor system.

Fig. 6 provides a campbell diagram in an inertial frame of reference showing various vibration modes.

As discussed herein, the rotation frequency values are non-directional — regardless of the direction of rotation, the frequencies are all given absolute (positive) values. Similarly, all frequency differences are set to positive values, where any frequency with the highest absolute value among a pair of frequencies to be compared is subtracted by any frequency with the lowest absolute value. All vibration modes described are the lowest order vibrations (fundamental) of their respective types, higher frequency harmonics may also be present, but in various aircraft designs including those described examples, fundamental frequencies are of particular concern because several modes in the first order mode coincide close to each other and/or are close to the forcing frequency (imbalance or aerodynamics) that may be present in use. The close coincidence and/or forcing may amplify the vibrational response. Furthermore, the skilled person will appreciate that whilst higher order vibrations of the same type have a smaller amplitude than lower order vibrations and are therefore generally less important from the point of view of their effect on the engine 10, a danger can arise if forced and/or if close to coincidence.

The first nodding (bending) mode of the front engine structure 42 may be referred to as the front engine structure nodding mode and as FSN. The FSN wire is shown as a dashed line in fig. 6 to 8.

A first nodding pattern (FSN) of the front engine architecture 42 is schematically illustrated in fig. 17. The entirety of the front engine structure 42 is bent or "nodulated" forward of the locations of the rear bearing b and the front bracket 41. It should be understood that fig. 17 (and correspondingly fig. 16 and 18) is intended to explain the mode-shape of the relevant mode, but the displacement is exaggerated for clarity of explanation.

The reverse traveling wave first flap mode of the fan 23 is an example of a reverse vortex mode of the fan and may be referred to as a fan RTW. The skilled person will understand that the fan 23 inherently has some flexibility required to exhibit the fan RTW vibrations, and may therefore be referred to as a flexible fan 23. The fan RTW lines are shown as dark gray solid lines in fig. 6 to 8. The fan RTW mode consists primarily of movement of the fan blades, with only a small contribution from the fan shaft 36. Fig. 18 schematically illustrates a Reverse Traveling Wave (RTW) first flap mode (fan RTW) of the fan system 23, 36. As illustrated, the movement of the fan shaft 36 is less than the movement of the fan blades 23 and is generally negligible in practice.

The first reverse whirling rotor dynamic mode of fan shaft 36 is another example of a reverse whirling mode and may be referred to as rotor RW. The rotor RW line is shown as a black dot-and-dash line in fig. 6 to 8. The rotor RW mode consists primarily of bending of the fan shaft 36, some of which contributes to fan blade deflection.

Thus, the two vibration modes described above: both the fan RTW and the rotor RW are in "reverse whirl" (or "reverse whirl") mode; i.e. the direction of the whirl is opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor system 23, 36. In the example shown in fig. 6, the lowest frequency reverse vortex mode is the reverse traveling wave first flap mode (fan RTW) of the flexible fan 23. The second lowest frequency reverse whirl mode is the first reverse whirl rotor dynamic mode (rotor RW) of fan shaft 36. However, the opposite may occur in other arrangements (i.e., rotor RW may have a lower frequency than fan RTW).

The campbell diagram (fig. 6) also shows a synchronization line 1EO, which may also be referred to as a first engine instruction line. Line 1EO represents the fan shaft speed operating line and is shown as a black solid line in fig. 6-8. Thus, FIG. 6 illustrates the natural frequency ω of mode FSN, fan RTW, and rotor RW at the intersection of the mode line and line 1EO_nWith engine fan shaft speed (forced vibration frequency) omega_{Fan with cooling device}The coincidence therebetween.

If the rotor first counter-vortex mode (rotor RW) and/or the counter-traveling first fan blade flap mode (fan RTW) have insufficient frequency margin above the maximum fan shaft rotational speed (i.e., if the mode frequency is too similar to the maximum fan shaft rotational frequency/if the frequency difference between them is insufficient), either or both of these modes may be excited by a stationary forced load in the inertial frame of reference (as viewed by an external observer looking at the engine 10). Examples of such forcing include aerodynamic loading on the fan blade 23 and fan blade tip friction.

If the frequency margin is zero (i.e., if the mode frequency is equal to the maximum fan shaft rotation frequency), the reverse traveling wave of the fan 23 and/or the rotor response is fixed in the inertial frame of reference, and thus a fixed aerodynamic load or fan blade tip rub may rapidly increase the response amplitude to a damaging/dangerous level.

Therefore, a frequency margin called a reverse whirl frequency margin can be appropriately adjusted to avoid such a response amplification.

The maximum fan speed (i.e., MTO fan speed) is considered for establishing the frequency margin because at lower rotor speeds, the first reverse vortex mode (rotor RW) and the reverse traveling first fan blade flap mode (fan RTW) have higher frequencies in the inertial frame of reference, while the rotor speed is lower. Thus, the maximum rotor speed condition is always the condition where the lowest reverse whirl frequency margin occurs in the engine 10 as described.

The first parameter a is defined as the lowest frequency of the mode fan RTW or rotor RW at Maximum Takeoff (MTO) speed. In the example shown in fig. 6, a line corresponding to MTO speed (vertical dotted line) has been added to the campbell diagram to facilitate determining this parameter. For the example shown, the fan RTW is lower than the rotor RW, and therefore the value of the fan RTW mode line in the case where it intersects the MTO line is taken as the value of parameter A, as shown in FIG. 7.

The second parameter B is defined to be equal to the MTO speed. The MTO speed is the rotational speed of the fan 23 and the shaft 36 and is therefore defined as the rotational frequency in terms of frequency for ease of comparison with other frequencies described herein.

The reverse whirl frequency margin is denoted as a/B. In various arrangements, the reverse whirl frequency margin A/B may be maintained in the range of 15% to 50%, and preferably greater than 25%.

If the rotor first reverse vortex mode (rotor RW) and the reverse traveling wave first fan blade flap mode (fan RTW) have insufficient mutual frequency margin (i.e., if they are too close in frequency to each other), these modes may interact such that any forcing as described above may excite both of these modes rather than just one. This may again lead to a detrimental increase in the amplitude of the vibrational response.

The parameter D may be defined as the frequency difference between the mode fan RTW and the rotor RW at the MTO, as marked in fig. 8. This is measured as the frequency difference between the intersection of the wire of the fan RTW and the MTO and the intersection of the wire rotor RW and the MTO.

The mutual frequency margin may then be expressed as D/(a + B). In various arrangements, the frequency margin D/(a + B) may be kept in the range of 5% to 50%, and preferably greater than 10%.

The front engine structure nodding mode (FSN) is a mode of a portion of a stationary structure that is a portion of the engine 10 that is arranged to not rotate relative to the aircraft, or other structure on which the engine is mounted in use (i.e., not rotating with the fan 23, any of the shafts 26, 36, or the turbine 19 in use).

The FSN mode may be excited directly by rotor imbalance, such as imbalance of the fan 23 and/or the fan shaft 36. If the rotor imbalance at the forced vibration frequency (fan speed, e.g., as measured by the rotational frequency) coincides with the natural frequency of the FSN mode, the response to the imbalance is amplified. If the pattern FSN does not have a frequency that coincides or nearly coincides with the frequency of the fan RTW or the rotor RW, the amplification remains small. However, if the FSN mode frequency is close to the frequency of the fan RTW or the rotor RW, the vibration amplitude may increase detrimentally.

The frequency of the FSN mode depends on the stiffness of the various structures 42, 24 that directly and/or indirectly support the fan shaft 36, and in particular the frequency of the FSN mode depends on the stiffness of the front engine structure 42. In various embodiments, the primary stiffness path from the fan 23 to the front carrier plane (a) may pass upwardly through the front engine structure 42, which includes the engine section stator 24.

In general, the stiffness of the front engine structure 42 may not be radially symmetric — e.g., not the same in the orthogonal direction due to the non-axisymmetric engine mount arrangement. As a result, in such examples, the front engine structure point-to-head (FSN) mode generally consists of a pair of modes at similar but unequal (e.g., separated by only 0-10%, e.g., separated by 2 Hz) natural frequencies in orthogonal directions. This combination of orthogonal modes may cause the front engine structure vibration in response to rotor imbalance to assume an elliptical orbit, and thus the rotor (fan 23 and fan shaft 36) housed in the front engine structure 42 is forced by the elliptical orbit at its bearing supports a, b. The elliptical orbit may include both a forward traveling wave component and a reverse traveling wave component; therefore, a mechanism is proposed to excite the reverse vortex mode fan RTW or the rotor RW if they coincide or nearly coincide with the FSN frequency. This combination of actions can rapidly increase the vibration response amplitude to noisy levels or, in extreme cases, to potentially damaging/dangerous levels. Thus, the pre-engine architecture frequency margin may be tailored to avoid such amplification mechanisms.

Parameter E is defined as the frequency difference between the highest frequency mode and mode FSN of fan RTW and rotor RW at their respective synchronous natural frequencies, as shown in fig. 8. In the example shown in fig. 8, the rotor RW is higher than the fan RTW, so a frequency difference between the rotor RW wire and the FSN wire crossing 1EO is used. If fan RTW is higher than rotor RW, the frequency difference between fan RTW and FSN wires crossing 1EO will be used.

The parameter F is defined as the lowest natural frequency of the front engine structure nodding-head mode pair (FSN), as shown in fig. 8. On the campbell diagram, the FSN line shown is the lowest natural frequency for the front engine structure nodding-head mode pair.

The front engine structure frequency margin is denoted as E/F. In various arrangements, the front engine structure frequency margin E/F may be maintained in the range of 5% to 50%, and preferably greater than 10%.

In an axisymmetric engine mount arrangement, the FSN mode may consist of only a single mode, thereby reducing or avoiding this excitation path; in such an arrangement, it may be less important, or even unnecessary, to take into account the pre-engine structural frequency margin.

The FSN mode may tend to cause the nacelle 21 within which the engine is mounted to move and potentially bend. Thus, the nacelle 21 mass may be taken into account when adjusting the pre-engine structure frequency margin E/F. For example, the nacelle mass may be selected to be in the range of 1000kg to 3000kg, and optionally in the range of 1500kg to 2500 kg. In general, the frequency of the FSN mode may decrease in proportion to the ratio of the nacelle 21 modal mass to the engine 10 modal mass, where the modal mass is calculated as the mass that participates in the FSN mode by kinetic energy contributing to the total energy. For example, a geared turbine engine 10 with a relatively large fan diameter and no nacelle may exhibit an FSN mode at 26 Hz. The same engine 10 installed in a cabin with a mass of 1500kg may exhibit an FSN mode at 20 Hz. The same engine 10 installed in a nacelle with a mass of 2500kg may exhibit an FSN mode at 16 Hz. It should be understood that these values are provided as illustrative examples only and are not intended to be limiting.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, geared turbine engines 10 of the type having a relatively large fan diameter and a rotor cantilevered forward of the forward engine mount 41 may additionally have a natural frequency (mode) of interest at higher frequencies. This mode may be formed by a combination of two forward swirl (FW) modes:

1) forward traveling wave first flap mode (fan FTW) of the (flexible) fan 23 system; and

2) the first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode (rotor FW) of the LP rotor system.

Two vibration modes described above: both the fan FTW and the rotor FW are in a "forward whirling" mode; i.e. the direction of the swirling motion is the same as the direction of rotation of the fan and LP rotor system 23, 36.

On the campbell diagram in the inertial frame of reference (fig. 6), the forward whirl pattern is identified as 1FW (first forward whirl) and marked with dot-dash lines. 1FW can be described as a combined shape mode because it has the properties of both a forward traveling wave first fan flap mode (fan FTW) shape and a fan shaft first forward whirling rotor dynamic mode shape (rotor FW).

Fig. 16 schematically illustrates the whirling modes of the fan 23 and the fan shaft 36 (rotors RW, 1FW, fan FTW, rotor FW). It should be understood that the pattern shapes are generally the same for the forward and reverse vortex patterns, with the difference being the direction of rotation of the vortex — the forward vortex pattern rotating in the same direction as the shaft 36, and the reverse vortex pattern rotating in the opposite direction to the shaft 36.

If the rotor first forward vortex mode (1FW) has insufficient frequency margin above the maximum fan speed (MTO speed), this mode may be excited by an imbalance on the rotors 23, 36, for example by an imbalance of the fan 23. Control of the high balance mass and/or rotor dynamic response may be provided by introducing damping to prevent high vibrational response. As a result of not preventing high vibrational response, the vibration of the rotors 23, 36 may cause noise, affect component life limits and/or require frequent fan trim balancing operations. In some cases, the response amplitude may increase to a damaging or dangerous level.

Therefore, the frequency margin called the forward whirl frequency margin can be appropriately adjusted.

The parameter C is defined as the frequency difference between the intersection of 1FW and synchronization (first engine instruction) line 1EO and the intersection of MTO and 1EO, as shown on fig. 7.

The forward whirl frequency margin is denoted as C/B, where B is the maximum takeoff speed (MTO speed), which is defined in terms of rotational frequency, as described above. In various arrangements, the forward whirl frequency margin C/B may be maintained in the range of 10% to 100%, and preferably greater than 30%.

In summary, four frequency margins are defined herein:

TABLE 1 frequency margin

In various arrangements, A/B is greater than or equal to 25%, C/B is greater than or equal to 30%, D/(A + B) is greater than or equal to 10%, and E/F is greater than or equal to 10%.

From the campbell plots as illustrated in fig. 6 to 8, the following six parameters can be easily obtained, which are used for calculating the frequency margin:

TABLE 2 parameters

All these parameters have the unit Hz of frequency and therefore all frequency margins are dimensionless.

In various arrangements, one, some, or all of the four described frequency margins may be maintained within a specified range. Various engine properties may be controlled in order to adjust the vibration properties, including the following. The skilled person will appreciate that the engine 10 may be adjusted so as to allow the frequency margin to be within the specified range in a variety of different ways, as a number of parameters affect the vibration properties of the engine. Thus, the following examples of engine properties are provided as examples only.

In particular, the inventors have appreciated that adjusting the stiffness of the fan 23, the stiffness of the fan shaft 36, and/or the stiffness of the pre-engine structure 42 may allow or facilitate avoiding frequency coincidence between natural frequencies and their potential excitation sources.

The fan diameter may be greater than or equal to 215cm (85 ") or 250cm (100"), and optionally selected to be in the range of 215cm to 420cm, or 250cm to 370cm (100 "to 145"). The same fan dimensions may be used for both the composite fan blade 23 and the metal fan blade 23.

The fan mass (including the mass of the hub fan 23) may be in the range of 300kg to 1000 kg.

The fan moment of inertia about the longitudinal engine axis (the moment of inertia of the fan 23 including the hub) may be in the range of 100kg · m²To 600kg m²Within the range of (1).

The fan shaft length L defined between the front bearing a and the rear bearing b as shown in fig. 4 and 5 may be in the range of 900mm to 1800 mm. The fan shaft length L may be defined between the axial center points of the bearings a, b. In arrangements having more than two bearings on the fan shaft 36, L may be defined between the fan shaft bearing closest to the fan 23 and the fan shaft bearing furthest from the fan 23.

Front engine structure cantilever distance D_CThe front engine structure cantilever distance, which may be in the range of 800mm to 1700mm, is defined as the distance between the radial plane of the front bracket 41 (front bracket plane) to the front bearing a, as shown in fig. 4. Front engine structure cantilever distance D_CMay be defined between the axial center point of the front bearing a and the axial center point of the front bracket 41 (i.e., the front bracket plane is located at the axial center point of the front bracket 41).

Radial bending stiffness

With respect to the deformation of the cantilever beam 900, a radial bending stiffness is defined with reference to FIG. 9, the cantilever beam moves between a first position 900a and a second position 900b upon application of a force. As illustrated in fig. 9, a force F applied at the free end of the beam 900a in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beam results in a linear vertical deformation δ seen in the second position 900 b. The radial bending stiffness is the force applied for a given linear deformation, i.e., F/δ. In the present application, the radial direction is relative to the axis of rotation 9 of the engine 10 and thus relates to the resistance to linear deformation of the engine in the radial direction caused by radial forces. The beam 900 or equivalent cantilevered member extends along the axis of rotation of the engine, exerts a force F in any radial direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the engine 10, and measures the displacement 6 perpendicular to the axis of rotation along the line of action of the force F. The radial bending stiffness as defined herein has an SI unit of N/m and can be scaled to alternative units such as kN/mm. In this application, unless otherwise stated, radial bending stiffness is considered to be free body stiffness, i.e. the stiffness measured for a single component in a cantilever configuration in the absence of other components that may affect its stiffness.

Determination of the radial bending stiffness of the front engine structure 42 is described with respect to fig. 10. The front engine structure 42 is considered to be separate (i.e. without the fan shaft 36 and other components) and determines deflection in response to a radial shear force F applied to the front engine structure 42 at the axial center point of the front bearing a, with the engine stationary structure grounded (i.e. treated as rigid/non-moving) at the radial plane of the front bracket 41.

The deflection δ is measured at the centerline of the front bearing a from the applied force F. The diagonal line is used to indicate that the structure remains rigid in a radial plane aligned with the front engine mount 41-the bending of the structure in front of this connection is measured.

In an engine 10 having an arrangement of engine mounts 41 that is not axis symmetric, the radial bending stiffness of the front engine structure 42 may be different in orthogonal directions. Therefore, it is possible to measure or perform calculations for a plurality of positions, for example, two orthogonal positions, and to set the lowest value for the radial bending stiffness of the front engine structure 42. In the depicted example, the mounting of the front engine structure 42 may provide significant asymmetry, and thus may be measured, for example, in line with and perpendicular to the support. The lowest stiffness may generally correspond to the lowest FSN frequency, which may be of interest for minimum frequency separation of the fan RTW or rotor RW modes.

The front engine structure radial bending stiffness may be in the range of 80kN/mm to 180 kN/mm.

Tilt stiffness

The tilt stiffness is defined with reference to fig. 11, which illustrates the deformation of the cantilever beam 900 from a first position 900a to a second position 900b under the influence of a moment M applied at its free end. The tilt stiffness is a measure of the rotational resistance of a point on the component to which a moment is applied. As can be seen in fig. 11, the applied torque at the free end of the cantilevered beam results in a constant curvature along the length of the beam between the free and fixed ends of the beam. The applied moment M results in a rotation theta of the point at which the moment is applied. Thus, the tilt stiffness as defined herein has SI units of Nm/rad and can be scaled to alternative units such as N · mm/rad.

Determination of the tilt stiffness of the fan shaft 36 is described with respect to fig. 12. The diagonal line is used to indicate: the fan shaft 36 is held fixed at bearings a and b, which are treated as rigid. The shaft 36 is treated as being fixed at the bearings a, b as this represents a boundary condition when installed in the engine 10. In an arrangement with more than two bearings on the fan shaft 36, the fan shaft 36 may be held fixed at all such bearings.

The moment M is applied about a rotational axis oriented along a radius of the engine 10 and at an axial location of a center of gravity (CoG) of the fan assembly (i.e., the CoG of the fan 23 and not including the fan shaft 36). The axis of rotation of the tilting moment M extends into the page drawn in fig. 12. The axial position of the fan assembly CoG on the fan shaft 36 is generally at least approximately in line with and generally slightly forward of the forward bearing a, although the precise location may vary between different engine arrangements.

The change in angle θ is measured between the engine axis 9 and the tangent of the fan shaft 36 at the axial position of the fan assembly CoG (the point of application of the moment). Angular deflection is measured at the center of gravity of the fan in response to a point radial moment applied to the individual fan shaft 36 (i.e., without the front engine structure 42 or other components), with the bearing centers fixed at "a" and "b".

The tilting rigidity of the fan shaft can be 5 multiplied by 10⁹N.mm/rad to 12X 10⁹N.mm/rad.

Figure 13 illustrates how the stiffness as defined herein is measured. Fig. 13 shows a graph of displacement δ resulting from applying a load L (e.g., force, moment, or torque) applied to a component for which stiffness is measured. From zero to L_PThere is a non-linear region where displacement is caused by movement of the loaded component (or relative movement of individual parts of the component) rather than deformation of the component; such as moving within the gap between the parts. At L_QAt load levels above, the elastic limit of the component has been exceeded and the applied load no longer causes elastic deformation — instead plastic deformation or failure of the component can occur. Between points P and Q, the applied load and the resulting displacement have a linear relationship. Stiffness as defined herein can be determined by measuring the slope of the linear region between points P and Q (where stiffness is the inverse of this slope). By providing a larger displacement to be measured, the slope can be found for as large a region as possible in the linear region to increase the accuracy of the measurement. For example, L may be increased by applying a voltage equal to or only greater than L_PAnd is equal to or only less than L_QTo find the slope. Can be used in the test based on the material characteristicsFront estimate L_PAnd L_QIn order to apply the appropriate load. Although in this specification the displacement is referred to as δ, the skilled person will understand that equivalent principles may be applied to linear or angular displacements.

Unless otherwise noted, the stiffness as defined herein is for the respective component of the engine at cruise conditions. The stiffness does not vary significantly in general over the operating range of the engine; the stiffness at cruise conditions of an aircraft using the engine (such as those defined elsewhere herein) or at MTO conditions may therefore be the same as the stiffness when the engine is not in use (i.e., at shutdown-at zero speed/cruise. However, where the stiffness varies over the operating range of the engine, the stiffness as defined herein is to be understood as the value when the engine is operating in cruise conditions.

Fig. 15 illustrates the method 1000 described above, optionally performed using the engine 10. The method 1000 includes starting 1002 an engine 10 of an aircraft and reaching an operating condition, and operating 1004 the aircraft. During operation 1004, the aircraft may operate at MTO speed for one or more time periods. One or more of the following may apply:

(i) the reverse whirl frequency Margin (MB) of the following formula may be in the range of 15% to 50%:

(ii) the forward whirl frequency margin (C/B) of the following formula may be in the range of 10% to 100%:

(iii) the mutual frequency margin (D/(a + B)) of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

(iv) the pre-engine structure frequency margin (E/F) of the following formula may be in the range of 5% to 50%:

the features as described above for the engine 10 may be equally applied in the described method 1000.

It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and that various modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Any feature may be used alone or in combination with any other feature except where mutually exclusive, and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and subcombinations of one or more of the features described herein.