Patent GB-1028746-A (GB)
Title: Gas turbine engine
Inventor: ANDREWS DAVID KEITH
IPC: F02K1/16
Filed: 1963-07-30
Abstract: 1,028,746. Fluid-pressure servomotor systems. DOWTY FUEL SYSTEMS Ltd. July 14, 1964 [July 30, 1963], No. 30212/63. Heading G3P. [Also in Division F1] The invention relates to a control system for a gas turbine jet engine having a variable area jet nozzle and at least two reheat burner assemblies located downstream of the turbine to supply reheat fuel to gases discharging through the nozzle. A manually operable control is provided for selecting the total fuel flow for the reheat burners, also a nozzle area control which is responsive to an operating condition of the engine to adjust the nozzle area in the sense to tend to maintain the condition constant. Selector valves are provided and arranged to feed fuel successively to the burner assemblies with increase in total fuel flow and to shut off fuel flow successively from the burner assemblies with reduction in total fuel flow, there being also hysteresis means to ensure that the position of the manually-operable control at which fuel starts to flow to a burner assembly during increase of total flow is different from the position of the control at which fuel is shut off from the burner assembly during reduction of total fuel flow. A gas turbine jet engine is indicated at 1 Fig. 1 and comprises three reheat fuel assemblies 3, 4 and 5 also a variable area nozzle comprising flaps 6 and 7 pivotally mounted at 8 and 9 and actuated by ram devices 14, 15 which are supplied with fluid under pressure through lines 18, 19. A feedback link 21 is connected to the ram rod 16, the link being connected with linkage 71. Hydraulic fluid is supplied to the lines 18, 19 from a pump 22 see Fig. 7 the pump discharge through the line 24 being controlled by a valve assembly 25 which comprises a spool valve 31 having three spaced lands, the central land 29 controlling flow of fluid to the lines 18, 19. The axial position of the valve 31 is controlled by pressure fluid supplied through lines 39, 41 to either end thereof, the lines 39, 41 extending from control valve 42, Fig. 6. The valve 42 comprises a spool valve 45 having three spaced lands 46, 47, 48, and a cylindrical sleeve 44 having ports 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, the sleeve being slidably mounted within a cylinder 43. The sleeve 44 is formed with a servo piston 61 having a projection 65 which is formed with a bore 66 which communicates with the space below the piston 61. Leakage of fluid through the bore 66 is controlled by a cam 68 which is rotated by means of the feedback linkage 71 extending from the variable area nozzle actuators Fig. 1. The servo piston 61 and hence the sleeve 44 will follow movement of the cam 68. The spool valve 45 is pivotally connected at 74 to a lever 75 pivotally mounted at 76, the lever being urged by a spring so that the follower 77 engages against the three-dimensional cam 78. The cam 78 is rotatable by means of a rod 85 which is formed with a rack 84 which engages pinion 83, the position of the rod 85 being controlled by the pilot's lever 89 acting through cam 92 and caged spring device 93. Movement of the rod 85 will cause axial movement of the spool valve 45 by way of the cam 78 and lever 75 and movement of the spool valve will cause hydraulic fluid to flow to one of the lines 39, 41 and thus cause axial movement of the spool valve 31, Fig. 7 and thus cause hydraulic fluid to flow from the pump 22 to one of the lines 18, 19 and thus cause the actuators 14, 15 Fig. 1 to move the variable area nozzle flaps 6, 7. Movement of the flaps 6, 7 is fed back through the linkage 71 to the cam 68 whereby the sleeve 44 will move axially to bring the ports 55, 57, 59 in the sleeve back into coincidence with the lands 46, 47, 48 of the spool valve 45. The sleeve 44 is connected to the rod 85 by means of a lost motion device 87, 88. The reheat control lever 89 is carried by a shaft 91 on which is mounted the cam 92 also three further cams 101, 102,103 having stepped profiles. The feed back link 71 from the variable area nozzle Fig. 1, also carries three cams 107, 108, 109, see Fig. 6, the cams 107, 108, 109 being formed with profiles having double steps as shown. The cams 101 and 107 together co-operate with a floating lever 117 which carries a valve member 119 which co-operates with a vent 121 at the end of line 141. Similarly the cams 102, 108 co-operate with a floating lever 122 which carries a valve member 125 which co-operates with a vent 126 at the end of line 377. And similarly the cams 103, 109 co-operates with a floating lever 127 which carries a valve member 131 which co-operates with a vent 132 at the end of line 378. The arrangement is such that the valve members 119, 125 and 131 may be lifted from the vents 121, 126 and 132 by particular combinations of positions of the associated cams. The computing unit 151 Fig. 5 responds to the pressure ratio across the turbine and it is this ratio which is the condition for engine operation to assist in the control of the variable area nozzle flaps, Fig. 1. The unit comprises two pairs of bellows 153, 154 and 162, 163, the bellows of each pair being interconnected and connected to the ends of a lever 156 which is pivotally mounted at 157. The lever 156 co-operates with a pair of leak-offs 176, 177 which lead from cylinder 167 at either side of piston 168. The bellows 153 and 162 are evacuated, bellows 154 is subject to the pressure existing in chamber 161, and the bellows 163 is connected to the pressure downstream of the turbine. Air at compressor discharge pressure is supplied through line 182 to the space 161, the flow being controlled by the tapered end 178 of piston rod 169, the pressure in chamber 161 being a constant fraction of the compressor delivery pressure for any one position of the piston rod. The piston rod 171 extends to a chamber 184 and is formed at its lower end with a flattened surface 185 having a vent 192 with which co-operates a cam 194, the vent 192 being supplied with liquid under pressure through line 63 which also supplies liquid to the two ends of cylinder 167. A piston 201 is arranged so as to move in accordance with the degree of closure of the cam profile 196 over the vent 192. The piston rod 202 of piston 201 is connected through linkage 203 to a lever 188, Fig. 6, which is adapted to move the cam 78 in an axial direction. Cam 194 is actuated by means of a servo-piston 206, fluid being supplied to one side or the other thereof by means of an electro-hydraulic servo-valve 208, the valve being operated in dependence on an electrical temperature sensing device at the inlet of the engine compressor. A centrifugal pump 511, Fig. 3 is provided for the supply of reheat fuel to the galleries 3, 4, 5, the pump operating on the vapour core principle. The pump comprises an impeller 513 which discharges through outlet 215. Fuel is supplied to the pump inlet 533 at boost pressure and then passes through inlet 518 which is controlled by valve 534, to the space within the sleeve 517. The sleeve 517 is formed with openings 516 which are controlled by an axially movable sleeve 524, fuel passing through the openings 516, when they are uncovered,to the pump impeller. The sleeve 524 is controlled by a servo-piston 523, fuel from the engine-main fuel system being supplied to both sides of the piston through line 525. The valve 534 is controlled by means of a servo-piston 537 to the lower side of which fuel from the main fuel system is also supplied as the servo-fluid. A vent pipe 527 leads from the left-hand end of the servo cylinder 522 to a servo-vent 228 in a vent unit 229, see Fig. 9, so that adjustment of the vent 228 will determine the position of the piston 523 and thus the opening of the apertures 516. A duct 141 leads from the lower end of the cylinder 536 to the vent 121 Fig. 6 so that upon closure of the vent 121 the piston 537 will move upwards to lift the valve member 534 off its seat thus allowing fuel to pass into the pump 511. Fuel delivered by the pump 511 through the outlet 215 passes through a flow control unit 216, Fig. 9, before discharging through duct 217 to the reheat fuel manifold 3 Fig. 1. The control unit 216 comprises a sleeve 219 disposed within a cylinder 218, the sleeve having ports 223 which co-operate with ports 222 in the cylinder to form a metering orifice. The sleeve is controlled by means of a servo-piston 224 disposed in cylinder 225. The piston rod 227 carries a spring retainer 240, a spring 230 being disposed between the retainer 240 and the lever 232 which is pivotally mounted at 233 and is connected at its other end between a pair of bellows 234, 235, bellows 234 being evacuated and bellows 235 being connected through line 238 to a control pressure proportional to delivery pressure of the engine compressor. The servo piston 224 is energized by fuel under pressure from the main fuel system supplied through line 525, the fuel passing through a pair of restrictors 239, 241. Lines 242, 243 pass from the two ends of cylinder 225 to servo-vents 244, 245 which are controlled by the lever 232. The arrangement is such that with increase in pressure supplied through line 238, that is with increase is compressor delivery pressure, the ports 223 coincide to a greater extent with the port 222 permitting increased flow of fuel through line 217 to the first reheat manifold. The vent unit 229, Fig. 9, is provided to control pressure drop across the metering orifice 222, 223, the unit comprising a pair of chambers 246, 247, the chamber 246 containing a bellows 252 which is connected at its free end to a lever 248 pivotally mounted at 251, the end of the lever within the chamber 247 co-operating with a vent 228. The pressure of fuel upstream of the metering orifice 222, 223 is communicated to the chamber 246 through line 256, and pressure of fuel downstream of the orifice is communicated to the interior of bellows 252 through line 255. The vent 228 communicates by way of line 527