Patent ID: 8266889

Claim:
A heat exchanger system for a gas turbine engine comprising: a fan comprising at least two stages of rotating fan blades surrounded by a fan casing, the fan operable to produce a flow of pressurized air at a fan exit; at least one heat exchanger having a first flowpath in fluid communication with the fan at a location upstream of the fan exit, wherein the fan casing includes at least one bleed aperture passing therethrough which communicates with the heat exchanger; and a fluid system coupled to a second flowpath of the at least one heat exchanger; wherein the first and second flowpaths are thermally coupled to each other; and wherein the fan further comprises an annular array of stationary vanes each having a platform disposed at its outer end, and wherein a radial gap is defined between each of the platforms and the fan casing, the bleed apertures being positioned within an axial extent of the radial gap.