GEARED TURBOFAN GAS TURBINE ENGINE WITH RELIABILITY CHECK ON GEAR CONNECTION

摘要

A gas turbine engine includes a fan and a compressor. A combustor drives a turbine, including a first turbine with a shaft to drive the compressor. A fan drive turbine drives the fan through a speed reduction. A sensor senses a speed of rotation of the fan and communicates sensed speed information to a control. The control develops an expected speed for the fan. A problem is identified should the sensed speed be less than the expected speed by more than a predetermined amount. A method is also described.

主权项

1. A gas turbine engine comprising:
a fan; a compressor section having at least one rotor; a combustor; a turbine system, including a first turbine including a shaft to drive said least one rotor, and at least a fan drive turbine, said fan drive turbine being operable to drive said fan through a speed reduction; and a sensor to sense a speed of rotation of said fan and communicate said sensed speed to a control, said control being operable to develop an expected speed for said fan and identify a problem should said sensed speed be less than the expected speed by more than a predetermined amount, said predetermined amount being intended to identify a failure in at least one of gears, a connection and a shaft in said speed reduction, or a shaft driven by said gears and in turn driving said fan.