The present disclosure generally relates to mount assemblies for securing tubular members to support structures and, more specifically, relates a kit for building a mount assembly for securing a tubular member such as a cable harness or a fluid tube to a support structure in a gas turbine engine.
Gas turbine engines are engines used to provide thrust to an aircraft or to provide power for land-based applications. In general, a gas turbine engine may consist of a fan surrounded by a fan case, a core engine located downstream of the fan, and a nacelle surrounding the fan and the core engine. In supporting fluid transport as well as the electrical operations of the gas turbine engine or an associated aircraft, numerous tubular structures including fluid conduits and electrical cable harnesses may be secured to and mounted on support structures in the gas turbine engine, such as the outer surface of the fan case. The supported fluid tubes may carry gas or liquids, while the electrical cable harnesses may transmit input and output signals required for engine operation or for providing aircraft electrical power.
The tubular structures may be supported on one or more gas turbine engine structures in a carefully designed routing configuration which guides the tubes to their respective destinations or terminals, while optimizing the usage of space and taking into account engine design regulations. In particular, the engine design regulations may establish standards relating to the number of supports required per unit length of the tube depending on its weight, as well as clearance requirements which ensure that the tubular structures are protected against vibrations and abrasions from other structures in the engine and that fluid transport or electrical signal integrity is maintained.
In order to secure and mount tubular structures on gas turbine engine support structures, current approaches use metallic brackets, clamps, and fasteners. A bracket may be fastened to a gas turbine engine support structure and maintain the clamping unit and the cable harness at a fixed distance above the support structure. While such approaches are effective, variations in clearance requirements as well as the diameters/weights of fluid tubes or cable harnesses frequently requires custom designed metallic brackets and clamps to accommodate these variations. However, custom designed metallic brackets and clamps may be associated with undesirable design complexity, high part number count, and high manufacturing costs.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a mount assembly for securing a tubular member to a support structure of a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The mount assembly may comprise a base unit including a bottom surface configured to bond to a surface of the support structure and an upper portion with a concave surface. It may further include a top unit including a first concave surface with a first diameter. The upper portion of the base unit may be configured to removeably connect to the top unit to provide the mount assembly and the mount assembly may define a clamp for the tubular member between the concave surface of the base unit and the first concave surface of the top unit.
In another refinement, the mount assembly may comprise a kit and the kit may include a second top unit including a second concave surface with a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter.
In another refinement, the upper portion of the base unit may be configured to removeably connect to either of a selected one of the top unit or the second top unit to provide the mount assembly. The clamp may be formed between the concave surface of the base unit and the selected one of the first concave surface of the top unit or the second concave surface of the second top unit.
In another refinement, the base unit, the first top unit, and the second top unit may each be formed from a polymeric material or a composite material.
In another refinement, a size of the clamp may be adjustable.
In another refinement, the kit may further comprise a plurality of the base units and each of the plurality of base units may have a different height extending between the bottom surface and the upper portion.
In another refinement, the different heights of the plurality of the base units may range from about one inch to about six inches.
In another refinement, the second top unit may comprise an upper frame and an arc-shaped portion extending downwardly from the upper frame and defining the second concave surface.
In another refinement, the first concave surface, the second concave surface, and the concave surface of the base unit may each comprise a plurality of ribs extending axially with respect to a central axis of the tubular member.
In another refinement, the size of the clamp may be adjustable by a toothed connection between the base unit and the selected one of the first top unit or the second top unit.
In another refinement, the base unit may further comprise an arc-shaped portion defining the concave surface and a buckle including internal teeth extending from each end of the arc-shaped portion, and the top unit may further comprise an arc-shaped portion defining the first concave surface and a toothed tab extending from each end of the arc-shaped portion. Each of the toothed tabs may be receivable by a respective one of the buckles.
In another refinement, the second top unit may further comprise a toothed tab extending from each end of the arc-shaped portion of the second top unit, and each of the toothed tabs may be receivable by a respective one of the buckles of the base unit.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The gas turbine engine may comprise a fan surrounded by a fan case, and a mount assembly securing a tubular member to a surface of the fan case. The mount assembly may comprise a base unit having a bottom surface bonded to a surface of the fan case and an upper portion with a concave surface. The upper portion of the base unit may be connected to a selected one of a first top unit having a first concave surface with a first diameter or a second top unit having a second concave surface with a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter. The mount assembly may define a clamp for the tubular member between the concave surface of the base unit and the selected one of the first concave surface of the first top unit or the second concave surface of the second top unit.
In another refinement, the base unit, the first top unit, and the second top unit may each be formed from a polymeric material or a composite material.
In another refinement, the base unit may be selected from one of a plurality of base units each having different heights extending between the bottom surface and the upper portion. The different heights of each of the plurality of the base units may range from about one inch to about six inches.
In another refinement, the second top unit may comprise an upper frame and an arc-shaped portion extending downwardly from the upper frame and defining the second concave surface.
In another refinement, the first concave surface, the second concave surface, and the concave surface of the base portion may each comprise a plurality of ribs extending axially with respect to a central axis of the tubular member.
In another refinement, the size of the clamp may be adjustable by a toothed connection between the base unit and the selected one of the first top unit or the second top unit.
In another refinement, the base unit may further comprise an arc-shaped portion defining the concave surface and a buckle having internal teeth extending from each end of the arc-shaped portion. The first top unit may further comprise an arc-shaped portion defining the first concave surface and a toothed tab may extend from each end of the arc-shaped portion of the first top unit. Each of the toothed tabs may be receivable by a respective one of the buckles.
In another refinement, the second top unit may further comprise a toothed tab extending from each end of the arc-shaped portion of the second top unit, and each of the toothed tabs of the second top unit may be receivable by a respective one of the buckles of the base unit.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for building a mount assembly for securing a tubular member to a support structure of a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The method may comprise selecting a base unit having a desired height from a plurality of base units each having different heights, and bonding a bottom surface of the base unit to a surface of the support structure. The method may further comprise selecting a top unit from one of a first top unit having a first concave surface with a first diameter and a second top unit having a second concave surface with a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter. In addition, the method may further comprise connecting the top unit to an upper portion of the base unit, and forming a clamp for the tubular member between a concave surface on the upper portion of the base unit and the selected one of the first concave surface of the first top unit or the second concave surface of the second top unit. The method may further comprise adjusting the size of the clamp to accommodate a diameter of the tubular member.
These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will be more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrated schematically and in partial views. It is to be further appreciated that the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses thereof. In this regard, it is to be additionally appreciated that the described embodiment is not limited to use in conjunction with a particular type of engine, a particular type of support structure, or a particular type of tube. Hence, although the present disclosure is, for convenience of explanation, depicted and described as certain illustrative embodiments, it will be appreciated that it can be implemented in various other types of embodiments and in various other systems and environments.
Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to
A support structure 30 of the gas turbine engine 10 may be used to support one or more tubular members 32 in a routing configuration 34, as shown in
The support structure 30 may be the fan case 14, as shown, but other structures of the gas turbine engine 10 may act as the support structure 30 or may cooperate with the fan case 14 in supporting the tubular member(s) 32 in the routing configuration 34. If the support structure 30 is the fan case 14, the fan case 14 may be formed from a composite material such as a carbon/epoxy composite, or another suitable material. As one possibility, the fan case 14 may support the tubular member(s) 32 on its outer surface 36, as shown in
As depicted in
The components of the mount assembly 38 are shown disassembled and in isolation in
The base unit 40 may further include an upper portion 52 having an arc-shaped portion 54 defining a concave surface 56 which may serve to cradle the tubular member 32 in the mount assembly 38. In addition, the upper portion 52 of the base unit 40 may be configured to removeably connect to a selected one of the first top unit 44 or the second top unit 46 to provide the mount assembly 38. In particular, the base unit 40 may be configured to removeably connect to either the first top unit 44 or the second top unit 46 by an interlocking mechanical connection, such as one or more toothed connections 58 (see
The first top unit 44 may include an arc-shaped portion 60 defining a first concave surface 62 which may form a portion of the clamp 48 in the mount assembly 38 (see
The components of the mount assembly 38 (the base unit 40, the first top unit 44, and the second top unit 46) may each be formed from a polymeric material or a composite material that is stable at the temperature range of the support surface 51. For example, if the support surface 51 is the outer surface 36 of the fan case 14, the polymeric material or the composite material may be stable at temperatures up to the service range of the support surface 51. Suitable polymeric materials or composite materials may include, but are not limited to, polyetherimide, polyetherimide filled with glass or carbon particles and resin to provide enhanced strength and stability, or a range of other thermoset resins or thermoplastics. However, in some cases, polymeric or composite materials with higher temperature capabilities may also be used such at the mount assembly 38 may be used at higher temperature regions of the gas turbine engine 10. Furthermore, the base unit 40, the first top unit 44, and the second top unit 46 may be formed by a polymer molding technique apparent to those skilled in the art such as injection molding or another suitable molding process. In addition, in some cases, the upper frame 64 of the second top unit 46 may have the same structure as the arc-shaped portion 60 of the first top unit 44 in order to simplify the mold tooling for the components of the mount assembly 38.
The components of the mount assembly 38 may be provided as a kit 70, as shown in
As illustrated in
Turning now to
To assemble the mount assembly 38 and adjust the size of the clamp 48, the tubular member 32 may be placed on the concave surface 56 of the base unit 40 and each toothed tab 74 of the selected top unit 42 may be inserted into a respective one of the buckles 80. Press-release grips 85 located on each toothed tab 74 may be pressed inward toward a central axis 86 of the mount assembly 38 to assist insertion and/or retraction of the toothed tabs 74 into or out of the buckles 80 to provide the desired clamp size (see
A series of steps which may be involved in securing the tubular member 32 to the support structure 30 using the kit 70 are shown in
Although the present disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engine applications, it will be understood that the mount assemblies disclosed herein may be used in various other applications requiring the mounting of tubular structures on support surfaces such as, but not limited to, automotive applications, commercial appliance applications, and construction applications. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.
In general, it can therefore be seen that the technology disclosed herein has industrial applicability in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, gas turbine engines. The mount assembly disclosed herein may be used to secure tubular members such as electrical cable harnesses and fluid tubes to a support structure, such as the outer surface of a fan case in a gas turbine engine. In particular, the mount assembly may be assembled to appropriately accommodate varying tube dimensions and/or clearance requirements using basic building blocks or units provided in a kit. As such, the need for current custom-fabricated metallic brackets and clamps may be reduced or eliminated. The building blocks or units for the mount assembly may be readily molded in a variety of shapes from polymeric materials or composite materials which are stable at the operating temperature range of the supporting structure. In addition, the mount assembly may be lighter in weight and less costly to manufacture than metallic brackets and clamps of the prior art. The technology disclosed herein may find wide industrial applicability in areas such as, but not limited to, aerospace and power generation applications.
This Application is a non-provisional patent application claiming priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/936,443 filed on Feb. 6, 2014.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61936443 | Feb 2014 | US |