Techniques for fabricating charge balanced (CB) trench-metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) devices
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12191384
A charge balanced (CB) trench-metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) device may include a charge balanced (CB) layer defined within a first epitaxial (epi) layer that has a first conductivity type. The CB layer may include charge balanced (CB) regions that has a second conductivity type. The CB trench-MOSFET device may include a device layer defined in a second epi layer and having the first conductivity type, where the device layer is disposed on the CB layer. The…
Reverse flow gas turbine engine having electric machine
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12188414
An aircraft engine assembly includes a gas turbine engine having an intake channel configured to receive an incoming flow of air and thereby form an intake flow of air, the intake channel configured to turn the received incoming flow of air from an incoming flow direction to a first axial direction of the gas turbine engine, the incoming flow direction reverse of the first axial direction, and an electric machine coupled with the low pressure shaft and located at the aft end of the gas…
Turbine engine with component having a cooling hole with a layback surface
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12188374
An apparatus for an engine component in a turbine engine. The engine component including a wall with a cooling hole having a passage extending between an inlet fluidly coupled to a cooling fluid flow and an outlet at a heated surface. The cooling hole including a layup surface defining a first angle (?) and a layback surface defining a second angle (?).
Seal assembly for a rotary machine
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12188358
A seal assembly for a rotary machine. The seal assembly includes a rotor and a stator. The rotor is rotatable about a rotational axis and has a rotor seal face. The stator has a stator seal face. The stator seal face is positioned opposite the rotor seal face and faces the rotor seal face with a gap therebetween. A portion of one of the rotor and the stator is formed of (i) a shape memory alloy or (ii) a first metal and a second metal with the second metal having a coefficient of thermal…
Coated article for hot hydrocarbon fluid and method of preventing fuel thermal degradation deposits
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12188128
A hydrocarbon fluid containment article having a wall with a surface that is wetted by hydrocarbon fluid. The surface includes an anti-coking coating. The anti-coking coating includes a copper salt, a silver salt, or a combination thereof. A gas turbine engine component including a wall having a first surface and an anti-coking coating on the first surface of the wall that is wetted by hydrocarbon fluid. The anti-coking coating including a copper salt, a silver salt, or a combination…
Deployable inlet assembly for aerial vehicle
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12187449
An aerial vehicle includes a housing, a propulsion system supported within the housing, and an inlet assembly supported by an outer surface of the housing. The inlet assembly includes: at least one fluid channel in fluid communication with the propulsion system; and a first scoop pivotably coupled to the housing and movable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The first scoop is aligned with the housing in the stowed position to prevent air from entering the propulsion…
Method and apparatus for servicing engines
Granted: January 7, 2025
Patent Number:
12186848
A snake-arm robot and a servicing device are mechanically coupled. The mechanical coupling is accomplished by a longitudinal insertion of the snake-arm robot into the servicing device or the servicing device into the snake-arm robot. An actuator moves the snake-arm robot through a passage within an engine until the snake-arm robot reaches a desired location. The movement of the snake-arm robot concurrently moves the servicing device through the passage. Subsequently, the snake-arm robot…
Mixer vanes having a waveform profile
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12181151
A main mixer for an engine. The main mixer includes a plurality of mixer vanes located circumferentially around a mixer body. Each mixer vane includes a waveform profile. The waveform profile detaches or trips a boundary layer of an air flow across the mixer vane such that the waveform profile introduces turbulence into the air flow.
Systems and methods for operating a power generating asset
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12184066
A system and method are provided for operating a power generating asset coupled to an electrical grid. Accordingly, a controller receives an environmental data set indicative of at least one environmental variable projected to affect the power generating asset over a plurality of potential modeling intervals. The controller then determines the variability of the environmental data set and a corresponding modeling-confidence level at each of the potential modeling intervals based on the…
System and method for prognostic analytics of an asset
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12182743
There are provided systems and methods for prognostic analytics of an asset. For example, there is provided a system for monitoring a reliability of a component of an asset. The system includes a processor and a memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause it to perform certain operations. These operations may include receiving input data, which can include performance data relating to the component, configuration data relating to the component, and…
Cable guiding in wind turbine towers
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180945
The present disclosure relates to towers for wind turbines comprising a top section supporting a nacelle about a yaw axis, wherein the nacelle comprises an electric power component and a power cable for electrically connecting the electric power component to an electrical connection point in a lower section of the tower. The power cable extends downwards from the nacelle to a first height along a substantially central area of the tower, and at a first height the power cable comprises a…
System and method for reducing wind turbine loads caused by rotor imbalance
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180938
A method for reducing loads acting on a wind turbine includes determining, via a processor, at least one loading condition of the wind turbine resulting from a wind shear condition below a design threshold, determining, via the processor, a rotor speed setpoint of the wind turbine to cause an increase in thrust when the at least one loading condition exceeds a loading threshold; operating the wind turbine based on the rotor speed, and operating a rotor imbalance control module of the…
Systems and methods for operating a wind farm
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180936
A system and method are provided for operating a wind farm includes determining a wind direction and identifying a turbine cluster, which is a subset of a plurality of wind turbines of the wind farm. The subset includes an upwind turbine and a downwind turbine that is affected by a wake emanating from the upwind turbine. The controller then determines a difference between a freestream maximal cluster power output and a wake-affected cluster power output for the turbine cluster. The…
System and method for actively monitoring an air gap in a wind turbine brake assembly
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180929
A system and method are configured to monitor changes associated with an air gap in a brake assembly of a wind turbine yaw drive by: (1) receiving one or more sensor signals from one or more sensors that are indicative of changes associated with the air gap; and (2) comparing the changes associated with the air gap to certain thresholds to determine if the air gap is in need of attention. The system includes at least one proximity sensor arranged adjacent to the air gap, to monitor the…
Aero-acoustically dampened bleed valve
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180897
Aero-acoustically damped bleed valves are disclosed. An example variable bleed valve apparatus comprises a variable bleed valve door to actuate the variable bleed valve apparatus, and a variable bleed valve port including an upstream edge and a downstream edge, the VBV port to define a secondary flowpath, the VBV door to cover the VBV port in a closed position, and a vortex device at the upstream edge of the variable bleed valve port, the vortex device including a vorticity generating…
Variable bleed valve assemblies
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180890
Example variable bleed valve assemblies for a gas turbine engine are disclosed herein, including a port extending radially outward from a compressor section of the gas turbine engine, the port defining a variable bleed valve cavity, the port to resonate at a resonant frequency based on an operating condition of the gas turbine engine, and an acoustic suppressor positioned on a wall of the port, the acoustic suppressor extending circumferentially along the wall by a length greater than a…
Levered counterweight feathering system
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180886
A fan assembly for a gas turbine engine includes a fan disk, a trunnion, an actuation device, a fan blade, and a counterweight assembly. The trunnion is mounted to the fan disk. The actuation device is operably coupled to the trunnion. The fan blade is rotatably attached to the fan disk. The counterweight assembly includes a link arm, a lever arm, a hinge, and a counterweight. The link arm is connected to the trunnion, to the actuation device, or to both. The link arm is configured to…
Seal assembly for a turbine engine
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12180840
A turbine engine includes a rotor, a stator having an aft wall, and a seal assembly having a plurality of seal segments disposed between the rotor and the stator. The rotor, the stator, and the seal assembly are arranged together to define a high pressure region and a low pressure region. The turbine engine also includes at least one biasing member engaged with one or more of the plurality of seal segments. The plurality of seal segments include a primary seal segment and a secondary…
Additive manufacturing using solid state optical deflectors
Granted: December 31, 2024
Patent Number:
12179431
An additive manufacturing apparatus comprises a laser beam source emitting a laser beam, a build platform, a powder source depositing a layer of powder onto the build platform, and a scanning assembly disposed along an optical path between the laser beam source and the build platform. The scanning assembly comprises at least one solid state optical deflector that modifies at least one of a size or an impingement location of the laser beam on the layer of powder at a scanning position of…
Bearing lubrication systems and methods for operating the same
Granted: December 24, 2024
Patent Number:
12173845
Example bearing lubrication system and methods of operating the same are disclosed herein. An example closed loop system to provide a lubricant to a fluid pump includes a lubrication flow network disposed within the fluid pump; a sensor fluidly coupled to the fluid pump to measure a condition of a fluid that is to enter the lubrication flow network; a first transport bus fluidly coupled to the lubrication flow network, the first transport bus to transport an inert gas; a controller to…
