Power plants – Reaction motor – Interrelated reaction motors
Patent
1982-12-27
1985-08-13
Croyle, Carlton R.
Power plants
Reaction motor
Interrelated reaction motors
60 3931, 415119, 181214, F02C 720
Patent
active
045341672
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to jet engine cowling structure and more particularly relates to a system for attaching the inlet cowl of an engine system to the engine containment case.
Typically, the inlet cowl associated with a jet engine is a separate piece that must be attached to the engine containment case. The prior art system used to attach the inlet cowl to the engine containment case has been a heavy, forged ring attached by bolts to a flange formed on the forward end of the engine containment case. Typically, the interior surface of the inlet cowl is lined with an acoustic treatment material, such as a honeycomb core covered by a perforated skin, to control the noise produced by the engine. The prior art inlet cowl attachment system utilizes a doubler plate fastened to the forged ring to add strength to the attachment area. The double plate is solid and negates the function of the perforated skin of the acoustic treatment material in the area covered by the doubler plate. The effective area of the acoustic treatment panel is reduced by the size of the doubler; therefore, in order to achieve the required effective area of acoustically treated inlet surface, it is necessary to make the inlet cowl longer in an amount equal to the width of the doubler. The use of a heavy, forged ring plus the doubler plate and the need to lengthen the inlet cowl to compensate for the presence of the doubler plate all tend to add a significant amount of weight to the aircraft upon which the engine is mounted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a jet engine, such as a turbofan engine, in which the engine cowling includes an inlet cowl and the engine is surrounded by an engine containment case, a system for removably attaching the inlet cowl to the engine containment case includes a channel member formed into a ring. The channel has a web and first and second legs extending substantially orthogonally from the web. The first leg abuts and is removably attached to an engine flange formed on the engine containment case. The leg of the channel is attached to the engine flange by fasteners such as bolts that pass through holes in the flange and the first leg and are held in place by nuts threaded onto the bolts. The web of the channel is attached directly to an acoustic treatment panel that lines the interior surface of the inlet cowl. The channel design applies the load of the inlet cowl directly to the bolts and engine flange thereby eliminating the need for the reinforcing doubler plate that is presently utilized in the attachment of the inlet cowl to the engine containment case. The acoustic treatment panel covers the entire interior surface of the inlet all the way to the inlet cowl/containment case interface and is functional over its entire area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an outline drawing of a side elevational view of a typical jet engine and cowling attached to an aircraft wing;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view in partial section of the area of attachment of the inlet cowl to the engine containment case;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the system of the present invention for attaching the inlet cowl to the engine containment case; and
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the system used in the prior art for attaching the inlet cowl to the engine containment case.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical turbofan jet engine 10, such as a PW2037 engine made by Pratt-Whitney Co. of East Hartford, Conn., is mounted on a strut 12 attached to the wing 14 of an aircraft. Typically, the engine manufacturer provides the engine portion pictured to the right of line 16 in FIG. 1. The aircraft manufacturer typically specifies and provides the inlet cowl 18 that is to be attached to the front end of the engine. The inlet cowl is designed by the aircraft manufacturer to meet certain specifications with regard to airflow into the engine and noise reduction among other parameters.
FIG. 2 shows a detailed section of the engine c
REFERENCES:
patent: 3721460 (1973-03-01), Holman et al.
patent: 4112677 (1978-09-01), Kasmarik
patent: 4132069 (1979-01-01), Adamson et al.
patent: 4209149 (1980-06-01), Morris et al.
patent: 4240250 (1980-12-01), Harris
patent: 4361296 (1982-11-01), Hall et al.
Croyle Carlton R.
Simenauer Jeffrey A.
The Boeing Company
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