Balancing system and method for an engine of an aircraft

Abstract

A balancing system and method for an engine of an aircraft is disclosed. A balancing system (100) for an engine (102) of an aircraft (104) includes a housing (110) that holds a magnetorheological fluid (112) containing magnetic particles (116) within a carrier fluid (114). An electromagnet is coupled to the housing (110). The electromagnet is associated with a fan blade (106) of the engine (102). A balancing control unit (122) communicates with the electromagnet and a sensor (108) of the fan blade (106).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for mitigating engine imbalance within an engine, such as an aircraft. Background Art

[0002] Various aircraft include a propulsion system, such as two or more engines. For example, the engine is a turbofan engine, which includes a plurality of fan blades coupled to an engine core.

[0003] The engine typically includes a gas turbine engine fan blade containment system (GTEFBC). During operation, a fan blade may become dislodged or break (i.e., a fan blade failure event). In this case, the GTEFBC system prevents a portion of the fan blade from being ejected through the engine's fan casing.

[0004] During a fan blade failure event, the engine may become unbalanced. In particular, the broken portion of the fan blade may cause a mass imbalance within the engine because the mass of the broken portion may no longer be present in the engine and / or may not be located where it is expected. As a result, the engine may oscillate or vibrate due to the mass imbalance. The oscillation or vibration of the engine may, in turn, be transmitted to other parts of the aircraft, such as the wing to which the engine is fixed. Summary of the invention

[0005] There is a need for systems and methods for maintaining mass balance within an aircraft engine. In addition, there is a need for systems and methods for maintaining engine balance in the event of fan blade breakage during engine operation.

[0006] In view of those needs, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a balancing system for an aircraft engine. The balancing system includes a housing that holds a magnetorheological fluid containing magnetic particles in a carrier fluid. An electromagnet is coupled to the housing. The electromagnet is associated with a fan blade of the engine. A balancing control unit communicates with the electromagnet and the sensor of the fan blade.

[0007] In at least one embodiment, the balancing control unit is configured to receive presence signals from sensors of the fan blades, maintain the electromagnets in a deactivated state when presence signals from sensors of all fan blades are detected, and activate one or more electromagnets when one or more presence signals are not detected. The activated one or more electromagnets attract magnetic particles to compensate for the missing mass of at least one fan blade.

[0008] In at least one embodiment, the housing is formed as a ring defining an internal tubular chamber that retains a magnetorheological fluid. As an example, the mass of the magnetic particles is equal to the mass of at least one fan blade. The plurality of electromagnets corresponds to the plurality of fan blades. The electromagnets are radially aligned with the fan blades. Each electromagnet is radially aligned with a corresponding one of the fan blades. The housing is configured to rotate at the same angular velocity as the fan blades, thereby maintaining radial alignment between the fan blades and the electromagnets. In at least one embodiment, an actuator is operably coupled to the housing. The actuator rotates the housing. As an example, the actuator includes an electric motor.

[0009] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a balancing method for an engine of an aircraft. The balancing method includes maintaining a magnetorheological fluid containing magnetic particles in a carrier fluid within a housing, coupling an electromagnet to the housing, associating the electromagnet with a fan blade of the engine, and communicatively coupling a balancing control unit to the electromagnet and a sensor of the fan blade.

[0010] In at least one embodiment, the balancing method also includes receiving presence signals from sensors of the fan blades by a balancing control unit, maintaining the electromagnet in a deactivated state when presence signals from the sensors of all fan blades are detected, activating one or more electromagnets when one or more presence signals are not detected, and attracting magnetic particles through the activated one or more electromagnets to compensate for the missing mass of at least one fan blade.

[0011] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an aircraft including an engine having fan blades. Each fan blade includes a sensor. The aircraft also includes a balancing system as described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a balancing system for an engine of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2 A front perspective view of an aircraft is shown according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 3 A side perspective view of an engine is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of an engine is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 5 A rear view of an engine is shown according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a balancing method for an engine of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] When reading in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the following detailed description of the aforementioned invention content and some embodiments will be better understood.As used herein, the elements or steps stated in singular form and after the word "one" or "an" should be understood to not necessarily exclude multiple elements or steps.In addition, the reference to "one embodiment" is not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of other embodiments that also include the features.And, unless there is a clear statement to the contrary, the embodiment of "including" or "comprising" one or more elements with a specific condition may include other elements that do not have the condition.

[0019] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a balancing system for an aircraft engine. The balancing system is configured to compensate for engine imbalance that occurs when a fan blade failure event occurs. In at least one embodiment, the balancing system includes a housing, such as a ring formed to contain a magnetorheological fluid. When a fan blade failure event occurs, an electromagnet proximate to the missing fan blade is activated (e.g., by electrical activation), thereby causing magnetic particles in the fluid to be attracted to the radial position of the missing fan blade.

[0020] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system for mitigating engine imbalance. The system includes a housing formed as a ring for retaining a magnetorheological fluid. A plurality of electromagnets are coupled to an outer surface of the housing. A balance control unit communicates with the electromagnets. The balance control unit is configured to identify a fan blade failure event (e.g., via a sensor coupled to a fan blade) and activate at least one of the electromagnets disposed adjacent to the identified blade failure event, thereby attracting magnetic particles in the fluid to compensate for the mass of the missing fan blade.

[0021] In at least one embodiment, the engine includes a fan. The rotation of the housing of the proposed device is coupled to the rotation of the fan. The fan and the housing are configured to rotate at the same speed. The fan includes n blades, and the housing includes n electromagnets corresponding to the n blades. In at least one embodiment, the mass of the magnetic particles within the magnetorheological fluid is equal to the mass of a single fan blade.

[0022] In at least one embodiment, the system further comprises a plurality of sensors. Each fan blade comprises at least one of the plurality of sensors. The balancing control unit is configured to receive input from each of the plurality of sensors and identify a fan blade failure event based on the received input.

[0023] In at least one embodiment, a shaft is coupled between the engine and the housing. The shaft is configured to rotate the housing at the same speed as the engine. As another example, the system includes a motor that rotates the housing at the same speed as the engine fan. The viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid inside the device housing ensures that the magnetic particles rotate inside the housing at the same radial speed as the fan blades.

[0024] Figure 1 1 is a schematic block diagram of a balancing system 100 for an engine 102 of an aircraft 104 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Aircraft 104 may include more than one engine 102. Engine 102 includes a plurality of fan blades 106. In the exemplary embodiment, each fan blade 106 includes a dovetail portion 106a integrally formed with an airfoil portion 106b.

[0025] In at least one embodiment, the sensor 108 is coupled to the fan blade 106. For example, each fan blade 106 may include a sensor 108. As an example, the sensor 108 may be embedded in the airfoil portion 106b of the fan blade 106. As another example, the sensor 108 is fixed to the outer surface of the airfoil portion 106b of the fan blade 106. In at least one embodiment, the sensor 108 is a current sensing wire. As another example, the sensor 108 is a voltage sensing wire. The sensor 108 outputs a presence signal indicating the presence of the fan blade within the engine 102. For example, when the fan blade 106 is operably fixed within the engine 102, the sensor 108 of the fan blade 106 detects a current or voltage and outputs a corresponding signal indicating the presence of the fan blade 106 within the engine 102. In the event of a fan blade failure, the sensor 108 no longer detects a current or voltage and therefore no longer outputs a presence signal.

[0026] The balancing system 100 includes a housing 110, which may be formed as a ring. The housing 110 holds a magnetorheological fluid 112. The magnetorheological fluid 112 includes a carrier fluid 114 such as oil and magnetic particles 116 in the carrier fluid 114. The magnetic particles 116 may be spherical, elliptical, etc. suspended in the carrier fluid 114. In at least one embodiment, the mass of the magnetic particles 116 is equal to the mass of the airfoil portion 106b of one fan blade 106. As described herein, in the event of a fan blade failure, the magnetic particles 116 are attracted to the position of the missing fan blade 106 (e.g., the missing airfoil portion 106b of the fan blade 106), thereby compensating for the lost mass of the airfoil portion 106b of the fan blade 106 and maintaining mass balance within the engine 102.

[0027] In at least one other embodiment, the mass of magnetic particles 116 is equal to the mass of one plus one-half airfoil portion 106 b. It has been found through testing that when one fan blade 106 breaks away from engine 102, half of another fan blade 106 may also break away from engine 102. In at least one other embodiment, the mass of magnetic particles 116 may be greater or less than one airfoil portion 106 b, or one plus one-half airfoil portion 106.

[0028] Electromagnets 118 are coupled to the exterior of housing 110. In at least one embodiment, the number of electromagnets 118 corresponds to the number of fan blades 106 of engine 102. Electromagnets 118 are configured to be selectively deactivated (e.g., by no current flowing therethrough), and activated (e.g., by current flowing therethrough). Electromagnets 118 are radially aligned with fan blades 106. That is, each electromagnet 118 is radially aligned with an associated fan blade 106. Housing 110 is configured to rotate at the same angular velocity as fan blades 106, thereby maintaining radial alignment between fan blades 106 and electromagnets 118.

[0029] Thus, the actuator 120 is operably coupled to the housing 110. In at least one embodiment, the actuator 120 is an electric motor or motor that rotates the housing 110 with the engine 102 to maintain radial alignment between the electromagnet 118 and the associated fan blade 106. As an example, the actuator 120 is an electric motor. It has been found that electric motors provide relatively light actuators compared to mechanical linkages. Thus, compared to complex mechanical linkages, electric motors can add less weight to the aircraft 104, thereby improving the fuel economy of the aircraft 104. As another example, the actuator 120 is a linkage that mechanically connects the rotation of the fan blade 106 to the rotation of the housing 110. In such an embodiment, the linkage can be or include a shaft that is coupled between the engine 102 and the housing 110, for example, through an accessory gearbox, a connecting bracket, a spar, a rib, a fastener, and / or the like, so that the rotation of the engine 102 also causes the rotation of the housing 110.

[0030] The balance system 100 also includes a balance control unit 122, which may be onboard the aircraft 104. For example, the balance control unit 122 may be coupled to or adjacent to the engine 102. As another example, the balance control unit 122 may be located within a cockpit of the aircraft 104. The balance control unit 122 communicates with the electromagnet 118 and the sensor 108, such as via a wireless connection.

[0031] In operation, the housing 110 rotates with the fan blades 106 via the actuator 120 so that the electromagnets 118 remain radially aligned with the associated fan blades 106. During this time, the balancing control unit 122 receives presence signals 124 from the sensors 108 of the fan blades 106. The balancing control unit 122 detects the presence of all fan blades 106 through the presence signals 124. If the balancing control unit 122 detects all presence signals 124 from all sensors 108 of the fan blades 106, the balancing control unit 122 prohibits activation of any electromagnet 118. That is, the balancing control unit 122 maintains the electromagnets 118 in a deactivated state.

[0032] However, if the balancing control unit 122 determines that at least one presence signal 124 is not present (thereby indicating a communication interruption with the sensor 108 configured to output the presence signal), the balancing control unit 122 determines that the fan blade 106 (or a portion thereof, such as the airfoil portion 106b) associated with the sensor 108 configured to output the presence signal 124 is no longer present (i.e., a fan blade failure event). Therefore, the balancing control unit 122 outputs an activation signal 126 to the electromagnet 118 associated with the missing fan blade 106 (or a portion thereof, such as the airfoil portion 106b). The activation signal 126 activates the electromagnet 118 associated with the missing fan blade 106 (or a portion thereof, such as the airfoil portion 106b). Once activated, the electromagnet 118 attracts the magnetic particles 116 to the radial position of the activated electromagnet 118. In this way, the magnetic particles 116 are attracted to the radial position of the activated electromagnet 118. Because the mass of magnetic particle 116 is equal to the mass of the missing fan blade 106 (or a portion thereof, such as airfoil portion 106 b ) associated with activated electromagnet 118 , the mass of magnetic particle 116 replaces the missing mass of fan blade 106 (or a portion thereof, such as airfoil portion 106 b ), thereby maintaining mass balance within engine 102 .

[0033] In addition, the mass of the magnetic particles 116 may be greater than the mass of one fan blade 106 or a portion thereof (e.g., the airfoil portion 106b). In such an embodiment, if a plurality of airfoil portions 106b or a portion thereof are missing, the balancing control unit 122 outputs an activation signal 126 that controls the current to the electromagnet 118 to control the magnetic attraction to the magnetic particles 116. In this way, the mass of the magnetic particles 116 may be controlled to be attracted to the location of the missing airfoil portion 106b and / or a portion thereof.

[0034] As described, a balancing system 100 for an engine 102 of an aircraft 104 includes a housing 110 that holds a magnetorheological fluid 112 including magnetic particles 116 within a carrier fluid 114. Electromagnets 118 are coupled to the housing 110 (e.g., an exterior thereof). The electromagnets 118 are associated with fan blades 106 of the engine 102. For example, each electromagnet 118 is radially aligned with an associated fan blade 106. The radial alignment is maintained by the housing 110 rotating with the fan blades 106. A balancing control unit 122 communicates with the electromagnets 118 and the sensors 108 of the fan blades 106, for example, via a wireless connection. In at least one embodiment, the balancing control unit 122 is configured to receive presence signals 124 from the sensors 108 of the fan blades 106, maintain the electromagnets 118 in a deactivated state when presence signals 124 from the sensors 108 of all fan blades 106 are detected and captured (accounted for), and activate one or more electromagnets 118 when one or more presence signals 124 are not detected. Thus, the one or more electromagnets 118 attract the magnetic particles 116 to compensate for the missing mass of the at least one airfoil portion 106 b of the fan blade 106 .

[0035] As used herein, the terms "control unit," "central processing unit," "unit," "CPU," "computer," and the like may include any processor-based or microprocessor-based system, including systems using microcontrollers, reduced instruction set computers (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic circuits, and any other circuit or processor including hardware, software, or a combination thereof capable of performing the functions described herein. This is exemplary only, and thus is not intended to limit the definition and / or meaning of such terms in any way. For example, as described herein, the balancing control unit 122 may be or include one or more processors configured to control its operation.

[0036] The balance control unit 122 is configured to execute a set of instructions stored in one or more data storage units or elements (e.g., one or more memories) to process data. For example, the balance control unit 122 may include or be coupled to one or more memories. The data storage unit may also store data or other information as needed or desired. The data storage unit may be in the form of an information source or physical storage element within a processor.

[0037] The instruction set may include various commands that instruct the balance control unit 122 as a processing machine to perform specific operations, such as the methods and processes of the various embodiments of the subject matter described herein. The instruction set may be in the form of a software program. The software may take various forms, such as system software or application software. In addition, the software may take the form of a collection of separate programs, a subset of programs within a larger program, or a portion of a program. The software may also include modular programming in the form of object-oriented programming. The processing of the input data by the processing machine may be in response to user commands, or in response to the results of previous processing, or in response to a request made by another processing machine.

[0038] The illustrations of the embodiments herein may show one or more control or processing units, such as a balancing control unit 122. It should be understood that a processing or control unit may represent a circuit, circuit system, or a portion thereof that may be implemented as hardware with associated instructions (e.g., software stored on a tangible and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer hard drive, ROM, RAM, etc.) that perform the operations described herein. The hardware may include a state machine circuit that is hardwired to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the hardware may include an electronic circuit that includes and / or is connected to one or more logic-based devices, such as a microprocessor, a processor, a controller, etc. Alternatively, the balancing control unit 122 may represent a processing circuit, such as one or more of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor (one or more), etc. The circuits in various embodiments may be configured to execute one or more algorithms to perform the functions described herein. Whether or not explicitly identified in a flowchart or method, one or more algorithms may include aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0039] As used herein, the terms "software" and "firmware" are interchangeable and include any computer program stored in a data storage unit (e.g., one or more memories) for execution by a computer (including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory). The above data storage unit types are merely exemplary, and thus there is no limitation on the types of memory that may be used to store a computer program.

[0040] Figure 2A front perspective view of an aircraft 104 is shown according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The aircraft 104 includes a propulsion system 212 including, for example, two engines 102. Optionally, the propulsion system 212 may include more engines 102 than shown. The engines 102 are carried by wings 216 of the aircraft 104. In other embodiments, the engines 102 are carried by a fuselage 218 and / or a tail 220. The tail 220 may also support a horizontal tail 222 and a vertical tail 224. The fuselage 218 of the aircraft 104 defines an interior cabin, including a cockpit.

[0041] Figure 3 A side perspective view of an engine 102 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In at least one embodiment, the engine 102 is a gas turbine engine having a casing 300 including an engine inlet 314. The engine inlet 314 may include a leading edge 316 and an inner barrel portion 320 located behind the leading edge 316 of the engine inlet 314. The inner barrel portion 320 may provide a boundary surface or wall for guiding airflow (not shown) entering the engine inlet 314 and passing through the engine 102. The inner barrel portion 320 may be located relatively close to one or more fan blades ( Figure 3 In this regard, the inner barrel portion 320 may also be configured to function as an acoustic structure having a plurality of perforations in an inner panel of the inner barrel portion 320 for absorbing noise generated by rotating fan blades and / or airflow entering the engine inlet 314 and through the engine 102.

[0042] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of an engine 102 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The engine 102 includes a fan blade 106 coupled to an engine core 330. Each fan blade 106 includes a tenon portion 106a and an airfoil portion 106b integrally formed with the tenon portion 106a. Each fan blade 106 also includes a sensor 108, which in the exemplary embodiment is coupled to or embedded within the airfoil portion 106b. A shroud or inner wall 332 is disposed around the engine core 330.

[0043] As shown, in at least one embodiment, housing 110 is secured around the exterior of inner wall 332. This particular location allows for a lightweight, compact device design while protecting the device from ejected fan blade airfoil portions. However, it should be appreciated that this is an exemplary embodiment and the device may be placed anywhere on the engine so long as the device has the same axis of rotation as the fan blades. Housing 110 is formed as a ring 111 that defines an interior tubular chamber 113 that retains a magnetorheological fluid 112. As shown relative to Figure 1 As described, the housing 110 is, for example, moved by an actuator 120 (eg, Figure 1106) rotates at the same angular velocity as the fan blades 106. In at least one embodiment, the actuator 120 includes a separate and distinct motor 121 operably coupled to the housing 110. In at least another embodiment, the actuator 120 may be an engine core 330 that may be coupled to the housing 110 by, for example, coupling to a drive shaft of an accessory gearbox using one or more connecting linkages. As another example, the actuator 120 may be one or more connecting rods that connect the housing 110 to the fan rotor shaft 331.

[0044] Figure 5 A rear view of engine 102 is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In at least one embodiment, electromagnets 118 include coils 119 wound around the exterior of housing 110. Each electromagnet 118 is radially aligned with and corresponds to an associated fan blade 106.

[0045] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 5 In the event that the balancing control unit 122 detects no presence signal 124 from the sensor 108 of the fan blade 106', the balancing control unit 122 outputs an activation signal 126 to the electromagnet 118' associated with the fan blade 106' (determined to be missing). The activation signal 126 activates the electromagnet 118, for example, by an electric current. When the electromagnet 118 is activated, the magnetic particles 116 of the magnetorheological fluid 112 are attracted and pulled to the electromagnet 118, thereby providing a mass equal to the missing airfoil portion 106b' of the fan blade 106' at the radial position of the missing fan blade 106'. In this way, the balancing system 100 ensures mass balance within the engine 102.

[0046] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a balancing method for an engine of an aircraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 and Figure 6 At 400 , the balancing control unit 122 receives the presence signal 124 from the sensor 108 of the fan blade 106 .

[0047] At 402, the balancing control unit 122 determines whether all fan blades 106 are detected. For example, if the presence signals 124 are received from all sensors 108 of the fan blades 106, the balancing control unit 122 determines that all fan blades 106 are detected and therefore present within the engine 102. If all fan blades 106 are detected at 402, the method proceeds to 404, where the balancing control unit 122 maintains the electromagnets 118 in a deactivated state.

[0048] However, if all fan blades 106 are not detected at 402, the method proceeds to 406 where the balancing control unit 122 activates the electromagnet 118 associated with the missing fan blade 106. Thus, at 408, the magnetic particles 116 of the magnetorheological fluid 112 in the housing 110 are attracted to the activated electromagnet 118, thereby compensating for the missing mass of the fan blade 106 at 410.

[0049] As described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for maintaining mass balance within an aircraft engine. Additionally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for maintaining engine balance in the event of fan blade breakage during engine operation.

[0050] Although various spatial and directional terms, such as top, bottom, lower, middle, side, horizontal, vertical, front, etc., may be used to describe the embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that these terms are used only with respect to the orientation shown in the drawings. The orientation may be reversed, rotated or otherwise changed so that upper is lower and vice versa, horizontal becomes vertical, etc.

[0051] As used herein, a structure, limitation, or element "configured to" perform a task or operation is specifically structurally formed, constructed, or adjusted in a manner corresponding to the task or operation. For clarity and avoidance of doubt, an object that can merely be modified to perform a task or operation is not "configured to" perform a task or operation as used herein.

[0052] It should be understood that the above description is intended to illustrate rather than limit. For example, the above embodiments (and / or aspects thereof) can be used in combination with each other. In addition, without departing from the scope of the invention, many modifications can be made to adapt specific situations or materials to the teachings of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the size and type of materials described herein are intended to limit the parameters of various embodiments of the present disclosure, these embodiments are by no means restrictive, but exemplary embodiments. After reviewing the above description, many other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure should be determined by reference to the appended claims and the full range of equivalents given to these claims. In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "wherein" are used as the ordinary English equivalents of the corresponding terms "including" and "wherein". In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third", etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. In addition, the limitations of the following claims are not written in the form of "means + function", and are not intended to be interpreted according to the provisions of Section 112 (f) of Volume 35 of the United States Code, unless and until such claim limitations explicitly use the phrase "means for...", followed by a functional statement without further structure.

[0053] Furthermore, the present disclosure includes embodiments according to the following items:

[0054] Item 1. A balancing system for an aircraft engine, the balancing system comprising:

[0055] a housing that holds a magnetorheological fluid containing magnetic particles within a carrier fluid;

[0056] an electromagnet coupled to the housing, wherein the electromagnet is associated with a fan blade of the engine; and

[0057] A balancing control unit that communicates with the electromagnets and the sensors of the fan blades.

[0058] Item 2. The balancing system according to Item 1, wherein the balancing control unit is configured to:

[0059] Receives presence signal from the fan blade sensor,

[0060] When a presence signal is detected from the sensors of all fan blades, the electromagnets are kept in a deactivated state, and

[0061] When the one or more presence signals are not detected, the one or more electromagnets are activated, wherein the activated one or more electromagnets attract magnetic particles to compensate for the missing mass of the at least one fan blade.

[0062] Item 3. The balancing system of Item 1, wherein the housing is formed as a ring defining an interior tubular chamber that retains the magnetorheological fluid.

[0063] Item 4. A balancing system according to Item 1, wherein the mass of the magnetic particles is equal to the mass of at least one fan blade.

[0064] Item 5. A balancing system according to Item 1, wherein the number of electromagnets corresponds to the number of fan blades.

[0065] Item 6. The balancing system of Item 1, wherein the electromagnets are radially aligned with the fan blades, and wherein each electromagnet is radially aligned with a respective one of the fan blades.

[0066] Item 7. The balancing system of Item 6, wherein the housing is configured to rotate at the same angular velocity as the fan blades such that radial alignment between the fan blades and the electromagnet is maintained.

[0067] Item 8. The balancing system of Item 7, further comprising an actuator operably coupled to the housing, wherein the actuator rotates the housing.

[0068] Item 9. A balancing system according to Item 8, wherein the actuator includes an electric motor.

[0069] Item 10. A method for balancing an engine for an aircraft, the method comprising:

[0070] A magnetorheological fluid containing magnetic particles is retained within a carrier fluid within the housing;

[0071] coupling the electromagnet to the housing;

[0072] Associating the electromagnet with the fan blades of the engine; and

[0073] A balancing control unit is communicatively coupled to the electromagnet and the fan blade's sensors.

[0074] Item 11. The balancing method according to Item 10, further comprising:

[0075] receiving, by a balancing control unit, a presence signal from a sensor of a fan blade;

[0076] maintaining the electromagnet in a deactivated state when presence signals from sensors of all fan blades are detected;

[0077] activating one or more electromagnets when one or more presence signals are not detected; and

[0078] The magnetic particles are attracted by one or more activated electromagnets to compensate for the missing mass of at least one fan blade.

[0079] Item 12. The balancing method of Item 10, further comprising forming the housing into a ring defining an interior tubular chamber for retaining a magnetorheological fluid.

[0080] Item 13. A balancing method according to Item 10, wherein the mass of the magnetic particles is equal to the mass of at least one fan blade.

[0081] Item 14. The balancing method of Item 10, wherein the number of electromagnets corresponds to the number of fan blades.

[0082] Item 15. The balancing method of Item 10, wherein the associating includes radially aligning the electromagnets with the fan blades, and wherein each electromagnet is radially aligned with a respective one of the fan blades.

[0083] Item 16. The balancing method of Item 15, further comprising: rotating the housing at the same angular velocity as the fan blades to maintain radial alignment between the fan blades and the electromagnet.

[0084] Item 17. The balancing method of Item 16, further comprising operably coupling an actuator to the housing, wherein the rotation is performed by the actuator.

[0085] Item 18. An aircraft comprising:

[0086] An engine comprising fan blades, wherein each fan blade comprises a sensor; and

[0087] A balancing system comprising:

[0088] a housing that retains a magnetorheological fluid containing magnetic particles in a carrier fluid, wherein the housing is formed as a torus defining an interior tubular chamber retaining the magnetorheological fluid, wherein the mass of the magnetic particles is equal to the mass of at least one fan blade;

[0089] electromagnets coupled to the housing, wherein the electromagnets are associated with fan blades of the engine, wherein the number of electromagnets corresponds to the number of fan blades, wherein the electromagnets are radially aligned with the fan blades, and wherein each electromagnet is radially aligned with a respective one of the fan blades, wherein the housing is configured to rotate at the same angular velocity as the fan blades to maintain radial alignment between the fan blades and the electromagnets; and

[0090] A balancing control unit in communication with the electromagnets and sensors for each fan blade.

[0091] Item 19. The aircraft of Item 18, wherein the balance control unit is configured as:

[0092] Receives presence signals from sensors at each fan blade,

[0093] When a presence signal is detected from each fan blade sensor, the electromagnet is held in a deactivated state, and

[0094] When a presence signal from the sensor of the at least one fan blade is not detected, the one or more electromagnets are activated, wherein the activated one or more electromagnets attract magnetic particles to compensate for the missing mass of the at least one fan blade.

[0095] Item 20. The aircraft of Item 18, further comprising an actuator operably coupled to the housing, wherein the actuator rotates the housing.

[0096] This written description uses examples to disclose various embodiments of the present disclosure, including the best mode, and also enables any person skilled in the art to practice the various embodiments of the present disclosure, including making and using any device or system and performing any incorporated method. The patentable scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to one skilled in the art. If such examples have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if such examples include equivalent structural elements that do not differ substantially from the literal language of the claims, such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A balancing system (100) for an engine (102) of an aircraft (104), the balancing system (100) comprising: A housing (110) holds a magnetorheological fluid (112) containing magnetic particles within a carrier fluid (114); an electromagnet (118) coupled to the housing (110), wherein the electromagnet (118) is associated with a fan blade (106) of the engine (102); and a balancing control unit (122) in communication with the electromagnet (118) and the sensor (108) of the fan blade (106), Wherein, the balancing control unit (122) is configured as follows: receiving a presence signal (124) from the sensor (108) of the fan blade (106), When the presence signal (124) is detected from the sensor (108) of all fan blades (106), maintaining the electromagnet (118) in a deactivated state, and When one or more of the presence signals (124) are not detected, one or more of the electromagnets (118) are activated, wherein the activated one or more electromagnets (118) attract the magnetic particles to compensate for the missing mass of at least one of the fan blades (106).

2. The balancing system (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The housing (110) is formed as a ring (111) defining an inner tubular chamber (113) retaining the magnetorheological fluid (112).

3. The balancing system (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The mass of the magnetic particles is equal to the mass of at least one of the fan blades (106).

4. The balancing system (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The number of the electromagnets (118) corresponds to the number of the fan blades (106).

5. The balancing system (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The electromagnets (118) are radially aligned with the fan blades (106), and wherein each electromagnet (118) is radially aligned with a corresponding fan blade (106).

6. The balancing system (100) according to claim 5, wherein: The housing (110) is configured to rotate at the same angular velocity as the fan blades (106) such that radial alignment between the fan blades (106) and the electromagnets (118) is maintained.

7. The balancing system (100) of claim 6, further comprising an actuator operably coupled to the housing (110), wherein: The actuator rotates the housing (110).

8. The balancing system (100) according to claim 7, wherein: The actuator comprises an electric motor (121).

9. A balancing method for an engine (102) of an aircraft (104), the balancing method comprising: A magnetorheological fluid (112) containing magnetic particles is retained in a carrier fluid (114) within a housing (110); coupling an electromagnet (118) to the housing (110); Associating the electromagnet (118) with a fan blade (106) of the engine (102); and communicatively coupling a balancing control unit (122) to the electromagnet (118) and the sensor (108) of the fan blade (106); receiving, by the balancing control unit (122), a presence signal (124) from the sensor (108) of the fan blade (106), When the presence signal (124) is detected from the sensor (108) of all fan blades (106), maintaining the electromagnet (118) in a deactivated state, and When one or more of the presence signals (124) are not detected, one or more of the electromagnets (118) are activated, wherein the activated one or more electromagnets (118) attract the magnetic particles to compensate for the missing mass of at least one of the fan blades (106).

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