Adjustable Temporary Links for Gas Turbine Engine Mounting Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for mounting gas turbine engines on aircraft wings face challenges such as insufficient height for 'bootstrap' frameworks, difficulty in controlling engine rocking, and the need for expensive, large ground-based lifting systems that fail to align engines and pylons with precision.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing length-adjustable temporary forward and rearward links to align and attach the engine to the pylon, allowing for precise alignment and stable mounting by resisting tension and compression, and removable for service attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a ground-based lifting system is used to lift the engine, then the engine can be positioned, but the system is very large, expensive, and cannot be easily transported
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the engine and pylon into a single integrated assembly during the mounting operation. The pylon is temporarily attached to the engine, and together they are lifted and positioned as one unit, eliminating the need for separate large ground-based lifting systems. This merging approach reduces system complexity and cost while maintaining positioning capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces temporary links as intermediary components to connect the engine to the pylon during the mounting process. These links serve as mediators that enable the engine to be securely attached to the pylon structure, allowing for controlled positioning without requiring complex ground-based lifting equipment. The temporary links are removed after the engine is properly mounted.
2Ease of operation
If the engine is maintained as a separate system from the pylon, then the engine can be independently positioned, but alignment precision becomes extremely difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the engine and pylon into a single integrated assembly during the mounting operation. By temporarily attaching the pylon to the engine and positioning them together as one unit, the system achieves precise alignment of the engine mounting points with the pylon mounting points. This eliminates the alignment difficulties that arise when the engine and pylon are positioned separately.
3Ease of operation
If bootstrap framework is used for engine mounting, then the engine can be lifted into position, but the pylon does not have sufficient height for the framework to be mounted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs adjustable-length temporary links that can be dynamically configured during the mounting process. The links are designed to accommodate varying heights and positioning requirements, allowing the engine to be securely attached to the pylon regardless of the pylon's specific height. This dynamic adjustability eliminates the need for a fixed bootstrap framework and allows mounting on pylons of different dimensions.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for mounting a gas turbine engine to a pylon on a wing of an aircraft. A temporary forward link, being length-adjustable, and at least one temporary rearward link, being length-adjustable, are provided. These are for temporarily attaching the gas turbine engine to the pylon. The temporary forward link and the temporary rearward link are each adapted to resist tension and compression, to maintain a positional relationship between the gas turbine engine and the pylon in the absence of adjustment of the lengths of the temporary forward link and the temporary rearward link. Adjustment of the length of the temporary links brings engine mounts into alignment with pylon mounts for service attachment of the gas turbine engine to the pylon.