US 11,674,399 B2
Airfoil arrangement for a gas turbine engine utilizing a shape memory alloy
Ravindra Shankar Ganiger, Bangalore (IN); Praveen Sharma, Bangalore (IN); Abhijeet Jayshingrao Yadav, Karad (IN); Nitesh Jain, Bangalore (IN); and Nicholas Joseph Kray, Mason, OH (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on Jul. 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/368,961.
Prior Publication US 2023/0008743 A1, Jan. 12, 2023
Int. Cl. F01D 5/28 (2006.01); F01D 5/14 (2006.01); F01D 5/30 (2006.01)
CPC F01D 5/282 (2013.01) [F01D 5/147 (2013.01); F01D 5/30 (2013.01); F05C 2251/08 (2013.01); F05D 2240/303 (2013.01); F05D 2240/304 (2013.01); F05D 2240/307 (2013.01); F05D 2300/505 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An airfoil rotatable about an axis to move air in an axial direction, the airfoil comprising:
a root portion having a root;
a tip portion having a tip, the tip located opposite the root along a radial direction;
a frangible portion disposed outward of the root portion along the radial direction; and
a support device comprising a shape memory alloy, wherein the support device connects the root portion to the frangible portion and is movable between a baseline position and a deflected position, wherein the support device is configured to undergo a phase transformation to a martensite phase responsive to an external mechanical load, and return to an austenite phase responsive to relaxing of the external mechanical load.