US 11,781,444 B1
Adaptive orifice assembly for controlling airflow in a gas turbine engine
William Morton, Niskayuna, NY (US); and Constantinos Minas, Slingerlands, NY (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US)
Filed on Jun. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/831,500.
Int. Cl. F01D 17/14 (2006.01)
CPC F01D 17/141 (2013.01) [F05D 2260/207 (2013.01); F05D 2260/60 (2013.01); F05D 2300/505 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An orifice assembly, comprising:
an inner member defining an orifice having a first dimension in a compressed state;
an outer member arranged adjacent to and radially exterior of the inner member; and
a thermally-sensitive material arranged adjacent to and radially exterior of the outer member,
wherein the thermally-sensitive material has a rigid, first state that applies force to the inner member so as to maintain the first dimension of the orifice in the compressed state and a flexible, second state configured to release the force applied to the inner member,
wherein, when subjected to temperatures above a predetermined temperature threshold, the thermally-sensitive material changes from the rigid, first state to the flexible, second state to allow the first dimension of the inner member in the compressed state to passively expand to a decompressed, second dimension, the second dimension being larger than the first dimension.