General Electric Company
Rotor support system having a shape memory alloy

Abstract:

A rotor support system for a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The rotor support system includes a bearing support flange, a frame support flange proximate to the bearing support flange, a fastener between the bearing support flange and the frame support flange, a damping component, and an axial retainer. The damping component includes a super-elastic shape memory alloy. The fastener is configured to fail when a load on the fastener exceeds a threshold value and the damping component is configured to deform from a normal state to a deformed state after the fastener fails. The axial retainer is configured to retain the bearing support flange and the frame support flange within an axial displacement from each other after the fastener fails. A radial gap exists between the bearing support flange and the frame support flange when the damping component is in the normal state.