General Electric Company
Method of starting a gas turbine engine including a cooling phase

Abstract:

A method of starting a gas turbine engine having a rotor comprising at least a shaft-mounted compressor and turbine, with a casing surrounding the rotor includes an acceleration phase, a bowed-rotor cooling phase, during the acceleration, and a combustion phase. The bowed-rotor cooling phase comprises a time where the rotational speed of the rotor is maintained below a bowed-rotor threshold speed until a non-bowed condition is satisfied, wherein the air forced through the gas turbine engine cools the rotor. The combustion phase occurs after the bowed-rotor cooling phase and upon reaching the combustion speed, wherein fuel is supplied to the gas turbine engine.