Honeywell International Inc.
Compressor for gas turbine engine with variable vaneless gap

Abstract:

A compressor of a gas turbine engine includes an impeller having a plurality of impeller blades. The compressor includes a diffuser downstream from the impeller that has a plurality of diffuser blades. Each diffuser blade extends from a hub to a shroud in a spanwise direction, and a leading edge of each diffuser blade is spaced apart from an impeller trailing edge of each of the plurality of impeller blades by a vaneless gap. Each diffuser blade includes a cutback region that extends from proximate the leading edge toward a trailing edge. The cutback region reduces a thickness of each of the diffuser blades such that a throat area defined between adjacent diffuser blades increases in the spanwise direction from the hub to the shroud and the vaneless gap increases in the spanwise direction from the hub to the shroud.