Rotors for gas turbine engines

Claim 2

An annular rotor for supporting a plurality of blades which are rotatable about their longitudinal axes, and wherein the rotor has two spaced apart annular side walls which are of undulating form so that at one circumferential position they are radially outwardly convergent and at an adjacent circumferential position they are radially outwardly divergent and at their radially outer ends they alternately meet and are spaced apart thereby defining a plurality of angularly spaced apart rings defining apertures for receiving bearings in which roots of the blades are to be supported, each side wall having at its radially inner end an integral radially extending annular disc, each disc being so positioned that the transverse plane which contains the center of gravity of the half ring lies between the most convergent and divergent positions of said side wall and passes through the disc.

Claim 3

A rotor as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the undulations of the side walls are greatest at the radially outer periphery of the rotor, and diminish as the radius decreases to zero adjacent the discs.

Claim 4

A rotor as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the rotor is made in two halves joined along a center line in a transverse plane.

Claim 5

An annular rotor for supporting a plurality of blades which are rotatable about their longitudinal axes, and wherein the rotor has two spaced apart annular side walls which are of undulating form so that at one circumferential position they are radially outwardly convergent and at an adjacent circumferential position they are radially outwardly divergent and at their radially outer ends they alternately meet and are spaced apart thereby defining a plurality of angularly spaced apart rings defining apertures for receiving bearings in which roots of the blades are to be supported, each side wall having at its radially inner end a radially extending annular disc, each disc being so positioned that the transverse plane which contains the center of gravity of the half ring at the radially outer end of the respective side wall passes through the disc, wherein an axially extending flange is provided on each side wall above the discs to prevent the transmission of non-radial loads into the discs.

Claim 6

An annular rotor for supporting a plurality of blades which are rotatable about their longitudinal axes, and wherein the rotor has two spaced apart annular side walls which are of undulating form so that at one circumferential position they are radially outwardly convergent and at an adjacent circumferential position they are radially outwardly divergent and at their radially outer ends they alternately meet and are spaced apart thereby defining a plurality of angularly spaced apart rings defining apertures for receiving bearings in which roots of the blades are to be supported, each side wall having at its radially inner end a radially extending annular disc, each disc being so positioned that the transverse plane which contains the center of gravity of the half ring at the radially outer end of the respective side wall passes through the disc, wherein an axially extending flange is provided on each side wall above the discs to prevent the transmission of non-radial loads into the discs.

Claim 7

A rotor as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the rings are extended radially to form a plurality of angularly spaced apart cylinders standing up from the rotor.

Claim 8

A bladed rotor for a gas turbine engine comprising a plurality of angularly spaced apart rotor blades mounted for rotation about their longitudinal axes in a rotor by means of bearings at the roots of the blades and wherein the rotor has two spaced apart annular side walls which are of undulating form so that at one circumferential position they are radially outwardly convergent and at an adjacent circumferential position they are radially outwardly divergent and at their radially outer ends they alternately meet and are spaced apart thereby defining a plurality of angularly spaced apart rings defining apertures for receiving bearings in which the roots of the blades are supported, each side wall having at its radialLy inner end an integral radially extending annular disc, each disc being so positioned that the transverse plane which contains the resultant of the radial loads on the half bearing supported by the respective side wall passes through the disc.

Claim 9

A bladed rotor for a gas turbine engine comprising a plurality of angularly spaced apart rotor blades mounted for rotation about their longitudinal axes in a rotor by means of bearings at the roots of the blades and wherein the rotor has two spaced apart annular side walls which are of undulating form so that at one circumferential position they are radially outwardly convergent and at an adjacent circumferential position they are radially outwardly divergent and at their radially outer ends they alternately meet and are spaced apart thereby defining a plurality of angularly spaced apart rings defining apertures for receiving bearings in which the roots of the blades are supported, each side wall having at its radialLy inner end an integral radially extending annular disc, each disc being so positioned that the transverse plane which contains the resultant of the radial loads on the half bearing supported by the respective side wall passes through the disc.