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A seal and bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine having an engine case with a cooling fluid nozzle located between a bearing outer ring and ring segments, and a rotary shaft for rotation in the engine case around a main axis, the seal and bearing assembly can be assembled by positioning the engin

A seal and bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine having an engine case with a cooling fluid nozzle located between a bearing outer ring and ring segments, and a rotary shaft for rotation in the engine case around a main axis, the seal and bearing assembly can be assembled by positioning the engine case and the rotary shaft in axial alignment, and axially moving the engine case relative to the rotary shaft including moving the bearing outer ring across the axial location of the runner portion and into an assembled condition. The rotary shaft having mounted thereon a bearing inner ring and a runner assembly having a runner portion, a sleeve portion being concentric and radially internal to the runner portion, and a cooling fluid passage having a radial segment leading from an outgoing segment to a returning segment extending in a direction leading back toward the bearing inner ring.

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1. A seal and bearing assembly for a gas turbine engine, the seal and bearing assembly comprising: a rotary assembly having a bearing inner ring and a runner assembly both mounted to a rotary shaft of the gas turbine engine, the runner assembly having a runner portion rotating with the rotary shaft,

1. A seal and bearing assembly for a gas turbine engine, the seal and bearing assembly comprising: a rotary assembly having a bearing inner ring and a runner assembly both mounted to a rotary shaft of the gas turbine engine, the runner assembly having a runner portion rotating with the rotary shaft, a sleeve portion being concentric and radially internal to the runner portion, the sleeve portion rotating with the rotary shaft, the runner portion and the sleeve portion forming a cooling fluid passage having an inlet, an outgoing segment, a radial segment and a returning segment, the inlet communicating with a radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion at a proximal end of the runner assembly, the outgoing segment extending from the inlet and axially along the radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion, away from the bearing inner ring, to a distal end of the runner assembly, the radial segment fluidly linking the outgoing segment with the returning segment via a passageway formed at the distal end of the runner assembly, across a radial thickness of the internal sleeve, and the returning segment extending from the radial segment and axially along a radially-inner surface of the runner portion, toward the bearing inner ring, the returning segment being between the radially-inner surface of the runner portion and a radially-outer surface of the sleeve portion; anda case assembly rotatably receiving the rotary assembly, the case assembly having a bearing outer ring complementary to the bearing inner ring in receiving roller elements therebetween, ring segments positioned in abutment with a radially-outer surface of the runner portion and axially spaced apart from each other, the radially-outer surface of the runner portion extending axially, a bearing cavity extending from the ring segments to the bearing outer rings, and at least one cooling fluid nozzle positioned in the bearing cavity between the bearing outer rings and the ring segments, the at least one cooling fluid nozzle being directed radially inward and operable to feed cooling fluid to the inlet of the cooling fluid passage of the runner assembly during use. 2. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the outgoing segment of the cooling fluid passage terminates at a gap between a distal end of the runner portion and the radially-outer surface of the sleeve portion. 3. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the passageway is one of a gap and a plurality of holes. 4. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the rotary assembly further comprises a concentric annular scoop member having a radially-outer facing channel positioned radially inwardly from the at least one cooling fluid nozzle to receive cooling fluid therefrom during use, a radially-inner facing channel leading axially toward the inlet of the cooling fluid passage, and at least one scoop aperture extending across a thickness of the annular scoop member, from the radially-outer facing channel to the radially-inner facing channel. 5. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 4 wherein the annular scoop member further comprises a second radially-inner facing channel adjacent the first radially-inner facing channel in the axial orientation and directing received cooling fluid toward the bearing inner ring, and a set of second scoop apertures extending across the thickness of the annular scoop member, from the radially-outer facing channel to the second radially-inner facing channel. 6. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 4 wherein the annular scoop member is made integral to the sleeve portion. 7. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 6 wherein the runner assembly further has an enclosing portion being concentric and extending radially inwardly of both the runner portion and the sleeve portion and having a radially-outer surface cooperating with the radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion in enclosing the outgoing segment of the cooling fluid passage between the inlet and the radial segment, wherein a distal end of the enclosing portion is made integral to the distal end of the runner portion and forms an impervious seal at the distal end of the cooling fluid passage, wherein a distal end of the sleeve portion is abuttingly received against and the integral enclosing portion and runner portion. 8. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 7 wherein the integral enclosing portion and runner portion are not welded to the integral annular scoop member and sleeve portion and are axially separable therefrom during engine maintenance. 9. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the runner assembly further has an enclosing portion being concentric and extending radially inwardly of both the runner portion and the sleeve portion and having a radially-outer surface cooperating with the radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion in enclosing the outgoing segment of the cooling fluid passage between the inlet and the radial segment. 10. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 9 wherein the distal end of the enclosing portion is welded to the distal end of the runner portion. 11. The seal and bearing assembly as defined in claim 9, wherein the inlet is provided in the form of a plurality of circumferentially interspaced entry holes defined in the enclosing portion. 12. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the rotary shaft is a high-pressure shaft of the turbine and the bearing cavity is in a turbine section of the gas turbine engine. 13. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the outgoing segment and the returning segment are both oriented parallel to and concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotary shaft and the outgoing segment is radially inward of the returning segment. 14. The seal and bearing assembly of claim 1 wherein the proximal end of the runner portion has a cooling fluid outlet, the outlet having an inlet end receiving the cooling fluid from the cooling fluid passage during use, the inlet end being radially spaced apart from the axially-extending radially-inner surface of the runner assembly by a given spacing distance in a manner to form a pool of cooling fluid having a depth corresponding to the given spacing distance against the radially-inner surface of the runner assembly during use. 15. The runner assembly of claim 1 wherein the sleeve portion has an annular recess formed in a radially-inner surface thereof, adjacent the distal end, for allowing circumferential uniformization of the cooling fluid flow led into the radial segment during use. 16. A method of assembling a seal and bearing assembly of a gas turbine engine having an engine case and a rotary shaft for rotation in the engine case around a main axis, the seal and bearing assembly including: a bearing inner ring and a runner assembly both mounted to a rotary shaft, the runner assembly having a runner portion, a sleeve portion being concentric and radially internal to the runner portion, and a cooling fluid passage having an outgoing segment extending along a radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion, a returning segment extending along the radially-inner surface of the runner portion, and a radial segment bridging the outgoing segment and the returning segment at a distal end of the runner assembly, anda bearing outer ring, ring segments and at least one cooling fluid nozzle, all being mounted to the engine case, with the at least one cooling fluid nozzle being located between the axial locations of the bearing outer ring and the ring segments and being directed radially inwardly, the method of assembly comprising: positioning the engine case and rotary shaft in axial alignment, andaxially moving the engine case relative to the rotary shaft including moving the bearing outer ring across the axial location of the runner portion and into an assembled condition in which roller bearings are operably received between the bearing outer ring and the bearing inner ring. 17. A gas turbine engine comprising one or more compressors, a combustor and one or more turbines, at least one of said compressors and at least one of said turbines being interconnected by an engine shaft rotating about a longitudinal axis thereof, the gas turbine engine comprising: a rotary assembly having a bearing inner ring and a runner assembly both mounted to a rotary shaft of the gas turbine engine, the runner assembly having a runner portion rotating with the rotary shaft, a sleeve portion being concentric and radially internal to the runner portion, the sleeve portion rotating with the rotary shaft, the runner portion and the sleeve portion forming a cooling fluid passage having an inlet, an outgoing segment, a radial segment and a returning segment, the inlet communicating with a radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion at a proximal end of the runner assembly, the outgoing segment extending from the inlet and axially along the radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion, away from the bearing inner ring, to a distal end of the runner assembly, the radial segment fluidly linking the outgoing segment with the returning segment via a passageway formed at the distal end of the runner assembly, across a radial thickness of the internal sleeve, and the returning segment extending from the radial segment and axially along a radially-inner surface of the runner portion, toward the bearing inner ring, the returning segment being between the radially-inner surface of the runner portion and a radially-outer surface of the sleeve portion; anda case assembly rotatably receiving the rotary assembly, the case assembly having a bearing outer ring complementary to the bearing inner ring in receiving roller elements therebetween, ring segments positioned in abutment with a radially-outer surface of the runner portion and axially spaced apart from each other, the radially-outer surface of the runner portion extending axially, a bearing cavity extending from the ring segments to the bearing outer rings, and at least one cooling fluid nozzle positioned in the bearing cavity between the bearing outer rings and the ring segments, the at least one cooling fluid nozzle being directed radially inward and operable to feed cooling fluid to the inlet of the cooling fluid passage of the runner assembly during use. 18. The gas turbine engine of claim 17 wherein the outgoing segment of the cooling fluid passage terminates at a gap between a distal end of the runner portion and the radially-outer surface of the sleeve portion. 19. The gas turbine engine of claim 17 wherein the rotary assembly further comprises a concentric annular scoop member having a radially-outer facing channel positioned radially inwardly from the at least one cooling fluid nozzle to receive cooling fluid therefrom during use, a radially-inner facing channel leading axially toward the inlet of the cooling fluid passage, and at least one scoop aperture extending across a thickness of the annular scoop member, from the radially-outer facing channel to the radially-inner facing channel. 20. The gas turbine engine of claim 17 wherein the runner assembly further has an enclosing portion being concentric and extending radially inwardly of both the runner portion and the sleeve portion and having a radially-outer surface cooperating with the radially-inner surface of the sleeve portion in enclosing the outgoing segment of the cooling fluid passage between the inlet and the radial segment.